Thread: Getting power out of a harley

Originally Posted by Micky Duck

not sure if your harley will handle it...or indeed if you already do it...but running decent fuel makes a hell of a difference to smaller motors and cars too for that matter . the BP ultimate98 is a heap better than regular 91 and even super 96 octane...that extra 2 makes a big difference...chainsaws,lawn mowers and outboard motors all love the stuff....I found with wee 6hp four stroke outboard the top end speed was 2-3km more it was a LITTLE harder to start than with 91 and used more fuel but was much more fun to use.

My old bastard harley ( XLCH ) blows black smoke on 91. BP Ultimate 98 stops that and starts it easier. Always starts on the last bloody kick though.

Originally Posted by Proudkiwi

There isint a police car in the country that can hit the speeds you’re talking about.

And you would have been charged with reckless driving in those circumstances, not given a ticket. Regardless of how lazy the cop was. That’s without getting into the fantasy where they said ‘it’s obvious you’re a good rider by the way you’re driving’

It just didn’t happen.

Complete and utter bloody rubbish...

Some strange things do happen with the police.
I passed one who was hidden is a small driveway off the side of the road. He was standing next to his car with a walkie talkie in one and and his mouth wide open. A glance at the speedo on my RG500 indicated 235 kmph and I thought "oh bugger". About half a km down the road I came up behind two cars and as we crested a small rise, sure enough, there was another cop standing next to his car just down the road who casually walked out and waved the first car in. I cruised passed and carried on my way to work. Another time I was caught out by the "speed strips" they used to lay on the road. I went over them at 120 kmph but as there was a really nice fast left/right sweeper coming up it speed up to 180kph. I came out of the right hander and there was a cop frantically waving me down. I jumped on the brakes as hard as I could but shot past him by about 30m and had to turn around and come back to him. He gave me a ticket for 120 but was laughing the whole time saying I was doing a lot more than that around that corner. On that ride I had a good mate (who later became a multiple IOM TT winner) on the back of my CB900. He didn't have a license at the time so his GSX750 was parked up at home.

Originally Posted by 40mm

chuck one of these into it:

Attachment 150357

that would be a step down in power

nothing like some nice fast sweepers at 180 with the knee on the deck.....got to watch out for those bloody cats eyes though... they hurt if you clip one with a knee slider at speed.

Originally Posted by Shearer

Some strange things do happen with the police.
I passed one who was hidden is a small driveway off the side of the road. He was standing next to his car with a walkie talkie in one and and his mouth wide open. A glance at the speedo on my RG500 indicated 235 kmph and I thought "oh bugger". About half a km down the road I came up behind two cars and as we crested a small rise, sure enough, there was another cop standing next to his car just down the road who casually walked out and waved the first car in. I cruised passed and carried on my way to work. Another time I was caught out by the "speed strips" they used to lay on the road. I went over them at 120 kmph but as there was a really nice fast left/right sweeper coming up it speed up to 180kph. I came out of the right hander and there was a cop frantically waving me down. I jumped on the brakes as hard as I could but shot past him by about 30m and had to turn around and come back to him. He gave me a ticket for 120 but was laughing the whole time saying I was doing a lot more than that around that corner. On that ride I had a good mate (who later became a multiple IOM TT winner) on the back of my CB900. He didn't have a license at the time so his GSX750 was parked up at home.

Was the RG much quicker than the RZ. I had the first RZ in South Africa as a second joice as the RG never arrived in 1984. Most I ever saw was 250 kmh on the Yamaha.

Originally Posted by stevodog

that would be a step down in power

A fair bunch of power too...

Originally Posted by Ftx325

nothing like some nice fast sweepers at 180 with the knee on the deck.....got to watch out for those bloody cats eyes though... they hurt if you clip one with a knee slider at speed.

I'll take your word for that! You were quite the bloody hooligan, mate.

Originally Posted by outlander

I'll take your word for that! You were quite the bloody hooligan, mate.

exactly why I stopped riding a few years back. Had family to think about and me and some of my mates were pushing our luck a bit. That said there were some locals here we wouldn't ride with as we considered them to dangerous ....
And traffic back then was nothing like it is now , you could get away with a bit of a play if you picked your spots and timing right but not any more.
ah The Good Old Days...... when men were men and the sheep would run scared... or something like that

Originally Posted by Ftx325

exactly why I stopped riding a few years back. Had family to think about and me and some of my mates were pushing our luck a bit. That said there were some locals here we wouldn't ride with as we considered them to dangerous ....
And traffic back then was nothing like it is now , you could get away with a bit of a play if you picked your spots and timing right but not any more.
ah The Good Old Days...... when men were men and the sheep would run scared... or something like that

All that was really important, revolved around which 4-1 would make your Honda Four quicker than a Suzuki Kettle. Good old days indeed...

Originally Posted by outlander

Was the RG much quicker than the RZ. I had the first RZ in South Africa as a second joice as the RG never arrived in 1984. Most I ever saw was 250 kmh on the Yamaha.

Don't really know. They did get better reviews than the RZ but I think that was more about power delivery than outright power. 245 was the best I saw on the RGs clock. Their biggest drawback was the narrow rear rim. You couldn't put a decent wide tyre on the back as they would tend to squirm a lot under power. Good mate of mine had an RZ but got rid of it before I got the RG so we never rode together on those bikes. He has a 2018 Tuono factory now and just recently bought a T7 after I nagged him enough telling him he needed an adventure bike.

how far are you going down the rabbit hole... sure a cam and a few bits.... if your going much further swap the whole engine for a s&s or the likes. they seem expensive but they are not if your doing a full rebuild. (experience from big block, surely sportsters would be the same outcome)

Originally Posted by Shearer

Don't really know. They did get better reviews than the RZ but I think that was more about power delivery than outright power. 245 was the best I saw on the RGs clock. Their biggest drawback was the narrow rear rim. You couldn't put a decent wide tyre on the back as they would tend to squirm a lot under power. Good mate of mine had an RZ but got rid of it before I got the RG so we never rode together on those bikes. He has a 2018 Tuono factory now and just recently bought a T7 after I nagged him enough telling him he needed an adventure bike.

Cheers for that. The RZ had tall gearing and I was on a mild down hill. It shook it's head with a vengeance, the 16" front needed little provocation. Gutting the stingers ( knocking a rod through) gave a noticeable hp increase. Otherwise, I suppose it's all just 36 year old memories.

Originally Posted by outlander

All that was really important, revolved around which 4-1 would make your Honda Four quicker than a Suzuki Kettle. Good old days indeed...

Yep... had a cb750k2 at one stage with the ole 4-1 chasing horsepower. Then I made the mistake of test riding an rz350ypvs and had to have it . What a machine that was , more go than the big fours and could throw it around like a pushbike.
I often regret not keeping some of my bikes simply for investment value. The prices of the older jappa's nowadays are huge if you can find them. And to think of the abuse we used to give them.

I’ve had an iron head sportster and a turbo Suzuki, both fun in their own way and would love to still have both, never felt inclined to up the hp for either.

(I had had more bikes than those two...)