MY83944

After 5 years, our 944 is 95% done and man, the 944 is one sweet driving car. I had no idea how sweet until the rear axle bearing were replaced. But that is another story -
I was on my way back to work today, and saw a really nice Harley coming onto the highway. I moved over to the passing lane, giving him plenty of room to move in.
I figured, what the heck, and got up to around 70. I heard him first, and I downshifted and went for it. Expecting to see him fly around me, I saw him just keeping up! Loud, man that bike was loud - sounded pretty good.
We came into some corners that the 944 knows oh to well, and the poor Harley rider was left way, way behind. I saw him in the mirror doing a little wobble dance as he tried to lean into the corners - heheheh.
As I slowed and prepared to turn onto another highway, I see him way back there, finally through the corners, coming on hard. Real hard. I goose the 944 up the ramp onto the 229, and see him "bringing it on". OK - here we go again . . . . This was all straights -
Redline in second . . . third . . . fourth - shift into fifth and notice, the guy was trying really hard but was barely keeping up! I slowed to make the next exit and he ripped by, not bothering to smile and wave at me as I had the courtesy to do for him -
Ah, one has to love the 944.

Red1

So since he was on a Harley that wouldn't be a ricer fly-by. Maybe a "Budweiser fly-by"?

I used to own a Harley. That crowd became so infused with posers I couldn't stand it. I think it became the official mid-life crisis machine when I saw an article on them in my father-in-law's AARP magazine.

grants_968

I have ridden motorcycles for 40 years, and there is no match between a good bike, and most cars including the 944. I owned a 944 for almost ten years, and am on my third Harley. My current "drive" is a 968 soon to be 968 Turbo. My current "ride" is a Harley-Davidson FXSTD Deuce.

My Deuce will blow the doors off the 968 on a straight from 0 to legal speed limits. I have had my 968 on a track up to 148 MPH. No way would I ride my Harley that fast - track or anywhere. At speeds over 65, there is a big difference between a cager (what bikers call those who drive in cages) and a rider.

A good bike rider will corner without wobble. Cornering on a big bike with a fork angle like the Deuce is no trivial task. Nevertheless, the wobble you mention tells me that the rider was likely inexperienced. A good rider knows the limits of the bike. There is no way a big V-Twin Harley, like my Deuce, can corner as well as a 968, or a 944. A Harley-Davidson Buell would likely be another story. But you did not say what kind of Harley, and frankly I have insufficient experience riding a Buell to give a fair comparison.

My Harley Deuce has 100HP. For my 968 to have the same power to weight ratio as my Harley, the 968 would need over 480 HP. I recall my 1985.5 NA 944 had about 90 HP less than my NA 968. So, at speeds most would drive or ride on public streets and Interstate, I would not expect a 944 to be competitive with a well ridden Harley. But, on the twisties, if the driver and rider were equivalent, good but not pro, I would expect a 944 do distance a big V-Twin Harley.

nickhance

Shortly after installing my boost gauge I played around a little bit with a harley. I just pulled away from the light and I'm ripping throug the gears to redline while keeping an eye on the gauges. At 15psi, this guy managed to stay GLUED to my bumper, and his wife didn't fall off once.

You must have gotten a slow one, there are DEFINATELY fast harleys out there.

xsboost90

my harley was nothing more than a modified 883, but it was plenty fast. The fastest i dared take it was 100mph. Most harleys, esp. of factory persuasion are not that fast, esp. above 100. Now my dads stroked and bored shovel is a different story but, i digress. Cars are much more fun at high speeds, bikes, unless youve got a 999 or something, are best cruising.
I traded my sportster for my first 944, i would have to say im pretty happy with the deal, even though i wish i couldve had both.

MY83944

I wanted to get my bike out today, but it did not work out. It puts out just shy of 110RWP on the dyno, with a super flat torque curve. It is fuel injected and this was dyno tuned for maximum power for every throttle setting/RPM using a Power Commander PCIII (www.powercommander.com). Also currently running a Kerker full system, K&N filter, velocity stub stack intake, etc. It flat out handles better than I can ride, never ever scraped anything other than my boot. It will run neck and neck with a Honda RC51 up to about 145 at 150, the RC started pulling away slowly, but steadily. I then realized I only had my tee shirt on and slowed down. Sometimes we all do dumb things. I figure it is good for 160, if you tuck in enough. I dislike windshields and plastic on a bike. I generally ride slow to moderate. This bike has made a couple hundred 1/8 mile drag strip passes - proven bulletproof so far.

The Harley I saw today, well, I am willing to bet the bike was not jetted for the pipes it had on it. Who knows, it was sure fun.

Graufuchs

Funny that this Harley/ porsche topic came about..here's my uncle's V-rod (Engine was designed by porsche) and my 944 in his cramped Garage this afternoon......

brrt50cal

Werd

Brian McCoy

The rider makes the bike - even on a HD..... I remember the '99 FXDWG I rode (it's the more sporty big-twin) back in '99 for a few K miles. I'm a sportbike rider/road racer at heart and this was my first Honest time on a HD (I'd been a basher before) ~ within a few weeks I was tailing the fast guys I'd normally be leading on a sportbike and passing people who'd normally rag HD's all day long. They are Extremely capable bikes in the right hands. I even took on a Vette from about 10mph to well over 65 (where we then bent in for a freeway onramp, I lost him there as he backed off) and I had him all the way. We both tossed big thumbs up when he pulled along side me on the interstate.....

Anyway, sounds like the rider was a newbie, or REALLY rusty. God I love motorcycles....

odie

Both my bikes are quick, but top out once you're over 100. Harleys are not built for speed or serious corners. But they have lots of low torque and pulling power. You will lose of the line but after you reach highway speeds you are gonna leave the bike behind.

about the wave...if you don't ride, you don't rate the wave.

CPTdooberhead

I just ordered an '04 1200 Custom when I went home for 2 weeks leave last month- I plan to upgrade to a Vrod or Softail next year. I think it will be a great backup with the 951, and will give me a chance to take off some miles...

Manning

Won't see one on the road, or likely see the rider on the podium, but the HD VR-1000 can corner and haul lots of ***.

odie

Yeah, but that VR-1000 is the equivalent of a 917 or 904. Made for the track, not street.

Granted, 1200 Sportsters, VRODs are performance oriented bikes. But your"typical" Harley is made for cruising.

My Dyna is pretty damn quick and handles great, for a big bike, but it most definitely has it's limits. And that limit is right where the 944 is just getting started to show it's stuff.

User 41221

I've been on Harleys a LOT longer than I have been playing with Porshces, and I have owned a bunch of different bikes over the years. What a lot of the guys have said is true... its the rider that makes the difference in a lot of the cases, but H-D's aren't real great when you try to break 100mph with them. My FLH will cruise all day long at 90-95mph, and I can pull tree stumps out of the ground if I want to, but it doesn't like to play nice above 100.

I have taken a C-5 off the line with my dresser (cam'd, carb'd and piped) without much fuss. Steve, it sounds to me like the guy you pulled didn't know which gear to use, or else he didn't believe his bike would rev past 3k.

Speaking of, Steve, you gotta come down and say "hi" to us one of these days! You and I have sent messages to each other for how many years now, and yet we still haven't met up!

Regards,

Manning

Hey Odie,

I meant to have a little winking smiley face at the end of that. I was kind of making light. The comparison is just kind of silly in my opinion. It's almost like saying you beat a Ford Lightening with a Ducati 996