08-15-2017, 11:30 AM
Lets see: a single cylinder 4 stroke, a twin two and a four stroke, an inline triple two stroke, a four opposed, a vee four, two BMW inline fours, and two Honda inline fours.
For absolute smoothness, from (suspect) long term memory, the triple two stroke was incredibly smooth. But the power curve was very peaky. I must say the vee four ST11 is my current favorite motor. One noticeable thing about longitudinally mounted engines like the v4 is the tendency to torque steer under acceleration. It's noticeable but not really a problem. The BMW K100s did this also.
Next is this sweet CB11. Mated with the rest of the bike this inline four is perfect. I don't notice any 'buzziness' with it. The inline four CB650 isn't what I would call memorable, but I like the old school of the entire bike. I think the essential motorcycle configuration was perfected in the 80's. As such, the inline four is the quintessential motorcycle engine.
The K100s inline fours were smooth but had a bit ... of something the devotees call 'character'. The performance curve was 'ho hum' until about 5k rpm then it woke up. My wife said they sounded like angry sewing machines.
The "best" motor? I need to know what kind of bike it is going into, the task it is to perform, and then it really all comes down to what the owner likes the best. The beauty of motorcycles is that the variety is so great that there is something for every ones taste. Then there is customization...
Jim
For absolute smoothness, from (suspect) long term memory, the triple two stroke was incredibly smooth. But the power curve was very peaky. I must say the vee four ST11 is my current favorite motor. One noticeable thing about longitudinally mounted engines like the v4 is the tendency to torque steer under acceleration. It's noticeable but not really a problem. The BMW K100s did this also.
Next is this sweet CB11. Mated with the rest of the bike this inline four is perfect. I don't notice any 'buzziness' with it. The inline four CB650 isn't what I would call memorable, but I like the old school of the entire bike. I think the essential motorcycle configuration was perfected in the 80's. As such, the inline four is the quintessential motorcycle engine.
The K100s inline fours were smooth but had a bit ... of something the devotees call 'character'. The performance curve was 'ho hum' until about 5k rpm then it woke up. My wife said they sounded like angry sewing machines.
The "best" motor? I need to know what kind of bike it is going into, the task it is to perform, and then it really all comes down to what the owner likes the best. The beauty of motorcycles is that the variety is so great that there is something for every ones taste. Then there is customization...
Jim