Is it detrimental to a 650cc to be mainly used urbanly?

[thulfi]

Most of my riding is in London, and I simply don't have time to ride for leisure out of town because of studies/uni etc, which is a real shame.

This perhaps may be a daft question, but then again I know nothing about engineering. Is it slighty detrimental to the mechanics of a bike with a larger engine to mostly only ever be in the first 3 gears and rarely go above 40mph?

Perhaps not, but my bike (er6) hasn't been operating as smoothly recently, and thought mayb the bikes throttle needs to be opened up every once in a while to feed it some juice.

edit: sorry mods, was meant to post in the bikes talks section.

[Owenski]

I dont know if its one of those things which is in my head, but I often felt that if the SV was been a bit poor I'd take it for a mini hoon and the next day it always seemed that little bit happier. smoother etc

[BanannaMan]

Not sure about the bike but ....

I know it's detrimental to the rider! :p
Make time! :riding:

[metalangel]

I would say just go everywhere in first gear but even then you won't get to properly open it up in London.

[ChrisSV]

Not sure how true this is but, ive heard and been told many, many times that opening an engine up once in a while, does help it, it just flushes some of the rubbish out. I find mines always a bit smoother after a good ride, but that might be me just imagining things again hehe

[yorkie_chris]

They run loads better with a bit of a kicking every now and again.

[philbut]

yep, they need a good "Italian" tune up once in a while. you get all sorts of crap building up in there. Carbon build up etc. Putting a shot of redex through the tank will also help, but just take the bloody thing out for a lap of the M25 or something if you really don't have time to go else where.

There are some good back road routes to MK too (just looking at your location).

[Jayneflakes]

In my limited experience, a good run that gets the bike up to temperature removes moisture from the cases, charges up the battery properly and puts a huge s**tkicker grin on your face. :D

My 125 would get all miserable on the short run to work, but a good run down the A370 every now and again would blow the cobwebs away and I swear it released power that had been choked up by never running hot enough, fast enough or for long enough.

My other half swears by the "going for a blast" method of maintenance, it is good for your bike, as is a good service when it needs it.

[Milky Bar Kid]

Yep, my bike was running like a bag of nails after being stuck away most of the winter (couldn't get a 4x4 up my hill to the road, never mind a bloody bike) so I filled it with fresh petrol and took it and opened it up properly and it is running MUCH better since.

[metalangel]

Besides, there's that thrill taking it right up to the limiter... what a noise!

[Daimo]

Depends if your on an IL4 or another decent engine ;)

My IL4 sounds boring top end.

Now a twin, or triple, is another story (once you've wiped the man juice from the induction noise that is) ;)

[philbut]

My IL4 sounds boring top end.


You obviously have the wrong IL4 ;-)

mind you, can't beat the sound of a big twin on over run - A TL with streight through cans...mmmmmm

[Daimo]

I've only heard very few IL4's that I think sound really good. High pitched whiney noises. I understand why Clarkson gets fedup of them going past his house (but he doesn't mind when those Ducati's come past).

theres no way an IL4 can be anywhere near as cool sounding as a Twin/Triple/V4 engine ;) Those that say otherwise have no class ;) :lol:

[Jayneflakes]

Now a twin, or triple, is another story (once you've wiped the man juice from the induction noise that is) ;)


Well, if you are going to go that far, there have been times when my SV has made me go all a quiver, although I was pillion then and we were "making progress" shall I say! :thumbsup:

[Triv650]

Detrimental on your wallet that's for sure.

[Sid Squid]

Having lived in London all of my life, and having used many bikes to extremely high mileages, I can categorically say no, it won't harm your 650 to use it predominantly urbanly.

In times past when fuels were not so fine, and didn't contain the cleaning additives they do now, oil control wasn't as good and oils were not so sludge and gumming resistant, a clear out every so often made a difference. If that applies to your modern bike then possibly it needs something doing as it's not running as cleanly as it ought to.

[yorkie_chris]

theres no way an IL4 can be anywhere near as cool sounding as a Twin/Triple/V4 engine ;) Those that say otherwise have no class ;) :lol:

Maybe I have no class, but jamessunhill on here had a 750 with a full vance and hines pipe on it with "well aged" baffles that sounded absolutely evil.

[philbut]

Maybe I have no class, but jamessunhill on here had a 750 with a full vance and hines pipe on it with "well aged" baffles that sounded absolutely evil.

My 7R has a non existant baffle and is fookin loud. Doesn't really sound like an IL4. It sort of growls. The induction noise sends a shiver down my spine too :-)

[The Basket]

As long as the engine is warmed up and you are easy on the pedals then it will be fine.

Urban miles are harder than motorway miles but a well built well maintained well looked after machine will be fine.

Any engine will have issue...the 650cc v twin is no worse.

If your journey is very short or in a very built up urban area then you are not using the full potential of the engine.

Is that the issue?

[cb1000rsteve]

Everyu engine needs to be opened up once in a while. I konw its a totally different animal but a fault light came up on my last Vec C due to a failed boost valve and the reason was because i'd been on a ecomomy drive and not activated the boost on the turbo. My mate rev'd it and lots of black crap came out the back and the boost valve worked again!!! So i'd definately say opening her up every now and then will help clear her out.
Just make sure she's nice and warm before giving her some.
steve

[Viney]

Simple answer, No. Mines lived its life in london. Other than making sure the oil is changed on its 4000 limit, there will be no long term problems. Mines happily donw over 60k and probably id say 50k of that is in london, to and from work. It does do the bike a bit of good giving it a damn good thrashing every now and again, as siad, it sorts the carbon build up all over the place, and makes you feel better. I take it that you ride back to Kilton Means. That will be fine.

[keith_d]

I'm not sure if it applies to bikes, but for cars the journey length is more important than whether it's urban or country miles.

On short journeys the engine and exhaust don't reach normal operating temperature so you get condensation in the oil and exhaust system. The battery barely recovers the energy used to start the engine and the rich mixture can leave carbon build up on the plugs.

On a longer run everything gets nice and hot, so any residual water is boiled out. The battery will get a decent charge and your plugs get baked to a nice biscuit colour.

As it happens, most short journeys are urban, which is why people think this is a problem, but it would be equally true if you just drove 10 minutes to the milking parlour every morning.

[Owenski]

They run loads better with a bit of a kicking every now and again.

So it wasnt just in my head, awsome