Inline 4s

What is it with them? You either love them or you don't. Granted I've only been on 5 il4s but everyone just felt bland. On the other hand every twin or triple I've been on has at least had character even if i didnt particularly like the bike

[fizzwheel]

All the IL$'s I've ridden havent been bland, even the sheddy Bandit 600 I got give as a courtesy bike. The trick is to find where in the rev range the "Character" is.

The just need approaching with a different mindset, if you ride a 4 like a twin, its never going to be any fun. But then life would be boring if we all liked the same thing wouldnt it.

What do you mean by character? Any better way you can define it?

If I had to interpret that I'd say it was the acceleration (I guess...assuming you aren't talking about the sound, what else can the engine give). And yep, that's in a different place on an IL4 so....

Originally Posted by fizzwheel

if you ride a 4 like a twin, its never going to be any fun.

...is right IMO. That nutty top end rush on an IL4 can be quite addictive!

By comparison, my last ride on a twin left me feeling bored and soul-less (it was a K7 SV650S, standard). Half of that was the fact it felt wheezy and gutless (but then I was riding it at 5k+ all the time, naughty naughty) and the other half was the fact it had a standard exhaust and so I couldn't even get a nice sound out of it...

[STRAMASHER]

More difficult to ride and ride well than a "equivelent" 4.

Low frequency vibes (man)

Uncommon sound.

Instant punt.




I'm no IL4 hater, having owned 3 (400,600,1400) and 4 twins too. Its just for me, you know exactly what you are going to get from a four. From 400cc - Litre+. Impressive and easy but a little uninspiring.

Solution? Have more than one bike unless you are a serial changer.

Originally Posted by robchester

On the other hand every twin or triple I've been on has at least had character even if i didnt particularly like the bike

If by character you mean exhaust note, then I guess most people will prefer the v-twin (on here at least ). Personally, I find the constant demand of the engine to rev it harder and harder more enticing than the lazy application of torque. But that doesn't mean that IL4s aren't perfectly tractable at low revs - just a different noise.

Originally Posted by ArtyLady

Hate IL4s

Because?

I've liked 1s, twins and IL4s so far, all are good but different.

[mikerj]

I'm not a big fan of IL4's in general, they just sound so bland unless you are screwing the bits of them. Odd numbers of cylinders sound the best, give me a triple or a 5 cylinder(for a car) engine any day, closely followed by a V twin.

Originally Posted by ArtyLady

Don't know just do

Hate is a fairly strong word. I could understand it if you didn't like the exhaust noise, or if you just prefer riding at lower revs, but to hate something for no reason is fairly dumb.

I actually prefer the noise of an IL4