Topic: Knee cuts & decreased tank capacity?

[Laminar]

I am going to call bull#$%* on this because I have yet to see a SOHC 4 get even close to 200 miles on a tank, most are lucky if they cross 150 stock.

My CB750 has a 5 gallon tank. At 45 mpg, that's 225 miles on a tank.

[Johnny5]

Yep, my bike gets close to 43 miles per gallon. If you get less than 40, maybe your bike is tuned poorly.

I dont even belong to a club. I have my bike and ride it. Period.

[andy750]

****edited***** info removed as I seem to be in the wrong about fuel capacity for a K tank...mine only holds 3.5 gallons...I stand corrected 

[Gordon]

Yep, my bike gets close to 43 miles per gallon. If you get less than 40, maybe your bike is tuned poorly.

I see you are using a K tank and if its anything like mine it holds 3.5 gallons. With your 0.5 gallon decrease then it`ll hold 3 gallons. I get 150 to the tank and thats with reserve. Unless you have an extra fuel tank you arent getting close to 200 miles with a bashed in K tank.

Ride YOUR bike as you want but dont make bs claims about it.

Stock K0-K6 tanks should hold 4.5 gallons.  There have been several times on longer highway rides on my K1 that I've gone 220+ miles on one tank...

and that ain't no B.S.

[andy750]

Then I stand corrected as mine only holds 3.5 gallons - I filled up 30 mins ago ;-)...and all my long distance riding Ive never gone more than 150 miles on a tank. Perhaps I have small tanks on both my K2 and K4...or I just ride too fast 

cheers
Andy

[BobbyR]

I don;t get great mileage on the open road either. I imagine my K8 gets 35, and it is in tune. When you have these engines revving a lot of fuel goes through those carbs. Around town I do much better.

[Slayer]

So if:

As far as touring cafe bikes, I rode my dunstall 78 750 to mid ohio last year, and I think Andy 750 has ridden his to mid-ohio as well. That is pretty much an all day in the saddle ride. I used my dunstall 750 to ride everyday to work last year also, parking it on the street. What's the point in owning a bike if you don't use it. Do I park it in front of Bar Matchless or Starbucks every now and again to be admired ? sure. Is that it's only function in life? not in the slightest. I rode my modern cafe bike (Ducati sport 1000) to work today in the pouring rain - I would have taken the 750 but the dunstall tank is delaminating and needs to be redone (damn modern fuels).

then why:

most of the race bike guys I know laugh at it because really why build a functional performance street motorcycle modeled after a race bike if you can;t ride it for very long.

yet you will see people with these bikes claiming they are cafe racers cause they want to belong to the new hip bike trend now that choppers are fizzling out.

This is a joke right? Honda just comes out with a new chopper and everywhere I go I see OCC, and it is fizzling out? Hip new bike trend??? The only way I can discuss these bikes is on here because I know nobody local that rides a SOHC. Good luck on the tank build. You sure as #$%* better make it oversize before you indent that tank for the next race on the isle of man mountain course with all of that trash talk. They might laugh at you next.

[Laminar]

I don;t get great mileage on the open road either. I imagine my K8 gets 35, and it is in tune. When you have these engines revving a lot of fuel goes through those carbs. Around town I do much better.

I've only been through three or four tanks on the CB750 so far, but this is what I've found: At 85-90mph, I'm getting 29mph. At 75mph, I'm getting 37mpg. At 65-70, I'm over 40mpg (I forgot to calculate mileage at the gas station but I know it was 104 miles in under 2.5 gallons).

[BobbyR]

I don;t get great mileage on the open road either. I imagine my K8 gets 35, and it is in tune. When you have these engines revving a lot of fuel goes through those carbs. Around town I do much better.

I've only been through three or four tanks on the CB750 so far, but this is what I've found: At 85-90mph, I'm getting 29mph. At 75mph, I'm getting 37mpg. At 65-70, I'm over 40mpg (I forgot to calculate mileage at the gas station but I know it was 104 miles in under 2.5 gallons).

That sounds about right for 70-75. I tend to wind the sucker out a lot hoing through the gears so mileage is not important to me.

[seaweb11]

"Quote from: Geeto67 on August 29, 2009, 08:37:52 am
most of the race bike guys I know laugh at it because really why build a functional performance street motorcycle modeled after a race bike if you can;t ride it for very long."

3 weeks on the road and 4000 miles later I can tell you no one laughed at me
Oh yeah...With PODS!!!!!!!!!!! and still 45-50 mpg and no problems.  Sorry TT you have to let it go

I have ridden the Tracy on a 250 mile day with a 1 1/2 gallon tank...so what.  Lots of stops

My bikes, my fun.

[Laminar]

"Quote from: Geeto67 on August 29, 2009, 08:37:52 am
most of the race bike guys I know laugh at it because really why build a functional performance street motorcycle modeled after a race bike if you can;t ride it for very long."

