Stage 2 WRX vs. Kawasaki Vulcan 750...?

[RayfieldsWRX]

So I depart the freeway, and on the exit ramp I notice that I'm behind my coworker on his Vulcan. We're both making a right onto a main artery that leads to the backroads around our workplace. No traffic at all, posted speed limit of 55, so he takes off like a bat out of hell...and of course I get on it too, so I can watch this bike pull away from me.

Except that it doesn't.
He's taching it up (audio cues only, I really have no idea how high he's revving...he has some kind of aftermarket exhaust, so it's pretty easy to hear), and shifting hard (bike is shifting back hard on it's suspension), but I reel him in by the time we both reach 60, which is about normal cruising speed for this road. We reached a stoplight, repeated the exercise... same result. I could see him looking in the mirror as he accelerated.

Now granted, it was a cool'ish morning for July..mid 60's, and the car felt good, but shouldn't any decent Japanese 750, even a cruiser like that, be able to slaughter an OTS-mapped Cobb stage 2 wagon? What kind of numbers do those bikes run?

Just seemed odd.

[jaqattack02]

I dunno, seems to me that a cruising bike would be like a cruising car when it comes to gearing, geared for top end, not acceleration. Those big engines have plenty of torque, so they don't need to gear them for acceleration down low. It would probably eat you for lunch on the highway though.

[RayfieldsWRX]

I dunno, seems to me that a cruising bike would be like a cruising car when it comes to gearing, geared for top end, not acceleration. Those big engines have plenty of torque, so they don't need to gear them for acceleration down low. It would probably eat you for lunch on the highway though.

Ah, gearing. That might make some sense. I guess I'm just surprised, from a power-to-weight point of view. My CBR600 would have annihilated any car that I've ever owned in a 0-60, even with me driving. Granted, it was a sportbike, so geared differently.

[jaqattack02]

Ah, gearing. That might make some sense. I guess I'm just surprised, from a power-to-weight point of view. My CBR600 would have annihilated any car that I've ever owned in a 0-60, even with me driving. Granted, it was a sportbike, so geared differently.

Of course this is just me making some assumptions/educated guesses, because I don't know all that much about cruisers.

[justin.jordan2]

Ah, gearing. That might make some sense. I guess I'm just surprised, from a power-to-weight point of view. My CBR600 would have annihilated any car that I've ever owned in a 0-60, even with me driving. Granted, it was a sportbike, so geared differently.

yea i have a old cbr 600 honda hurricane and that bike being 425 lbs dry would still pull away from a zo6 corvette. but i also had brand new wisco pistons.

[superbikemike]

750 Vtwin is a pretty small motor for a cruiser. Can't be compaired to an inline 4 sportbike. I'm not surprised he couldn't pull on you.

[justin.jordan2]

750 Vtwin is a pretty small motor for a cruiser. Can't be compaired to an inline 4 sportbike. I'm not surprised he couldn't pull on you.

THOSE BIKES have a lot of torque no hp though.

[Trainrex]

I happen to own a 750 Vulcan with straight pipes, and a Stage 4 WRX.

My WRX at this point will rape my Vulcan. A stage 2 will be almost dead even. Vulcan 750's run low 13's with a good launch and redlining every gear. Exactly stage 2 territory. No ball of fire, but very comfortable.

Edit:
Also, most cruisers aren't made for speed. They are made to be comfortable. The have gobs of low end torque, but are dead on top. After 5000rpm my bike doesn't do anything but make noise. On the other side of the coin I can cruise at 25mph in 5th gear, pin the throttle at 1200rpm or so and still accelerate up a hill without a problem. A 750 4cyl would horribly bog out under those conditions.

[RayfieldsWRX]

I guess my only frame of reference is sportbikes. My 600cc bike was (magazine racing) supposed to be an 11 second bike. It was just ridiculously faster than any car that I was likely to compare it against. I guess I was thinking that a 750cc cruiser would still be a 12 second vehicle. Shows what I know.

[Trainrex]

I guess my only frame of reference is sportbikes. My 600cc bike was (magazine racing) supposed to be an 11 second bike. It was just ridiculously faster than any car that I was likely to compare it against. I guess I was thinking that a 750cc cruiser would still be a 12 second vehicle. Shows what I know.

Yeah, they are totally different animals. Your CBR was made for one thing and one thing only - speed.

CBR - Uncomfortable riding position for cruising but conducive to racing and cornering/braking.

Vulcan - Comfortable riding position for cruising, but horrible for racing and cornering/braking.

CBR - 600cc 4cyl engine. Small displacement high winding 4cyl with peak power made at the upper end of the RPM scale. - Excellent for racing applications. Needs to be revved high to get power.

Vulcan - 750cc V-twin engine. Low revving V-twin engine that produces a very broad power range. Great for everyday cruising, but poor for racing applications. Torque and power are always available with minimal shifting.

Most cruisers (with the exception of a few very large displacement models) are high 12 to 14 second bikes. Plenty of power that is always there for every day riding.

[RayfieldsWRX]

My CBR was fine for trips...when I was 25 years old. Even then, my whole body would be buzzing from the incessant vibration after a few hours in the saddle.

It did sound/feel glorious at 13,000 rpm, though.