4 ms·

Bikes like Harleys and BMW twins have plenty of torque, where bikes like Kawasaki Ninja's major on power (peak torque at high revs). Hence Harleys and BMW's are

• dksbzmx 7y ago
  Just rev your engine before releasing the clutch and you’ll have as much (wheel) torque as you need (within power limits of the engine and tires).
• sniglom 7y ago
  You cannot compare just engine torque numbers, without adjusting for gear ratios, wheel size and sprockets. As another commenter said, you rev a Ninja (just like a sports car) and launch it using the clutch.
  • hazeii 7y ago
    I believe I did point out that on Ninja's (I have one) you need to build the revs; you can't just dump the clutch and go like you can on a BMW Boxer or a Harley (which I also have). Hence the Ninja is generally slowest away when the lights change (but is by far the quickest bike overall). In fact bicycles are fastest off the line, since they produce max. torque at 0rpm (just keep weight on a pedal, release the brakes to go). But acceleration is modest, so motorbikes and cars will soon go past. And of course electrically-driven vehicles are also capable of producing torque at 0rpm, hence their acceleration advantage.
    • whamlastxmas 7y ago
      Try a ZX14 before lumping all Ninjas together :)
      • hazeii 7y ago
        Fair enough, though I tend to see the 'true' Ninja's as been the original GPz900, ZX9s, ZX10s and H2's. Of course, for touring there's now the H2 SX Ninja(!)
    • darkerside 7y ago
      What they're saying is, you can rev up before dropping the clutch. That way you can get peak torque off the line.
    • dpark 7y ago
      > In fact bicycles are fastest off the line, since they produce max. torque at 0rpm (just keep weight on a pedal, release the brakes to go). I doubt a bicycle would actually cross the starting line before a high end bike or car would surpass it. A 180lb rider would produce about 90lb of torque at most (assuming 6” crank) and that’s only for the instant that the crank is parallel with the ground. A high end car would deliver significantly more than 90lb of torque instantaneously by dumping the clutch (or using launch control).
      • msandford 7y ago
        You can produce torque in excess of your weight by using pedals that clip in and pedaling "circles" instead of "squares". When I was in good shape I figured I could produce torque much closer to my weight than half of it.
        • hazeii 7y ago
          Did you forget to figure in the crank length? 180lbs at 6" is 90 foot-lbs of torque.
        • dpark 7y ago
• jstanley 7y ago
  Harleys aren't high-performance machines. I highly doubt any Harley will beat even a ZX-6 over any distance, modulo rider reactions.
  • hazeii 7y ago
    Harley: lights change, dump clutch. ZX9: lights change, rev engine, dump clutch. None we're talking about general around-time riding, waiting for the lights to change here. The point is big torque means less delay between seeing the signals change and starting to move. No disagreement that if the ZX9 is sitting on the line with the revs already in hand that it's going to be away first.
• rconti 7y ago
  To a close approximation, it doesn't matter. Rev engine, slip clutch to launch, versus slip clutch and immediately begin putting on the power.. no matter what, you need to engage the clutch and add throttle. The motor has so little mass it's not like it takes a long time to get it spinning before dumping the clutch on a low-torque motorcycle, and you can rev before the green. And regardless of what you're riding, you'll be across the intersection before most cars have even begun moving.