3 weeks on the road and 4000 miles later I can tell you no one laughed at me
Oh yeah...With PODS!!!!!!!!!!! and still 45-50 mpg and no problems.  Sorry TT you have to let it go

I have ridden the Tracy on a 250 mile day with a 1 1/2 gallon tank...so what.  Lots of stops

My bikes, my fun.

GO CHECK ON YOUR NEIGHBORS, THEY'RE PROBABLY ALREADY DEAD.

[Johnny5]

"Quote from: Geeto67 on August 29, 2009, 08:37:52 am
most of the race bike guys I know laugh at it because really why build a functional performance street motorcycle modeled after a race bike if you can;t ride it for very long."

3 weeks on the road and 4000 miles later I can tell you no one laughed at me
Oh yeah...With PODS!!!!!!!!!!! and still 45-50 mpg and no problems.  Sorry TT you have to let it go

I have ridden the Tracy on a 250 mile day with a 1 1/2 gallon tank...so what.  Lots of stops

My bikes, my fun.

GO CHECK ON YOUR NEIGHBORS, THEY'RE PROBABLY ALREADY DEAD.

 

[dilbone]

Isn't calling someone else a poser for doing the same things you do kinda like the pot calling the kettle black?

Wow, I had no idea this thread would be quite this interesting...

Isn't style a HUGE reason any of us have the bikes we have. Different strokes for different folks...I would say that style is even more important than performance to most... who cares?

Boy you have one group that makes fun of the people who have made their SOHC4's into choppers, then you have another group that makes fun of people for "cafe-ing" them. Looks like we all better keep 'em all stock boys or the poser police will be after us.

Come on, can't we all just get along....?

[Laminar]

Isn't calling someone else a poser for doing the same things you do kinda like the pot calling the kettle black?

Wow, I had no idea this thread would be quite this interesting...

Isn't style a HUGE reason any of us have the bikes we have. Different strokes for different folks...I would say that style is even more important than performance to most... who cares?

Boy you have one group that makes fun of the people who have made their SOHC4's into choppers, then you have another group that makes fun of people for "cafe-ing" them. Looks like we all better keep 'em all stock boys or the poser police will be after us.

Come on, can't we all just get along....?

No, people that leave their bikes stock are boring and not creative enough to come up with something unique. They suck.

[dilbone]

No, people that leave their bikes stock are boring and not creative enough to come up with something unique. They suck.

 

you're such a poser...

[Geeto67]

Then I stand corrected as mine only holds 3.5 gallons - I filled up 30 mins ago ;-)...and all my long distance riding Ive never gone more than 150 miles on a tank. Perhaps I have small tanks on both my K2 and K4...or I just ride too fast 

cheers
Andy

I get the same as you. I ran my stock K5 out of gas on researve and the most it would take at the pump is about 3.5, maybe there is an extra gallon in there I am not aware of, maybe the original owner didn't check that option for the extra hidden gallon, who knows. Most I have ever gotten out of a tank is 180 miles (and I don't get that regularly), least I have gotten is 135 miles, on average I get about 140-150 on a tank before it is bone dry. I don't see a stock k0-k6 crossing 200 miles on a stock tank.   

When I said ride for very long I was referring to the riding position of a poorly built bike, not the fuel capacity. You can stop fill up, streach, what have you but if the bike was uncomfortable before you will fatigue easier and never get back that energy riding making you day shorter. My point is this, there are well built and thought out bikes and there are thrown together because it looks cool bikes and the majority of bikes I am seeing with knee dents on stock tanks are not particularly well thought out (yes there are exceptions but not many).

Maybe, there aren't a lot of old bikes where ever members of this board are from, but I can tell you you can't trip in brooklyn without falling on some old crappy honda with clubman bars and maybe a poorly bashed in tank (half from the poorly mounted clubman bars, and some from half assed attempts at making knee dents in their tanks), done by someone who doesn't know what the heck they are doing but trying desperatly to look like they do. These bikes are usually poorly maintained, flat black out of a rattle can (not done well) and on the whole negelected. A good portion of them don't move under their own power for months on end.  But their owners are always at bike night, talking about how badass their cafe bike is. it is bloody awful. I used to field half a dozen questions a week about clubmans and knee dents before I started to tell the little trolls to eff off. 

seawebb11 - A tracy body is completely different and you know it. The tradeoff for loosing gallons of fuel is how much weight you save ditching all those stock heavy parts; sure the tracy body is heavy, but compared to a stock seat, rear fender, taillight, grab bar, tank setup it is a freakin feather. I would say the performance advantage of loosing all those heavy metal pieces makes up for how often you need to stop for fuel. If you lost capacity, and the bike didn't get anything out of it I would have to ask you why?

I betcha your controls setup with that body is not so uncomfortable that you could ride the bike all day despite filling up the 1.5 gallon tank, not wringing your wrists at every gas stop and packing it in after the second one because your back hurts.

