holy $hit, pricing rant

tkeaton

tkeaton

Master Velocipede Alchemist
Joined
Mar 20, 2005
Location
Chattanooga
Ok, you can get a fully built, ready to run engine (ford, chevy, you name it) for $5k that has massive power, great parts, and has been worked over. Hell you can probably find a tranny and all accessories and still come in under that price.

You could also spend $5k and barely get a rebuilt, no frills, tiny ass 100 cu in. motorcycle engine

Who in the hell first allowed these builders to get by with this kinda pricing garbage. Keep in mind, that $5k for the bike engine isnt gonna be near a top performer, probably has less than 100hp, doesnt include a tranny, starter, etc

that is some seriously screwed up stuff right there, and yes i understand that there is a bit of work that goes into doing that mediocre rebuild, but wtf?!

:handed:


oh and while Im at it, all of yall that build cages, chassis, etc....you need to get into motorcycle frame building, you are only gonna need 2 sticks of tube (ill round up, $100), a few tabs (again, ill round up $75), and maybe half a spool, a small spool of wire ($12)

and then, you can turn around and sell them all day for more than $1000

yall can thank me for this business advice later :wheel:
 
It takes a lot of work, time, and money to get decent power out of something with a crappy design to begin with. I laugh at non-revving, pushrod v-twins. The funniest Hardley dig I ever heard anyone make was, "that sure is a lot of decibels for 35 horsepower".:popcorn:
 
willness33 said:
It takes a lot of work, time, and money to get decent power out of something with a crappy design to begin with. I laugh at non-revving, pushrod v-twins. The funniest Hardley dig I ever heard anyone make was, "that sure is a lot of decibels for 35 horsepower".:popcorn:
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Yea back in high school it used to bug me that my engine was ginormous compared to a harley yet harleys sound so much louder and meaner, lol, which led me to the elctric cutouts I used to run for strait pipes on demand . . . . . .I still have em, might be a good option for the 500 in the jeep :driver:

btw how do they make harley's sound so loud and mean?
 
Its really just math. Assuming you have a total output of 100%:
Japanese sportbikes make 70% power, 20% noise, and 10% exhaust.
Harleys make 20% power, 25% exhaust, and 157% noise.
 
The exhaust being short makes it loud. I unhooked the exhaust on my bike at the collector and it was without a doubt the loudest thing I've heard outside of the 1/4 mile. It was just really loud at idle, but blipping the throttle just to 3-4k was painful.

Harley's lick my taint. 1500+ cc to make what.. 100hp max on the newest ones? My 7 year old bike is a 60° v-twin too, but "only" 1000cc's, and makes 130-135 HP. Inline 1000's put that to shame big time.
 
I remember the time I passed by the old "Crossroads" place outside of WS on my Suzuki 550. One of the patrons decided to follow me.

See Ya!


Matt
 
consider how many cores are out there, thats gonna make a difference too.... If it were a chevy SB/BB or standard ford or dodge configuration, then yeah, they are easy as hell to find... Start looking for a pontiac/olds or something a little more special and the price goes up...

Import bikes are even worse....
 
Plus look at the HP to CID ratio.

Getting 700 HP out of a 350 is squeezing 2 hp per cube.
Not easy, but not impossible either.

Now 1000cc = ~ 61 CID

When you draw 200hp out of 61 CID you are at 3.2 hp/cid

thats a way different story.

Besides you gotta pay more for the small asian women they keep in the back that can actually fit their hands inside the cylinders :lol:

Could be worse my buddy used to race go karts, big time.

Was not uncommon for him to drop $5-6k on an engine because it made 25hp :rolleyes:
 
Rich said:
Harley's lick my taint. 1500+ cc to make what.. 100hp max on the newest ones? My 7 year old bike is a 60° v-twin too, but "only" 1000cc's, and makes 130-135 HP. Inline 1000's put that to shame big time.
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Apples and oranges Rich. I dont hear anyone braggin about their 1/4 mile times they laid down in their rockcrawler.

You just cant compare a race inspired machine to class and style. I would hate to ride your Aprilla for 8 hrs on a long road trip with gear bungeed all over for a long weekend. On the other hand I would love to ride it on my backroads for about 2 hrs. I have had FFFast bikes before too, and the main reason I switched to the dark side is a strong desire to live. On the Harley's its all about enjoying the ride, the comraderie and personal statement. The fast bikes its about pushing the envelope all the time for adrenalin, at least it was for me.

Greg, loves his hawgs, Slade

now shut up and ride.
 
jrraw23 said:
Yea back in high school it used to bug me that my engine was ginormous compared to a harley yet harleys sound so much louder and meaner, lol, which led me to the elctric cutouts I used to run for strait pipes on demand . . . . . .I still have em, might be a good option for the 500 in the jeep :driver:

btw how do they make harley's sound so loud and mean?
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Compression ratio, cam choice, and pipe design.


As to the price of everything v-twin these days...blame it on the yuppies.
(sorry everyone living within the research triangle):flipoff2:

Also, comparing a sbf/sbc prebuilt engine to a niche market high quality rebuild is unrealistic...
 
The bone stock "Crate Engine" for my ZX14 is 8k but it's also about 190hp from the factory.
 
I don't like Harleys personally..but I've seen Harley drag bikes spank the jap bikes ass recently. But for the average Joe the Harley makes a lot of noise and goes nowhere.
 
I've had Harleys and a few Jap bikes hands down I would buy another Harley, my 84 Sportster(lots of mods including a GSXR front section) was just as fast as my Honda RC51(both V-twins). I want a new HD Fatboy or Duece though(no $$ to buy one though).
 
:shaking: ^^^clueless^^^

Once upon a time that may have been true, but these bikes have become pretty expensive.

Its been years since I parked a bike in my kitchen anyway.:rolleyes:
 
Let me clarify something for you guys:
Money doesn't equal class.

Need examples?
Brittney Spears
OJ Simpson
Paris Hilton
Name a rapper
 
I never said that having money instantly gives you class. Nor does owning a Harley make you a class act. I merely stated that Harley ownership is more about customization and personal expression as well as hangin out and being social with friends.
Its not often you see "poor white trash" tooling around on a $15k and up scooter.

Twist that as you feel fit, I give up.
 
You're right. They didn't use those exact words.
 
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