had some fun with a K1600GT

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...so I'm cruising through the desert a couple of weeks ago, minding my own business, loafing along on my FJR at about 60.

Well, up in the sky behind me comes this smartass Air Force dude in his fancy, over-priced F-15. He pulls alongside me and we size each other up.

Pffft. This guy obviously doesn't know what he's dealing with. I downshift into 2nd and you shoulda seen the look on his face!

............jus' sayin'.

F-15_takeoff.jpg
Shit! Same thing happened to me except the plane was upside down right over my head and the freakin' pilot flipped me the bird! I heard he got his though. He was showing off and flew through another jet's stream and killed his partner during an ejection!

 
I also rode with a guy on a 2011 Concours today, and he said he thought the FJR was quicker. He came up to me asking what size engine the FJR had after riding a couple hundred miles together. I'm pretty sure the FJR is quicker, although we did not do any side by side roll-ons.
Assuming that you're both in the best gear for acceleration at the time the roll-on race begins, and that you both weigh about the same, the FJR is quicker only at lower speeds (below about 50mph, IIRC). I'll post a fancy graph this evening. I'll also try to get data for K1600GT and include it in the graph.

 
Shit! Same thing happened to me except the plane was upside down right over my head and the freakin' pilot flipped me the bird! I heard he got his though. He was showing off and flew through another jet's stream and killed his partner during an ejection!
That showed him I guess. :unsure: Or maybe not...it was his partner that got killed.

Got a link to reference your anecdote?

 
Shit! Same thing happened to me except the plane was upside down right over my head and the freakin' pilot flipped me the bird! I heard he got his though. He was showing off and flew through another jet's stream and killed his partner during an ejection!
That showed him I guess. :unsure: Or maybe not...it was his partner that got killed.

Got a link to reference your anecdote?
I think I remember seeing that too.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092099/

 
Shit! Same thing happened to me except the plane was upside down right over my head and the freakin' pilot flipped me the bird! I heard he got his though. He was showing off and flew through another jet's stream and killed his partner during an ejection!
That showed him I guess. :unsure: Or maybe not...it was his partner that got killed.

Got a link to reference your anecdote?
I think I remember seeing that too.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092099/
Silly me... :lol: :lol: :lol:

 
Here's the results of the FJR/C14/K1600GT acceleration comparison. I also included a Harley Street Glide (with the 103"/1700cc engine) and a ZX-14 for perspective.

accel_fjr_c14_k16.png


That is using torque curve data from stock vehicles and assuming the same weight rider (155lbs) on all vehicles.

 
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So in summary Pickles, unless you're riding a ZX14 or an HD it really doesn't matter one helluva lot... ;)

I'll just stick with the good 'ol FJR!

--G

 
And for those of you that are thinking, "I don't care about racing fast in a straight line. I want usable passing power on the freeway", here's a top-gear acceleration comparison. The C14 appears twice on this one because its top gear is not truly a fair comparison. Its 6th gear is pretty weak, but its 5th gear is right there in the FJR and K1600GT range.

top_gear_fjr_c14_k16.png


 
So in summary Pickles, unless you're riding a ZX14 or an HD it really doesn't matter one helluva lot... ;)
Well.. it all depends on the speed that you start the race and how long you race. The K1600GT has quite a significant advantage over the FJR and C14 below 45mph, and the C14 would noticeably pull away from the FJR and K1600GT above 55mph.

But they are all in the same league as each other, which is nowhere near a ZX-14, but a heck of a lot faster than a Harley :)

 
Yeah... if only we could get rid of all that pesky air, our bikes would be so much faster! We'd hit the rev limiter in 5th somewhere just above 170mph, and just before hitting the rev limiter, we'd be accelerating as fast as we currently do at about 110mph.

Then again, the weight of the giant tank of compressed air we'd have to carry for both rider and engine to breathe would probably kill the acceleration.

BTW - air resistance is factored into those graphs. They represent actual acceleration that you would experience on the road at 100% throttle.

 
And for those of you that are thinking, "I don't care about racing fast in a straight line. I want usable passing power on the freeway", here's a top-gear acceleration comparison. The C14 appears twice on this one because its top gear is not truly a fair comparison. Its 6th gear is pretty weak, but its 5th gear is right there in the FJR and K1600GT range.

top_gear_fjr_c14_k16.png
Neat graph UP, I've got a couple of questions/obervations.

It appears that the C14 has a higher terminal speed in 5th than it does in 6th.

Is the FJR's overall gearing closer to the C14 in 5th or 6th?

Is the Beemer in 5th or 6th in this graph?

 
... I'm rather surprised myself that the FJ is quicker considering the superior engineering of the BMW
Bull sheeeet.

It is now 2011.

The FJR has been out since 2001. BMW's supposed superior engineering has taken 10 years to try to get to where the FJR was 10 years ago.

Superior engineering my @ss.

Drink the koolaid if you want, but don't make me breathe the same fumes.

Perhaps but if the bike was a K 1300 GT up aganst the FJR. The GT would smoke the FJR hands down.

 
Perhaps but if the bike was a K 1300 GT up aganst the FJR. The GT would smoke the FJR hands down.
That may be true...but I'm done with the supposed "superior engineering" of BMW. It ain't there.

If they put out a superior motorcycle for the same cost and components as Yamaha...then I would accede to superior engineering...

...but if you put more expensive components in a bike...it better damn well perform better. That doesn't make it better engineered...it just makes it more expensive.

As ionbeam stated above, it's shocking that a bike that costs 40% more than the FJR doesn't just blow the wheels off the FJR...which is a 10 year old bike.

"superior engineering"...I don't think so.

More expensive? Yes.

 
Is there a graph that takes twisty roads into account? :rolleyes:
Yes there is Wheatie, the Don Stanley seat of the pants Twisty-O-Meter. I now have 6K+ miles on my 2012 BMW K1600GT "Gisele" and 60K+ miles on my 2003 Yamaha FJR 1300 "Lucy Liu"!

Here is the bottom line: Both machines will turn 11 second flat quarter miles and while Lucy has a top speed of 145mph, her sister Gisele has a top speed of 155mph. Once rolling, since they are both heavy machines, they are equally nimble on twisty roads; I had a great chance to test that out in Northern New Mexico last month as Ride Leader of SW-FOG.

Acceleration, handling, top speed and all other M/C factors are so similar between both machines I almost have to look at the paint color while rolling at speed to see which machine I am on. No kidding around, their performance factors are amazingly similar to each other!

There's a great price difference: I paid $22,500 for Gisele used three months ago and I paid $13,250 OTD new for Lucy in September, 2002. But, I started riding street March of 1965, 47 years ago, and I've never once let price be a factor in to which bike I'll be purchasing next!

I will be in Castlegar, Briitsh Columbia next June for NAFO / CFR 2012, Mark I invite you to try Gisele out; you will really be surprised how closely the two machines resemble each other; Gisele weighs 50 lbs. more, but she has 15 more horsepower. Both are great motos!

 
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