[Johnny5]

The thing is, everyone thinks their bike is awesome. And I have to ask, what's so wrong with that? If their bike is set up poorly, who really cares. If their bike makes them sore after 10 minutes of riding, does it really hurt your feelings that much?

There's bigger issues in life to get cranked over. .....like which motor oil is better.   

[Geeto67]

nah, I don't really get cranked over any of this - but then again that is what the internet is for, to piss and moan about stuff.

[Laminar]

The thing is, everyone thinks their bike is awesome. And I have to ask, what's so wrong with that? If their bike is set up poorly, who really cares. If their bike makes them sore after 10 minutes of riding, does it really hurt your feelings that much?

For me, it always goes back to the Honda Civic. It's a fantastically reliable car with a broad aftermarket, tons of cheap go-fast parts available, and generally a great platform to start on if you're looking to go fast and turn well for cheap. But it's impossible to be taken seriously in the automotive world if you're driving a Civic. And it's all because of what people starting doing to Civics after a certain movie made its debut around 1999. Sure, you can say, "**** what everyone thinks, I'll do what I want," but by modifying a Civic you're automatically placed in the same group as the thousands of other "modified" Civics with nothing more than a set of custom taillights, hubcaps removed, cheap eBay lowering job, and an extra-loud extra-huge muffler.

That's why I like my car - not that it gets instant respect, but people generally have no idea what it is. Most people think it's an Escort or a Taurus. Until we're doing 130 and I'm still hanging with that 5.0 Mustang. Then they start wondering.

[Slayer]

Nice article on the Cafe and the TON:

http://www.cycleworld.com/article.asp?section_id=3&article_id=94

“First to go are the standard handlebars, which are replaced by clip-ons,” noted Covington. “Racing-type tank and seat are next, then come modifications to the exhaust system, plus new paint and other minor decorating. The Rockers strive for a racer image, and so rarely hang superfluous goodies all over the machine.”

So to not be a cafe poser first I have to change the bars, tank/ seat, then exhaust. Thats it? Of course to appease the elite I should blow thousands of dollars that I don't have on parts that I really don't need.

[andy750]

Who is this "elite" you speak of? I only see Geeto and he is not the elite...more someone who likes to see a well thought out bike that (and this is the important part) is designed to run as well as it can. If you do anything to your bike, get it to run well. Make some mods to the engine (port, cam, etc), exhaust, seating position, shocks, to get the most out of your bike - so that it runs and performs as well as it can.

No point in painting it a nice colour, adding bling if it dosent increase performance or handling. Right? That is the whole point of this discussion and nothing elitist about that  

No one is knocking cafe bikes or choppers for that matter -I love them both, in fact I like ANY bike that is used as a motorcycle should be.  At the end of the day a motorcycle does one thing and one thing well - goes fast and handles as well as it can. If it dosent then something isnt right.

Now if you want a machine that simply is a show bike, a garage queen, something pretty then good for you...if thats not a poseur I dont know what it is...no big deal, I dont care...it is what it is......but its not being what it was designed for...a fast, well handling motorcycle  

cheers
Andy

[mlinder]

I AM THE ELITE. YOU MUST NOW ADDRESS ME AS 'THE SPOILER.'

I tend to ignore what the bike looks like, for the most part. I don't add much to my bikes that isn't functional.
I like pretty bikes, too, though. I just don't like spending the time making them pretty and keeping them pretty.
Geeto will prolly hate the racebikes I'm making, cause they are auto-paint flat-black.
Only way to get noticed out on the track anymore is to NOT look like power-ranger-cirque-de-soleil at 150mph.

Besides, easier to repaint when we go down.

Mr. Elite, 'The Spoiler', out.

[Geeto67]

Only way to get noticed out on the track anymore is to NOT look like power-ranger-cirque-de-soleil at 150mph.

I know, right....who is designing race suits now adays? eplipetic 5 year olds? I haven't seen that many colors on one suit of clothes since spoiled cheese night at Chuck-E-Cheez.

[Slayer]

I wasn't referring to andy or "The spoiler." I think it is pretty obvious. I just get annoyed when someone tries to piss on a parade for no reason. I can appreciate a well running bike as much as the next guy but I am the kind of guy that tries to do the best I can with what I have. Someone shouldn't be ostracized for something they are proud of even if it is as innocent as knee dents, clubmans, or a rattle can paint job. Most bikers don't even change their own oil. How could painting and adding a little style in your tank possibly going to add performance in any way? An extra half gallon? Flip it on reserve for gods sake. Can I get a +1 anybody???

[mlinder]

Wooo, I got someone to call me "The Spoiler"!

(dance of joy)

I'm of the mind that you can do whatever the hell you want to your bike, as long is it doesn't make it (more) dangerous, to yourself, or others.

I like em all.

Cept for those nutty OCC choppers that weigh forty metric #$%*tons and can't turn or stop.