Recently I asked if motorcycles were the future of performance. With increasing CAFE standards and the rising price of gas, cars are turning into high mileage clean air pumps which, unfortunately, underperform, especially when compared to the cars we used to drive.
I thought about this again while looking at these photos from Paolo Tiramani. He thought we might want to see his new GSX-R1000. He bought it last month and thought, “Hmm, … nice bike, a little short on power.” So he packed it off to Velocity Racing to see if they might be able to tweak it a bit, you know, so it could at least keep up with traffic. The boys at Velocity took a look and prescribed one of their turbo systems and now it keeps up with traffic very well, there’s even enough power for passing. With 258 hp at the rear wheel, the turbo, with a manageable 8 pounds of boost, begins to assist in the area of 6000 rpm and continues on to the 13k redline. But what you should keep in mind is power to weight, the horsepower to ton ratio for the Bugatti Veyron, until very recently the fastest street legal production car, is 240, a Formula 1 car 582, this bad boy is in the high 600s. (Correction: The numbers above for hp per ton are wrong. The bike is 1290 to 1500 depending on wheel or engine hp. The F1 car is 1143, the Veyron is 475.) Think about that. This motorcycle, while a very high performance machine and very well done is not unlike other similarly equipped bikes.
While your neighbor’s Prius may get a few more miles per gallon, nothing, except another motorcycle, will come anywhere near the performance offered by a bike like this. You can buy a new bike, add a turbo, still get great mileage, have performance that rivals anything on wheels and not spend much more than you would for well equipped economy car. What’s not to like?
Dan says
So exactly what type of mileage are we talking about here? (I know, this is a discussion about performance, not economy, but I’m curious.)
taxman says
i’d kill myself on that thing… that must be why i want it so badly.
Phoebe says
A GSX-R1000…short on power…?
Those are two things I never thought I’d see in the same sentence.
motoxyogi says
Haha! I’m more curious about the kinda traffic he has to keep up with! Racing jets off an aircraft carrier?
I still say that focusing on the other end of the power:weight ratio is a better way to go, better fuel economy, shorter braking distance, tighter cornering, better acceleration the only disadvantage i can see would be ride quality.
On another note the gixxer looks good without the dual exausts
Phoebe says
I was thinking that too, motoxyogi. F1 racers? Land speed record breakers?
Kirk says
I am all for performance with economy and I think bikes are a great way to do it. I just wanted to point out that the Bugatti Veyron power to weight ratio was a little off. I just checked that the Bugatti makes 1001 hp and weighs 4200 lbs. Giving a power to weight ratio of 475, not 250. An F1 car weighs in around 1400 lbs and outputs 700-800 hp. This gives a power to weight ratio of 1000+. With the bike making 258 hp and power to weight ratio of 600, the weight is 860 lbs. I don’t know how much a GSX-R1000 weighs, but the performance is more similar than one might think. It’s way cheaper to do this with a bike both build cost and operating cost than buy a Veyron or F1 car. There is the Radical and Atom that could contend with a bike in performance, economy and price(after bike mods).
Nicolas says
I almost killed myself 3 times, on bikes developping between 60 and 100 HP at the crankshaft … With 260 HP at the wheel, I don’t even want to imagine … :-/
kneeslider says
Kirk, you’re right about those numbers, the ones I cited are wrong, but after doing some quick math, the bike still tops everything, easily.
If the Gixxer is 400 pounds wet, with 258hp at the wheels, you have a figure of 1290 hp/ton. If you figure 300 engine hp, the number 1500.
The F1 car, using your power and weight of 800 hp and 1400 pounds is 1143.
The Veyron is about 475 as you say.
I was quoting numbers without checking, never a good thing.
BJShredder says
Paolo started an Airfence fund for our club a few years ago, got a bunch of it installed around some of the more dangerous NASCAR walls, then …
… sort of dropped out of sight.
Looks like money isn’t reason why he’s a “former” motorcycle racer. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paolo_Tiramani)
B.J. Worsham
todd says
Don’t forget about the affect a rider has on power to weight ratios. A rider on a bike will add another 40-50 percent weight to the calculation whereas the Bugatti driver only adds 4 percent. Considering this the bike has “only” a 825 hp/ton (or 924 hp/tonne for those who use the long ton).
