I’ve just come back from a week-long, 1,000-mile motorcycle tour of central Italy, where I rented a Honda with twice the horsepower of my LS650 ... and I must say that I was completely unimpressed with the performance of this supposedly powerful bike.

I’m not a tech-head by any means, and so I never fully appreciated the distinction between low-end torque and high-end power (sorry if I’m abusing these terms). But after just a few moments after hopping onto my rented Honda CB500, I was wishing for the power that was lacking in this bike at anything lower than 5,000 RPM.

This bike (photo below) is only 25 pounds heavier than the S40, but has 57 horsepower, compared to the S40’s 30 horses. I was actually afraid that I might have rented a vehicle that I couldn’t handle, because I thought it would be twice as powerful as my S40. My fears were very unfounded.



Anyway, I rarely, rarely felt the power of this Honda. At every speed, except when I exceeded 140 kph (about 90 mph) a few times on an Autostrada, the performance of this bike really sucked. I took curves in first gear on the Honda, just so I could get the RPMs up high enough, that I would have taken in second or even third gear on my S40! (FYI: I have rejetted my carb and done the white spacer mod.)

That’s all I really wanted to say in this post. I just wanted to let everyone know that I’ve experienced in the real world the difference I’ve only previously observed by looking at the power curves of various bikes. In other words, the theoretical became very real to me.

So, I appreciate the power of my S40 -- which has power when and where it counts most -- more and more, every day since I’ve returned. I’ve always rebuffed anyone who scoffs at the so-called underpowered LS650. Now I can do so without having to admit that I’ve never ridden a supposedly more powerful bike.

Spiff

P.S. I don’t post here much, but if people want to glance at a few of the photos I took, they are here:

http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=218239925/a=55619110_55619110...

There are photos from Florence (where I rented/returned the bike), Venice, Lago di Garda (Lake Garda), Cinque Terre, Pisa, the Island of Elba, and San Gimignano. There are also photos of Rome, but those I took the week before I picked up the bike. But the best photos, I think, are the half dozen or so that I took of the twisties I rode between these wonderful places!

I envy you. In the 80's I did the same thing several times but shipped my bike (strapped upright on a pellet) over as excess luggage in the cargo belly of the airplane. After landing in Frankfort I usually hightailed it through Switzerland to Italy. Shure miss that place; the best place to ride in the world.
Maybe I'll ship my S40 over and do it again, MMMmmmmm

Hi All,
I just got an 88 Savage last month and have to admit I was pleasantly surprised at the low end torque and reasonable handling.
I find it fun to ride and it will cruise at 70 to 80 mph no problem.
I enjoy riding it to work but would never consider using it for "long range" riding.
Sorry folks but over here no bike is considered remotley powerful without 90 plus horses, 0 to 100 in under 10 seconds and a top speed of 120 plus.

I live in Europe (England) and the chap who toured Italy on a Honda 500 has not really appreciated the difference between U/S and European motorcycling in general. Custom bikes and cruisers are nowhere near as popular over here as in the states, sports bikes and sports tourers are the most popular bikes here, plus Adventure bikes are gaining popularity.
My other bike is a Moto Guzzi 1100 sport, ( a torqey V twin that red lines at 8,000rpm) and will go faster in 2nd gear than a savage can go flat out, top speed is about 150 mph and top gear isnt usable at all below about 70 mph.

I have driven a car in the states but not ridden a motorbike, and my impression is the police are rather keen and most people drive / ride on multi lane roads at about 65 mph max and generaly observe your low(ish) speed limits.
I ride around on my Guzzi at 90+ mph most of the time and on our roads you need a bike that handles bumpy corners at decent speeds.

The Honda 500 falls somewhere between the 2 and is classed as a 1st "big" bike for people who haven't been riding long. It has a much shorter stroke and is designed to rev much higher so requires a very different riding style to a cruiser.

Because the Savage has such a long stroke it pulls well at low revs but wont rev very fast. It feels to me as though it could probably get close to 100 mph with different gearing, difficult to do as it is belt drive.
Has anyone ever managed to alter the gearing and get more top speed?

bill67 wrote on 04/18/08 at 12:34:38:

You summed up in 8 words what I was trying to say in my wordy post.

Bravo!

Quote:


Quite a few folks have done the chain conversion, mostly for the purpose of reducing the rpm at highway cruising speed, but if the engine is properly set up then increased top speed could result from the change as well.
I am doing the chain conversion as part of the rebuild on my Savage, but there is also some good engine work included (Mikuni VM carb kit, modified performance cam, head & cylinder milling for increased compression, and exhaust of my own design.  
I am anticipating 50+ hp.

well I got some reaction!

answers that prove what I found when I visited your country, that you folks in the good ole USofA are nice people who don't fly of the handle and respect that everyone can have an opinion.

All your points are good and valid. One question do you think the brakes would be good enough to ride quick on them windy Italian roads? I have put sintered pads on the front but I am wondering being shoes on rear and one small disc up front if brake fade will be a problem in the heat of the summer?

As an aside that you may find amusing and for the record I was in Ogden UTAH, (near Salt Lake City) in 1993 working in a Kimberly Clark factory prior to a new factory being built in the UK. All the roads were virtually straight and at least 3 lanes both ways.
My first day driving there I was pulled over by a state trouper who explained to me the rules for driving past schools in Utah, I was bricking it as he had a huge gun and hollered at me to put my hands on the dash, (it is 20 mph if I remember rightly regardless of what speed the last sign said). After we told him who we were and where we were going he gave us an escort to the factory, as we were going the wrong way.
On our 2nd day there we had a state trouper come to explain the rules of the road in the USA and guess what? Yep it was the guy who pulled me over the day before! Took a while to live that one down.

Like I said before the Savage has surprised me for a single cylinder long stroker it pulls well, is light and manouverable and accelerates briskly right up to it's top speed. It pulls well enough to blast past lorries etc on our roads. I am starting to realise why it has such a following and really enjoy riding it.

I have already found a lot of good tips and info on this forum so thanks guys.

Steve M wrote on 04/18/08 at 21:25:22:



Brakes? This thing got brakes? News to me!
Everytime I roll off the throttle it feels like I threw out an anchor!
Actually compression braking works so well that assisted braking is used little in normal traffic and I've not noticed any brake fade when blasting 15 minutes down a switchback mountain road. Besides comp-braking sounds terrific, like a jake brake on a truck with the Mac exhaust that I have on the bike. I have EBC brake-pads. And remember, rear brakes are there just to keep the rear wheel from overtaking the front one and to be used lightly when barreling down the road. My rear tire sorry I mean "tyre"   just needs replacing (little squarish) so I scared the hell of some sporstbike riders last weekend when this thing wobbled thru the corners at max lean at about 85 mph in front of them. Oh well, Just keep the thottle open and ride thru it. A new rear tire will fix that.
Life's short, ride fast, have fun

PS, Check out my "new Poor mans bike stand" in the tech section so I can change that tire

Yeh, on the Savage the fastest way is "smooth". Hanging off is possible but a little akward since the pegs are forward instead of below or under you. However in one turn I suddenly started to slide due to a gravel/sand mix and I put my left foot down and kind of dirt-tracked it. That even got my patter going. That's something you usually can not do with a larger and heavier mc. The rear really benefits from some good shocks like Progressive 412- 4432C or 412-4433C. Also get used to its characteristics and feel before you start riding this baby hard. Keep the shiny side up