Why do you (or don't you) prefer inline 4s to Twins?

[Hondahawkrider_imp]

I've owned multiple i4's, v4's, v2, singles 2s &4s, except only one i2, and no triples..

For the most part I'm a vtwin guy, I like the linear powerband, without having to scream the rpms to stay in the power like the i4s. Not to mention torque..

Every vtwin I've owned, vtr, 990adv, sv650, hawk gt, felt visceral. There was always something you had to learn about em to ride em fast.. When you did you felt like you accomplished something. Hail the conquering hero, I guess. I love the engine braking as well for setup of turns

I4's it was just keep the rpm up and bobs your uncle..

I forget who said it, maybe Kenny Roberts, but on a vtwin it's fast into a turn, on a I4's it's fast outta a turn. The Vtwin is all about setup and diving into and turn and holding the power, it can be brutal if you screw up your line. An I4's is more the thinking mans game and all setup, as once you can see thru a turn and know where the apex is at it's go time. You can come thru the apex and outta the turn like a rocket..

You'd think the v4 would be the best of both, it may even be but it's like riding a turbine, has power everywhere and neutral.. I find em kinda soulless. Don't get me wrong, there are great bikes, but I just don't connect..

I was a little apprehensive about the cb1100 but it's got decent torque and enough power.. A good rider can extract a fair bit more that one expects.

I think it's like that with small I-4's but certainly not like that with liter I-4's which have power everywhere. I ride my liter I -4's at rpms that would have twins huffing and puffing and shuddering. Like I said you can come to a small town doing 55, run it down to 25 or 30 mph in high gear rolling thru town and then just roll it back up to 55 on the other side without even shifting. Especially Euro twins which don't seem to like to run below 4000 rpms. My nephew's SV650 V twin is like that too. When I ride it I have to run at least 1000 rpms higher than on my I4. I rarely run my CB over 3500 rpms.

Displacement is the ticket to having power down low, while cylinder multiplication is a recipe for high rpm performance as well. Honda learned that in GP racing.

That hasn't been my experience, ie small i4's are different than big i4's.. To me the reaction is the same, it's just how much power you gets

If you look at a standard vtwin hp curve, it's fairly linear.. faster you twist the throttle the more power you get and it's proportional. A I-4 is lop sided. The faster you twist the throttle, you get more power, but after 8-9k you get and extra burst of power.

The i4's around town, especially liter bikes are easy. You got a ton of power at your command, but as long as you keep the Rpms below 8k its fairly sedate. It's still a liter bike so even at low power it's still power. Vtwins around town normally require far more throttle contol i.e. less twisting as it's power comes on sooner..

My 1st liter i4 was a first year gen1 fz1 that was uncorked to produce r1 power :-). Why, cuz I could, and in hindsight, I was a moron. I was coming off a vtr liter vtwin which I was a capable rider. The fz1 had far more power and different characteristics which could of ended badly. Fortunately, thru luck and some maturity, I picked up a slightly neglected bandit 400, ie tiny i4. This bike taught me all about i4's. While I owned I also had a hawk gt (and for a month a sv650).

The little vtwins were responsive and fun once you got the knack. They inspired the same kinda behavior one has with go karts ;-). The bandit 400 in comparison was a huge disappointment till I changed my riding style. Unlike a liter i4 which has power down low, let me assure you a 400cc does NOT. That said, if you got the rpms up, it would take off like a shot. It was like a light switch, unfortunately it worked the other way too, drop the rpms, and you were done if you didn't get em up quickly. The fz1 exhibited the same characteristics (as has every other liter sports bike I have ridden) it's just the low end of the scale on a liter is usable. I won't argue that it part of the appeal to liter bikes, but it's also one of the reasons many inexperienced crash em (Highside), as they don't have experience on the top end of it. I mean my fz1 could easily pull hard till 140 (it'd go faster but I needed a looooong straight), it could do 100 easily. I sold it to a buddy (who know has 80k on it, as they last forever) as I found myself doing 75-80 on 25-35 mph roads.. I was either gonna hurt myself badly or lose my license..