-todd
Sean says
Nice ‘fighter, but I’ve seen bigger power outputs.
GenWaylaid says
The world I live in has these things called “speed limits.” They render much of a sportbike’s performance curve either theoretical or illegal, depending on one’s inclinations. The upshot is that results on the usable part of the curve seem to be mostly dependent on rider skill.
Performance expectations for motorcycles are utterly removed from reality. A 300lb motorcycle with, say, 30hp (for 110bhp/tonne, which is very very good in the sports car world) and the right gearing should provide 99%+ of the fun of a 200hp monster for those of us who enjoy riding enough to want to keep our licenses. The only things lost are wanker bragging rights.
GenWaylaid says
Sorry, 220bhp/tonne. The rest of the comment stands.
GenWaylaid says
Or 132bhp/tonne, if one follow’s Todd’s more accurate approach. It’s all just a numbers game, anyway, which is my point. What really matters is that it doesn’t take much to out-accelerate any four-wheeler you’re likely to meet on the street up to the speed limit, and any power left after that is just wasted.
Nicolas says
I kind of agree with GenWaylaid … I have only 45 HP on my cranckshaft and only 2 points left on my driving license :-/ And I still outperform some 100+ HP supersports buddies in the twisty mountain roads, because as said by Motoxyogi the weight/power ratio has been grinded on the weight side …
But I guess it’s good for the testosterone level to have spacecraft rocket engines between your legs when you ride, isn’t it ? 😉
Now, it could be interesting to see this turbo GSXR on a track, what is it compared to a motoGP weight/power ratio ?
Jim says
Under most conditions 158 of those horses are pretty much wasted do to lack of traction. But I bet it does nifty burnouts.
PaulN says
I would like to see it at the drag strip. If you can keep the front wheel on the ground, or wheelie bar it, I would think you could see 8 second E.T.s without too much trouble.
Blair says
While I agree that at legal speed limits you ‘only’ need 40-50hp to get all the same thrills, I still like to have power in reserve for those times when you really need to accelerate hard, like passing vehicles, long trucks especially. I prefer to spend as little time on the wrong side of the road as possible.
Not sure what I’d do with this much power though.
motoxyogi says
Ideally the motogp bikes work out at just under 1500hp/ton assuming the engine makes 240bhp and the bike has the minimum allowed weight which is a scandoulus 150 kg for 4-cyl bikes.
todd says
Even at 45-50hp and 75mph I can still accelerate hard to pass vehicles. Maybe you’re just in the wrong gear? Remember, it is always best to keep an engine running within its power band and not lug it and expect it to accelerate.
A bike like this turbo bike would be extremely difficult to ride or keep up with other riders where I live. All that power would want to break the tire loose through the turns which is about 75% of the ride.
-todd
ROHORN says
Why? Because we are free to do so.
When we are not free to do so, we end up with Simsons, MZs, and other glorious road machines from East Germany’s Communist era. NO THANKS!
In the great automotive performance depression, also known as the ’70’s, Chris Harvey wrote about how fast cars like the Jaguar E-type marked the end of an era – and how “Blood & Thunder” bikes like the then new GS1000 Suzukis were the choice of those who wanted to go fast in Europe. We all know what has happened since then. But history could well repeat itself.
Sasha says
Riding around in Asia on a 125cc, I have to be honest, I really have no problem overtaking cars. I’m not saying I wouldn’t mind a bit more power, and it certainly has no top end, but off a light and in 90% of the riding I do I have all the power I need.
James says
I can’t recall the last time someone referred to a Prius as an “organ donation vehicle”. If you can make motorcycles as safe as cars, while still preserving the performance and the fuel economy, then do it, but until then they are simply not in the same league.
Brian says
I would like to know what you have done to the engined? I have a K7 GSX-R1000. I have a power comander and a TRE chip. I also have a yosh. slip on exhaust. If you could hit me up I would be much appreciate.