Roll On Excessives....Roll On! ( ‾́ ◡ ‾́ )

[Larrym]

Here ya go! ヽ(ヅ)ノ

"40 mph - 80 mph top gear acceleration roll-on test featuring: Honda CB900 Custom, Kawasaki KZ1000 LTD/CSR, Yamaha XS1100 Special, Suzuki GS1100G, Suzuki GS1100E."

Just taking a break from watching "Birds With Arms" vidyas. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[cajun31]

You know the true test that he should have done was to downshift then hit it. Running at 40 mph on those bikes is basically bogging them down then you are opening the throttle up and forcing the engine to do all the work. had he downshifted to at minimum 4th then hit it the results would have been much different.

[LAB3]

If I'm doing a run to measure the performance of my bike it would still be in first gear at 40mph.

[gtem]

I personally think a 40mph top gear roll on makes sense, it's something the bike mags have done since forever (usually given as a 40-60 then 60-80 time). On a vintage carb bike, a 40mph top gear roll on really in part becomes a test of how well the carbs are tuned, as well. The XS11 truly shines in this sort of acceleration too, I can't speak to the results of that video's findings in particular, but IMO my '78 E feels absolutely awesome rolling on for a quick pass from 55-80mph in 5th. Rarely do I feel the need for a downshift. I've never measured it, but it frankly doesn't feel far off from my (now sold) Bandit 1200 in a 5th gear roll-on at those speeds. A non-trival factor in top gear acceleration is gearing of course. Older bikes from the 55mph speed limit era tended to have shorter gearing than some modern 6spd bikes.

[DEEBS11]

[DiverRay]

I can run my '79SF in top gear at 30mph all the time! Yes, I know the RPM's are way down, but I keep it well tuned and it does NOT bog.
Best way to race a new bike with ours is say, "Ok, 25mph to 80mph in top gear, no shifting". See how many new bikes CAN still do that. And as stated, the '78,'79 will do better in that type of "race".

[DEEBS11]

I thought of this topic yesterday as I was riding my heavy steel sidecar rig. I was down to 25MPH in top gear and it would easily pull up to whatever speed you asked of it. Just like an old Indian four cylinder. Great bike.