Let's see those bikes

You did have a super hawk though before. . Big difference between any ducati, and a super hawk. No offence meant, but somehow Honda took all the fun out of a v twin literbike on that one.

 

You couldn't be more wrong Horkn, sorry! BTW it has no issues with the rear shock linkage LOL!

 

Download the PDF I shared, go right to page 49... Cycle World '97 VTR vs Buell S3 vs Zuki TLS.

VTR1000.pdf
EDIT: this compilation is chock full of these 2 bike being compared back to back.

 

Lol, have you ever ridden a tls? I rode a super hawk and was left with the typical Honda numbness. Not as much fun as it should've been. The vtr is not a bad bike, far from it.

The TL has no rear shock. It's a rotary damper . As funky as the rotary damper is, it handles very well. If the rear rotary damper was that bad i would've swapped it out for one of the readily available traditional rear shock conversions. At the racetrack was the only place that the rear damper on the TLS had issues from the oil getting hot and causing some handling issues. You'd never get that on street.
Fwiw, the rear shock on the vtr had it's share of issues too, not to mention the fork was more bargain bin.
All that weird widowmaker press the original tls got upon introduction only made it more endearing to the motorcycling community.

 

Oh yeah, I'm well aware of all the comparisons. Sport Twins 1997

I've ridden them both to know the difference as well. Looks are subjective, performance data isn't.

 

You can have the faster track bike (performance data), I want the better street bike. Mine dyno'd @ 108hp and I have an Ohlins rear shock... RaceTech fork springs + many many other mods. And her nickname isn't widowmaker

 

Back to our regularly scheduled program, lol.




Tonight I just hooked up my DDA, Ducati Data Acquisition unit. Using the lap function, I can upload to my laptop (or app) bike data such as rpm, coolant temp, speed, gear selction etc and view it on a neat little chart.

 

Eh, I've made mine a better street bike than it was with the riser bars, screen, and Corbin seat. . The full yosh pipes, modded airbox with BMC race filter and yosh box efi tune gave it a good amount of power over the original 114 hp. 121 rw hp and 78 rw tq last dyno.

The widowmaker moniker was made specifically because the steep head angle and no factory steering damper got a few hamfisted euro journalists into slappy situations. Once retrofitted ( recall by Suzuki in 97) with the steering damper, those issues went away. Later models had detuned ECU's, since if it's too much fun, goober it. Lol
I can say I got a moderate tank slapper out of " the kink" at Road America once, even with the damper. However, any big bore bike can get those on a track. There was a piped yellow vtr there that day I did my first track day at RA. Ketchup was much faster than mustard.

If anything, me owning and riding the original widowmaker with stock suspension and elevated power for 15+ years proves it wasn't as untamable as some moto journalists would have liked you to believe. I did hate the stock clipons on the TLS though, they were downright uncomfortable.

After all, no bike is perfect right out of the box.

 

I guess that depends on your tastes and your definition of perfect. My tastes are pretty simple.

 

As a former small engine repair guy, I warn people all the time about ethanol...in one ear and out the other mostly. When I saw that scooter, "Vespa & Piaggio" were the words that ran through my mind.

When I was shopping for a bike, position and comfort were a necessity due to a prematurely worn out back. It just so happens that I ended up with a fantastic motorcycle! Rode to work again today and had a little fun lifting the front wheel. She's only packing 105 or so ponies, but not bad for a little 675cc engine. I've left it stock. Considered an exhaust upgrade, but didn't want the noise and it's got all the power I'll ever need as is.

Gratuitous glamour shot from last fall

 

Been logging some seat time in the evenings, rolling in at midnite last 2 nites, low speed backroads (lotsa' critters moving around) To feel the different temperatures, different smells..it's very rural around here,,only passed 2 cars in 3 hours of riding.

 

If I had the choice that would be great, but I don't, so have to go with the blend. Oh sure, the website says I can get it 18 miles away, but it only comes in quart cans (racing fuel) - comes out to >$22/gal. Yeah, nope. any place that actually sells E0 regular gas (from a pump) is way up north and I ain't got a couple hours to burn every 3 days to go get gas (not to mention it would cost me 1/3 tank just to get it.

 

That e-fuel is really an issue with small engines,,replaced several fuel lines on weedeaters and chainsaws.
Corn fuel is a sham,,it 's great for feed and booze, not so much for fuel.

 

I have seen an increasing number of places to buy near me. The end game of course is to get it out of all the fuel. The big corn lobby isn't really keen on that though and will fight hard for it to stay. I'm fairly certain it is actually making gasoline more expensive than it should be at this point. Lots of roundup and liquid nitrogen is used in its propagation, so are the "environmental savings" really there? Startron & Seafoam are my recommendations to lessen the effects. Keep your fuel containers sealed up tight also to combat moisture draw.

 

Word is they are trying for an increase in %! Just my experience/opinion so take it for that. I think the main problem with eth is when left sit. You keep that engine running on a regular basis and it's usually not a problem. And I do understand why... fossil fuels will not last forever. That doesn't mean I like it

Very nice scoot RCBS . 105 is very respectable for 675. I've ridden with a fellow who had a 1050 Tiger. Man that thing sounded sweet! As you mentioned, I too was going for a more comfortable riding position and boy did I find it. I've been riding to work every day it isn't raining and loving the Duc more each ride.

 

OK I am dumber than a post with mechanics but knock on wood....My 21 year old rider has never had a problem with the new ethanol fuel I just treat gas left in it with the stuff to treat gas with...Lol can't remember the name right now...It fires right up in the spring...Lucky I guess....

 

As long as ran regularly and some kind of phase separation treatment is used, usually ok. The shop where I work had 4 or 5 generators that came in this week due to a power outage. They had been left to sit for a while and of course failed when needed most. There is no good reason to have it in the fuel...politics and bribery...I mean lobbying.

 

Thank you. It is an absolute hoot to ride. The engine is just great. Good torque available across the rpms...flat like a table top and you get to rev out to nearly 12k. I must admit that I rarely see much north of 10k in my riding unless I'm feeling a little hooligany. If I were rich, I'd have a 1050 Speed Triple as well as the 675 Street. It's kind of nice having a Triumph...the Hog riders seem to be more receptive to a Triumph "crotch rocket" than they are of others. Due to the prolific Bonneville's, I do get some confused looks when I say I have a Triumph and then people lay eyes on it for the first time. Also, did I mention that the engine is great? Ha! It brings me a lot of smiles and I'd be hard pressed to trade it for any other bike. I hope I never have to part ways with it.

 

Eh, I'm not so scared of e10 as some people are. I've run it in everything, little, big, 2 stroke 4 stroke. It doesn't matter. I've been running it for about 25 years now.

My 029 super has the original fuel line, carb, etc and it's 15-16 yrs old. It's only ever seen e10 since new, besides the few random tanks up North over the years, and the couple of cans of the ready mix fuel a couple years back.

 

Not lucky. In reality you don't even need to use treatment to store it.

The Wood Wolverine , it won't go above 10%. Not only has the AMA fought that tooth and nail, but most cars on the road can't handle anything over e10. So you have the auto industry fighting that e15 proposal. Then small engines manufacturers, from sleds to saws, to ATVs, that's some big opponents for those trying to make 15% ethanol fuel the standard.

Bikes, yeah are a small amount of vehicles, but automakers? Yeah, that's not a winnable fight.