Super chargers

[Shea]

Man, have been reading about these alot. Seems turbo lag on a motorcycle can be scary and a super charger would be more of the appropriate route. I am soooooo tempted to take the dive.

Anyone have any knowledge on these? Life of the super charger, possible wear and tear on the engine? I think it would easily put me over the 100ft-lbs mark for torque and probably 120hp for my Buell. That is very tempting.

[azoazc]

Didn't you just make an indirect reference to you being "poor people" in the tailbag thread?

Originally Posted by Shea

Hey, they is some po' folk in da world.

[Shea]

LOL I said it was tempting, not "I can afford it". It would be something I would have to save up for for quite a long time.

[viper94bite]

and how much would that cost to do?

[intimid8er]

Originally Posted by viper94bite

and how much would that cost to do?

Roughly $5K.



Shea... Like any performance part, there is no guarantee on engine life after it's installed. As long as the boost or psi in supercharger speak is set low, you can expect decent life from your stock engine. Although, that does depend on your right wrist .

But if you insist on dialing in about 15 psi. and riding wide open all the time, I'd expect you'd have a grenade between your thighs. That kind of boost usually requires a high performance rebuild, and even then, engine life isn't very long. Unless you are racing, the gains aren't that impressive for that kind of dough. Spend your money on a good jet-kit/or fuel computer if it's FI, Vance and Hines exhaust, decent intake and enjoy!

[viper94bite]

dang! for that kind of money I think I would just sell the buell and buy a jap supersport. if you want 120hp theres plenty of bikes that do that stock. another thousand or so into mods and get even more. Just my thoughts.

[intimid8er]

Originally Posted by viper94bite

dang! for that kind of money I think I would just sell the buell and buy a jap supersport. if you want 120hp theres plenty of bikes that do that stock. another thousand or so into mods and get even more. Just my thoughts.

His bike is pretty close to that number as it comes from the factory Ray.

That is my reasons for loving the Buell. If you've seen my rants about buying a wrecked Buell, and putting it in the frame of my choice. Reason if I were to take a stock Harley Sportster engine, and try and wring the type of horsepower/torque that a stock Buell makes (they use Sportster engines), it'd cost well over 5K above and beyond the cost of acquiring the Sporty engine, and even then, you probably won't even touch the Buell's numbers. Damn, you can get a complete running Thunderbolt for about $3500, and you could re-use the forks, wheels, etc.....

[Clint]

There's an ad for a Harley blower in the current Cycle World. It sells for $5k and supposedly installs in a few hours. It puts out 4-6psi. You don't see real high boost from blowers, so I doubt you're risking the engine.

[viper94bite]

Originally Posted by intimid8er

His bike is pretty close to that number as it comes from the factory Ray.

That is my reasons for loving the Buell. If you've seen my rants about buying a wrecked Buell, and putting it in the frame of my choice. Reason if I were to take a stock Harley Sportster engine, and try and wring the type of horsepower/torque that a stock Buell makes (they use Sportster engines), it'd cost well over 5K above and beyond the cost of acquiring the Sporty engine, and even then, you probably won't even touch the Buell's numbers. Damn, you can get a complete running Thunderbolt for about $3500, and you could re-use the forks, wheels, etc.....

well i'm just saying it seems pricey to be only getting to 120. Especially if its almost there already. Hell I spent 6k on my 03 zzr12 and it puts out over that without mods. Guess i'm being to practicall for once in my life. Oh well to each their own.

[Shea]

Originally Posted by viper94bite

dang! for that kind of money I think I would just sell the buell and buy a jap supersport. if you want 120hp theres plenty of bikes that do that stock. another thousand or so into mods and get even more. Just my thoughts.

The point of a super charger is not all horsepower though. It is more low end torque, where as with a turbo, you get more high end horse power. Find me a jap super bike, other than a 'Busa, that has over 100ft-lbs of torque. Hell, find me an inline four that matches my 85ft-lbs of torque factory. Not everyone wants top end power. In my area, top end is not as usable as low end. That would be why I went with the bike I did.

[azoazc]

I don't know about the exact number but I have a Bandit 1200 that does just fine in the torque department. Damn inline fours. In fact the torque was enough that I won a drag race against a Sportster using only 3rd gear. from take off to the end. That was my way of giving him a handicap.

