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As post title really whats people opinion on the jump of capacity / power, the early ones are 120 -130 bhp which is similar to the modern 600's and things like the ZX7R but it seems like a big jump. Insurance isnt a problem and I'm a cautious rider who's been riding on a full licence for 6 years this year and almost everday for the last 2 years. Just after people opinions as im unsure myself.
Thanks

i dont think power will be your problem, its torque......

A few time on my versys, iv snapped the throttle open and popped a wheelie, and that about on terms power wise with a zxr, its just a damn sight more toque.

Personally I think its a very big jump if youve never ridden anything bigger than your zxr, but if your sensible enough i guess you should be fine. Whats the insurance like?

it might only have 120-130bhp mate but its a V-twin aint it? bit like my TLR, you've been riding for 6 years but the twin is completely different kettle of fish to that zxr400, the bike will of course only go as fast as the rider makes it.

Like Rob and Baz say - the bhp figure on v-twins doesn't mean much because it's all about huge amounts of torque!

You're the one holding the throttle, though, and so it's up to you how tame you want it to be.

If you're a careful rider with a bit of sense then you should be absolutely fine with it.

If you're a bit of a nutter and jump on an RSV and try and thrape it the same way as you would the 400 then you're almost certainly going to come a cropper in a big way!

well I have had a Pegaso 650 for a while which was a thumper so torquey engines are not completely strange to me, as for insurance last time I checked it was £130 tpft or £280 fc. Just the thing is I would love a twin sports bike, an SV650 would feel like a side step/downgrade but there not much else in anyones range.

get a TLR love mine!

Yeah I love them too, but they have abit of a reputation dont they, although I have often wondered if it was all about ham-fisted journalists at the time, I've been browsing RSV's, Touno's, Firestroms, Falco's any others I should maybe consider?

a reputation of what?

Seeing as you've been looking at Firestorms, how about a VTR SP-1/2/Y? My uncle had one a few years ago and he said it was the best fun he's ever had, and he's had R1s, Gixxers and stuff like that. Pretty rare and also quite similar to the RSV from what I gather.

masterofinsanity wrote:a reputation of what?

Didnt they used to call them widow makers, apparently bad for violent tankslappers which i think they used to blame on the rear damper because it was not a conventional something like a rotary damper, as i said tho there reputation was probably caused by ham-fisted journalists.

As for the SP1/2 would love one but they tend to hold there money well!

the TLS got the name widowmaker as you say when they were first released they had no damper and were all recalled and from then on were fitted with a steering damper as std, the name stuck mainly due to ignorance i like the name widowmaker hence the black widows on my bike.Yes the rotary damper is different and you do have to respect them methinks but you will get used to it and i can throw it around like any bike i've owned.

masterofinsanity wrote:the TLS got the name widowmaker as you say when they were first released they had no damper and were all recalled and from then on were fitted with a steering damper as std, the name stuck mainly due to ignorance i like the name widowmaker hence the black widows on my bike.Yes the rotary damper is different and you do have to respect them methinks but you will get used to it and i can throw it around like any bike i've owned.

I can vouch for it's stability.

When we were thraping it around the Isle of Wight Baz's TLR always looked stable and planted whilst my 9r was airborn and tank-slapping and vibrating so much on some bits I had to slow down so I could see!

RSVR's are pretty damned good, but if you're considering big v-twins then you'd be a fool not to look closely at a TLR or an SP-1 or SP-2 (although they have tiny tanks compared to the other two).

mmmm decisions decisions, i think i will go and have a look at each one before i decide what im going to do.

Interesting about the tlr and tls then, makes you wonder how much of the reviews you can actually believe

If you are getting a mille go for the r version if its the older style you are getting.Ive had both and there is a big difference in the handling with the lighter wheel and ohlins susp.They are a really good road bike and arnt too much to handle.I could ride it faster than my zx6r with a lot less effort.Its a lazy mans bike

grin factor on a TLR is amazing, i've riddn vtrs and couldn't get on with them, they just do nothing for me, have thought recently of getting a zx10r but every time i go out on the TLR its just fuckin awesome!!! no way can i get shot of it.

cheers Jamz