Thought I would say hello

Well, first off, hello to everyone!  My wife and I currently bought a new 07 Harley Nightster, for those of you that are going WTF is a nightster, its a new Sportster model.  The reason I have come here is I love the bottom end of the V twin, you just start rolling on and its instant go!  I am looking to get a second bike as I am always having to rent a harley anytime we want to ride together with a big group of friends.  Most of my friends are Harley Riders, Im still young (25) and like the looks of the sport bikes, but rode a CBR 600RR and HATED how it felt.  I just felt like is was gutless the instant I cracked it to WOT once hitting pavement.  I mean, it deffinately had power once I hit 10K, but thats not my riding style.  I like to cruise and like to hit the throttle pretty good every once and a while.  I love the rush from low end torque.  I have been kicking around the Idea's of a Ducati 748 or possibly an RC51, but what I wanted to ask, has anyone been on both the RC51 and a 954??  Does the 954 have any bottom end torque?  I am not a speed freak, I like to keep it under 90.  Some direcition would be nice if any of you are like me and like the low end powered bikes. 

quote:

ORIGINAL: Razz2o4

 I have been kicking around the Idea's of a Ducati 748 or possibly an RC51, but what I wanted to ask, has anyone been on both the RC51 and a 954??  Does the 954 have any bottom end torque?  I am not a speed freak, I like to keep it under 90.  Some direcition would be nice if any of you are like me and like the low end powered bikes. 

Welcome Razz.
Two of my friends ride 954's so I've ridden them a few times.  Those things fly -- the power is awesome.  No disrespect to HD (I like 'em) but I feel safe in saying the 954 (and for the sure the 1000RR) will blow the fenders off most Harleys, probably even the VRod.  I've never been around anyone with an RC51 but I hear they are a beast. 

On the flip-side your Nightster is much more comfortable I'm sure.


I'm guessing the 1200N is your new baby?
http://www.harley-davidson.com/wcm/Content/Pages/2008_Motorcycles/2008_Motorcycles.jsp?swfsection=family&swffamily=sp&locale=en_US

Hello and welcome,
first off how long do you want to ride at a time?  the 51 and Duc are going to hurt you alot sooner than the 954.  as far as torque,  the 954 suprised me, its got quite a bit, and its very very linear,  you might want to google a few dyno charts to get a rough idea. 
btw the 954 will do a hair under 90 in 1st gear.
what about a sv-1000 if your into torque pump twins?

Wildcat: The link you posted was just the sportster page in General, but if it was a link to the Nighster yes that is it, Mine is Silver and Black.  Its by far no speed deamon, but Im sure if it wanted to I could get somewhere around 120ish.  If I had to guess I would say its probably a Mid to high 12 second bike, but dont quote me on it.  Just a guestament.  Nothing like the sportbike, but to me its pretty quick for a cruiser. 

And i wonder why are u really here?
 

quote:

Im still young (25) and like the looks of the sport bikes, but rode a CBR 600RR and HATED how it felt.  I just felt like is was gutless the instant I cracked it to WOT once hitting pavement.  I mean, it deffinately had power once I hit 10K, but thats not my riding style.

 
 

quote:

I am not a speed freak, I like to keep it under 90.  Some direcition would be nice if any of you are like me and like the low end powered bikes. 

 
Im sure in time we may find out but i think your still wondering why in the hell you spent all that money to fit in.Maybe your Harley buddies talked you into it...GO FIND A NIGHTSTER FOURM!!!!!!!!
 
 
 









 

quote:

ORIGINAL: CBRFREEK

And i wonder why are u really here?

Im sure in time we may find out but i think your still wondering why in the hell you spent all that money to fit in.Maybe your Harley buddies talked you into it...GO FIND A NIGHTSTER FOURM!!!!!!!!

 
Thats  a little harsh CBRFreek. He's here to ask about the RC51 and 954's. He's come to the right place. Welcome and goodluck with your quest to find the answers.

welcome razz ! so your looking to flirt with the dark side huh  well the rc51 or the 929/954 would be an acceptable bike for taste. as you are already accustomed to the v twin the rc51 would feel very natural to you but the 929/954 are a great mix and really do produce a top of the line bike. it also depends which type of riding you do and also where ya live .. these types of considerations are big factors in the type of bike that would be best suited for your situation. but just remember you cant go wrong with a honda

quote:

I like to keep it under 90.

 
That is probably 1st gear on a 954 and  4th gear redline on the nightster. Torque is irrelavent when you  have revs.

Havoc,
  Most of my riding is back country in Ohio.  I do alot of riding with my friends and we are normally out from 9am and come home around 8 or 9 in the evening.  We dont do much city riding.  

welcome ,  hope u find a nice honda

Hello & Welcome!!

My 2 cents, I think you may by in the wrong market.  I love the 954, the RC51 is supposed to be a beast, and I don't have much on the Ducati, but if you're looking at actually riding with your Harley friends, none of those are probably going to be your bike.  A 600 sportbike will still leave a Harley in the dust with equal riders, but you have to take into account what kinda bike you're driving.  V-twins are typically going to give you more low end torque because that's how they're setup.  You twist the throttle and go.  I am used to the inline fours, so when I want to go, I rev it up and ride the clutch.  That's how you drive an inline four.  The 954 will give you more torque than a 600, but not quite like the V-twins.  The 954 is also geared pretty tall, so it's not the best in the city bike, IMO.  Doesn't stop me, but, ya know...

If you're looking for a sporty bike with good low end torque, the sport touring type bikes typically have a good mid to low end torques, even the inline fours.  SV650, SV1000, suzuki bandit, FZ600, etc are good examples, but there are many more depending on how much you want to spend.  They can be had for cheaper, and you're going to pay less for insurance, and they're usually more comfortable. 

As far as the Nightster, cool looking bike, but you need to put taller shocks on that thing!  My back was killing me after just 30 minutes, but maybe I'm just getting old.  Welcome to the forum!

Is she going to be riding or driving?
Are you looking for a two up bike?
 Test drive a used Busa, their all over the place.
 So is the torque. & there is 25% more of it than your hardly.
Sorry about that typo bro.
 
 

welcome razz.  i have to tell you ive ridden 1krr's, 954's, and rc51's. if you are looking for bottom end torque your better off with a twin. for example the 1krr makes 80lbft at 9000 rpms, when the rc51 makes 79 lbft at 6000 rpm. but you will never get the torque that the harley makes out of a sport bike. the harley 1200 sporty makes 72 lb ft at a really low 3700 rpm. even the busa's crazy 99 lbft doesnt come on until 6700 rpm. as a matter of fact you wont find any sportbike making much torque below 6k rpm. the only one i found was the buell xb12. it makes 71 lbft at 5700.