11-13-2018, 03:41 AM
mickey, there is no way Honda will coax 80 rwhp from a Euro 5-compliant, air-cooled Parallel Twin. As conservative as Honda is with the power they build into all their streetbikes—merely look at our CB1100, an air-cooled, 11400cc I4 that produces only 88 rwhp—such a motor would likely offer only 50-ish rwhp, like the Moto Guzzi V7, or even the liguid-cooled, 900cc Street Twin. How much power do Honda's current 700-800cc Vertical Twins make, and aren't they all liquid cooled? Nowhere near 80 at the wheel, I'm sure. Same thing, regarding your desired 60-ft-lbs of torque. Not going to happen. Our CB1100 only produces 66 at the wheel. Lastly, shaft drive and hydraulic valves on a cheap, modern commuter? Again, never going to happen now, and certainly not at a sub-450-lb wet weight, especially with a 5 1/2 to 6-gallon tank.
Since you want air cooling and shaft drive with 75-80 rwhp from a Twin, probably the closest you're going to get in a new bike is with the soon-to-be-released Moto Guzzi V85TT. It's an L-Twin, not a Vertical Twin, but it checks off most of your other boxes, including a 5 1/2-gallon tank, which almost nothing else offers these days, other than a select few touring and ADV bikes. No way the new Guzzi (or anything else meeting your description) comes in at under 450 lbs wet, however. They're listing it at 457, dry.
If you'd be willing to give up shaft drive and hydraulic valves, which are no longer offered as a combo these days in anything but the lamest cruisers, you could also look at the 72-rwhp SV650, the new KTM Parallel Twin family of 790 Duke/Adventure/Adventure R (seats will be too tall, and they're fairly pricey, plus you generally favor Japanese builds over Euro builds), or BMW's F800 siblings (ditto, although you do get belt drive instead of chain drive). I would also include the Yamaha MT-07, except I know you really don't like those, or the Z650, but the small Kawi puts you nowhere near 75-80 rwhp.
Probably your only bets are the new Guzzi, maybe one of the new KTM 790s, the BMW, the Tenere 700, or something much older, like a GS 850G, but even the old Suzuki was a hundred pounds over your 450-lb limit. The biggest sticking points in your list will be shaft drive and hydraulic valves mated to 80 rwhp, coming in at under 450 lbs, in any sort of non-cruiser Twin. Such an animal almost doesn't exist these days. I suspect it may never have existed.
Since you want air cooling and shaft drive with 75-80 rwhp from a Twin, probably the closest you're going to get in a new bike is with the soon-to-be-released Moto Guzzi V85TT. It's an L-Twin, not a Vertical Twin, but it checks off most of your other boxes, including a 5 1/2-gallon tank, which almost nothing else offers these days, other than a select few touring and ADV bikes. No way the new Guzzi (or anything else meeting your description) comes in at under 450 lbs wet, however. They're listing it at 457, dry.
If you'd be willing to give up shaft drive and hydraulic valves, which are no longer offered as a combo these days in anything but the lamest cruisers, you could also look at the 72-rwhp SV650, the new KTM Parallel Twin family of 790 Duke/Adventure/Adventure R (seats will be too tall, and they're fairly pricey, plus you generally favor Japanese builds over Euro builds), or BMW's F800 siblings (ditto, although you do get belt drive instead of chain drive). I would also include the Yamaha MT-07, except I know you really don't like those, or the Z650, but the small Kawi puts you nowhere near 75-80 rwhp.
Probably your only bets are the new Guzzi, maybe one of the new KTM 790s, the BMW, the Tenere 700, or something much older, like a GS 850G, but even the old Suzuki was a hundred pounds over your 450-lb limit. The biggest sticking points in your list will be shaft drive and hydraulic valves mated to 80 rwhp, coming in at under 450 lbs, in any sort of non-cruiser Twin. Such an animal almost doesn't exist these days. I suspect it may never have existed.