Supertwin Dominance

[JulesW]

How come the Kawasakis are now dominating supertwin road races? I always thought the SV was the machine of choice for this class of racing but I'm noticing that most teams now opt for the Kawasaki.

[Wideboy]

Originally Posted by JulesW

How come the Kawasakis are now dominating supertwin road races? I always thought the SV was the machine of choice for this class of racing but I'm noticing that most teams now opt for the Kawasaki.

Pretty sure they have a better torque curve (not ridden one so don't know) and they can be tuned to around 100 bhp, I suppose if you threw enough cash at the SV it could possibly be as competitive but everyone buys their bike's from Ryan Farquhar/KMR as he has them down to a T and he only does the kwaks. Some use SV's at the TT and I've heard this is because they've got a better tank range, but the rules stipulate (i think) you must make a pit stop so it's fairly pointless.

[Stuart42]

I went through this when buying one at the end of last season.Ryan developed the ER as he was sponsored by Kawasaki. When he started winning that's the one everyone wanted.
Talking to tuners to build a 4k SV would cost nearer 8 if it was an ER.
I came to the conclusion that an SV was a better buy as ER's seemed artificially inflated in price. For example a spare ER engine goes for 1k whereas an sv can be had for 300.
Am sure if you put right person an sv would fly.

[andrewsmith]

Kawasaki threw a lot of money behind KMR once Farqhuar proved that they were competitive. The ER seems to be push 100 to 110 brake and the SV seems to top out at 90 brake, but the argument is double edged as the SV has the better chassis and a better selection of toys (Showa BFP with Bembo M42 calipers).
JHS have went away from the SV to the Gladius and are claiming more power again, but the chassis isn't as good

[CB500Racer]

The SV has a weaker crank than the ER, thus less tunable. The ER engine is a better engine over all more power and a better power curve where its important when racing. The sv handles better esp in stock form, but once you put ZX10 forks/verseys swing arm etc in there is not that much difference.

I own a tuning business & have built both SV & ER race bikes. As a stock engine, the SV is superior to the ER, more power & torque. It is easier to get power from an ER engine, the bike we ran this year has a reliable 95bhp, but less torque than our SV from last year which had 91bhp. ER's break cranks too, there is a bike here in Ireland which has done 3 this year! As far as handling goes, our ER has a ZX10 front end, but my rider far preferred the way the SV handled.

Brian
www.moto-tech.biz

[CB500Racer]

Originally Posted by MOTO-TECH

I own a tuning business & have built both SV & ER race bikes. As a stock engine, the SV is superior to the ER, more power & torque. It is easier to get power from an ER engine, the bike we ran this year has a reliable 95bhp, but less torque than our SV from last year which had 91bhp. ER's break cranks too, there is a bike here in Ireland which has done 3 this year! As far as handling goes, our ER has a ZX10 front end, but my rider far preferred the way the SV handled.

Brian
www.moto-tech.biz

Was the 91bhp sv with the standard crank, I had always thought that once you where over 85bhp+ and higher than stock rpm it caused issues with the standard sv cranks. It's always good to have reliable info from tried and tested sources. I'm going to be putting a supertwin together for the Manx next year, mild tune as it will be my first time over rather have reliability etc.

John

Hi John
the engine was a bit special & the crank was lightened & balanced which is not legal for the Manx.
, rev limit was not raised.
I can build you an engine with around 85bhp which will be super reliable, ideal for the Manx.

Brian.
www.moto-tech.biz
2014 Adelaide Masters Supertwin Champions.