Engine size – When IS enough actually ENOUGH?

Thu, Jul 3, 2008

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(Would a 750 cc Vespa be a welcomed addition to the American market?)

Today I was trolling the Motoblog.it and saw a couple of things that caught my attention. One was Rossi having fun on his boat (NSFW!) and the other was not nearly as nice… it was horrible actually; a video of a sport bike rider in a fatal collision with a huge truck.

I’m not the kind of guy who finds great entertainment in that sort of thing, but curiosity got the best of me and what I saw was basically a rider unable to handle his crotch rocket at 100mph in a hard right turn. He drifted into the oncoming lane and in a last ditch effort to save himself, attempted to overshoot the lane and hit the brushy overgrowth on the other side. He didn’t make it.

That led to this question that is especially important for American riders: How much power is adequate? Do you need a bike that can get you to the speed limit? Maybe 10-15mph over the speed limit? Do you need to reach 100mph? Faster?

It seems to me, one of the biggest death-dealers on a sport bike is their speed capability. Generally Americans have had the bigger-is-better approach to… well… EVERYTHING. So when it comes to bikes, is 1200cc enough? How about 250cc? I can say this, I took on SoCal’s 405, 710 and the 605 with a Yamaha Majesty (400cc) and it had NO problems at all… even doing 95mph on highway 710… um, not that I would do anything like that… but, erhm, I imagine it to be completely possible.

So what do YOU think? Should a new rider get a scooter now or wait until the Gilera GP800 (800cc) scooter is released? How much power does one need?

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14 Responses to “Engine size – When IS enough actually ENOUGH?”

  1. supersoul Says:

    Does anyone really “need” to have 100 MPH capability on a motor scooter? I seriously doubt it unless you are a speed racer. For the average scooter enthusiast being able to accelerate smartly up to 80-85 MPH should suffice for freeway style riding. A 400cc scooter would offer the capability to maintain decent parity with the cages yet would not be so underpowered that you become a rolling road hazard.

    I love my 250cc Helix for secondary highway/byway touring at 60 MPH. You really get a chance to relax, enjoy the ride and take in the vistas at that speed. I rarely take the Helix on the freeway as it is too underpowered for that application and I-95 in south Florida is not much fun anyway. I have driven that scooter from Arkansas to south Florida without using any interstate highways and had a blast.

    I won’t be waiting for the 800cc Gilera. What would that be? $10,000 entry fee so I can do 125 MPH? Where would you go to ride it at speed and why? I’s rather live a little longer to ride a lot slower.

    Reply

  2. Ben Says:

    enough to do throttle wheelies! :)

    Reply

  3. scgt Says:

    Seriously gravitating toward a 500cc on three-wheels (you guessed it–MP3 500, Bingo)! Basically I have grown pretty tired of learning how to get up by falling down. Ouch! Last time I looked around, most people I ride with are 40 or above, and nobody is getting any younger. Believe me, it hurts when you fall…for a f@$king long time!

    Lorenzo

    Reply

  4. Mod Vespa Says:

    I would wait until the 800cc Gilera is released.

    Reply

  5. Enviromoto Says:

    To each their own. If it sells they will make it.

    Reply

  6. Kyle Says:

    The Gilera GP800 is fantastic

    And there is generally a limit to how much power you can have, although I don’t like to associate power with speeds. A more powerful bike isn’t just for going faster in straight line speed, it’s safer for overtaking etc where you have the extra bit required on tap to make them safer and easier.

    Kyle – http://www.tunemyscooter.com

    Reply

  7. Steve Says:

    supersoul! I see, you take more of a “burning candle” approach to life as opposed to the “lit firecracker fuse”. I think, for many… including myself, the one-time “firecracker” lifestyle gradually becomes the “candle” as the years pass and the stakes get higher. That’s the reason you will usually catch me riding with too much protection. Sure it’s a bit icky to sit and sweat in traffic, but sweat will wash off at the end of the day and my wife and kids don’t mind if I stink, or rather “smell manly”.

    ben! Hrm… Throttle wheelies, eh? Then a tuned 70cc 2-stroker will do ya. You could ride to work on a wheelie!