[Shea]

Originally Posted by azoazc

I don't know about the exact number but I have a Bandit 1200 that does just fine in the torque department. Damn inline fours. In fact the torque was enough that I won a drag race against a Sportster using only 3rd gear. from take off to the end. That was my way of giving him a handicap.

Your bragging about beating a cruiser? Sorry, but your Bandit is not going to "Beat my bike using only third gear".

The XL Evolution 1200 engine, sportster 1200, is rated at 70 peak horsepower at 6000 rpm and 79 ft. lbs. of torque at 3500 rpm. This is FAR less then my bike's ratings. Beating that with a much lighter sport bike isn't really something I would think is brag worthy. BTW, you sure it wasn't an 883? They look almost exactly the same. So, you pulled out in third gear and raced him to the next light? Was it a rolling start? Those sportsters are not made for high speeds, so your rolling start wouldn't be fair at all.
Not sure what you were trying to prove, but it doesn't sound like much.

[azoazc]

1. I wasn't proving my point, I was disproving the other guys point. He called me out!

2. It wasn't a rolling start.

3. Definately a 1200. It's my dad's friend Mike's kid. I know him well.

4. I know I would have to shift to take a Buell (except the Blast). They are ALOT better than the Harley's they are descended from.


Not starting an arguement or bragging. If I want to brag I'll have my friend Tommy tell you what I did to him and his GSXR-1000 on the twisties last summer.

[Shea]

Ahhh, I see. Well, I can't say that I am, or ever was, impressed with the Blast. It didn't have a good rep when it first came out with reliability, but now that it's finally a decent bike, I guess it's good for people looking for a scoot bike (point A to point B).

I dunno why, I have always just loved the feeling of torque. The Buell gives that to me without the expense of too much horse power. It's one of those bikes that you either love or hate. I like the Bandit 1200s, the Z1000 by Kawi and the FZ too, but I just think I would get bored of them. Their just isn't anything I find unique about them, but don't doubt they are good bikes.

[inspiron]

WHY would you need more power than that Buell puts out? If you are riding on the street, the Buell is more than overpowered as it is. If you are riding on a track, the go pick up a Kawa ZZR1400, Yamaha R1 or Suzuki GSX-R 1000. You'll have 170+ horses on the road and a manufacturer's warranty.

[viper94bite]

Originally Posted by Shea

The point of a super charger is not all horsepower though. It is more low end torque, where as with a turbo, you get more high end horse power. Find me a jap super bike, other than a 'Busa, that has over 100ft-lbs of torque. Hell, find me an inline four that matches my 85ft-lbs of torque factory. Not everyone wants top end power. In my area, top end is not as usable as low end. That would be why I went with the bike I did.

well mine's no super bike but i'm putting out about 90-92 ft lbs

[Shea]

Originally Posted by viper94bite

well mine's no super bike but i'm putting out about 90-92 ft lbs

A sport tourer that weight and size, they needed to put all that hp and torque in it. It may not be classified as a super bike, but it uses a super bike engine, right? It's hardly comparable too, when you consider the ZX12r doesn't even put out that much power.

[Clint]

I'm a little confused, Shea. Are you speaking in crankshaft numbers or rear wheel? In motorcycling, all is hot air that's not at the wheel. This report puts your bike at 81 hp and 68 lbs-ft. Of course dynos vary, but that's quite a descrepancy from your claims.

For sake of comparision, my Bandit was making 70 lbs-ft and 101 hp stock.

[Shea]

http://www.sportrider.com/bikes/2004...4_buell_xb12s/

Every source I find is using factory claims. I have seen a dyno on badweb that was a little higher than that for the xb12 though. That was stock too.

[Shea]

Just found someone mentioned they were reading the specs that were tested in an '03 issue of Motorcyclist magazine and dyno tests showed HP = 92.2 @ 6750 TQ = 71.9 @ 5750 - 1/4 = 11.38 @ 117.59. That's still not bad and enough for me. I would have liked ot see that torque be a little higher, but the bike runs good, so I won't complain.

I also see top speed is about 127 mph. I don't believe that either. At 65 mph, I am only taching at 2500 RPMs, give or take a couple. My guess would be 140mph, even though the speedo goes to 160 and the dealer told me top speed was 160, but I don't believe speedos.