    scgt! Yeah, I rode one of those babies while I was in Cali last week. Does she have enough power to get on the freeway? Well, I tested her 0-60 and came up with 8.8 seconds. So, “yes”… freeway on ramps should not be an issue.

    mod vespa! So, “wait for the Gilera 800″, eh? I hope to be the first to put her through her paces when Piaggio finally announces them for the US market. Will it possibly be the first maxi scooter to pull a wheelie?! I… probably won’t find that out.

    enviromoto! Yeah, but that’s a strange catch-22 though, isn’t it? That’s why we have such a hard time finding something like the iphone of scooters or cars… No one wants to make a miracle machine because no one is sure that someone will actually buy the miracle machine. The closest thing I can think of was the Segway.

    Hey kyle! My Public Relations Writing teacher always told the class that the safest car on the road was the Corvette. He said it had once saved his life when he was stuck in traffic on a bridge and glimpsed a huge truck rolling up in his rear view. He reacted by stompin’ on the gas and yanking her into the inside shoulder of the road. When he looked to his right he saw the truck firmly planted into the car that was once ahead of him. If he were in a Tata Nano, he may not have faired as well.

    Reply

  8. jaejae Says:

    i think “bigger” in all sense of the word is in every human nature. people just find it overwhelmingly self-satisfying knowing that theirs is bigger.. so to speak!

    back in the philippines (i now live in burlington, ontario), i used to own and ride some scooters & mopeds from the classic 50cc 2-stroker Honda Tact to 150cc 4T Aprilia Area 51 china repli Zongshen ZS150 T-8. and my favorite moped SYM Magic 125RR.

    for me, cruising at 60MPH on a 150cc 4T scoot or 125cc 4T moped is just as exhilirating and fun like riding 400cc or even bigger scoot. besides, how much fun can you get enjoying the ride & the sceneries if you’re hitting more than 60MPH? riding should be both fun & safe. and getting your ass on a smaller yet reasonably capable scooter warrants more safety than getting on a croach rocket.

    though i still have to get my scoot here in ontario soon (i’m a big taiwan-brand fan so i’m eyeing either a SYM RV250 or GTS250 or a Kymco Bet&Win 250). for now, i’ll just enjoy reminiscing and reading your blogs!

    Reply

  9. Keys Says:

    …um, you do it just for the sheer joy of doing something different and unthought of…NOT for any other reason. I’d do it!! (You KNOW I would, don’t you, Steve)

    Reply

  10. reddog Says:

    When I was a 128 lb 17 year old, I had a BSA 650 Lightning Rocket. I don’t know how fast it went, it didn’t have a speedometer. It went plenty fast and had more power than anyone needs. Today I have a GZ250 and a Honda Spree. Mostly I ride the Spree. It is pure fun. What I would really like is one of those high tech, Thai Honda 125cc underbones.

    Anybody that needs a liter or more of displacement needs to see a shrink.

    Reply

  11. Enviromoto Says:

    It seems as though most people have somthing to prove. Whether its expressed thru speed, jumping, track times, watermellon spitting it all comes back to the same old thing

    “hey ya’ll watch this !”

    I personally feel anything more than 600cc is a waste.

    A segway for a miricle machine eh? Maybe if they made a segway that did 80!
    Hmmmmmmmmm.

    Reply

  12. Anonymous Says:

    I ride a Burgman 650 Exec. I am not an especially fast or over aggressive rider but there are times when I wish I had a little better freeway acceleration to pass, merge or avoid potentially dangerous situations. I also would like larger tires and a more robust suspension. All this being said, I do not want a “real motorcycle” as some would call it.
    I like the scooter general form factor and I am excited to see it sized up to possibly 900 cc in the near future. I will happily trade up to a Gilera GP800 if it becomes available and has ABS or perhaps a Honda E4-01 or a big BMW scooter if they build it. Or maybe even that suzuki G-strider Concept.
    So for me 650 is suficcient for now but I am one of those that would like more.

    Reply

  13. jaejae Says:

    underdogg… you should see Yamaha’s Spark & Suzuki Raider. these are the more potent underbones out there in asia. Honda Wave, though, is the most popular.

    Reply

  14. Anonymous Says:

    http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1208/is_/ai_n16520469
    Why I didn’t choose a powerful motorcycle.

    Reply

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