Rx3s

[MalcolmReynolds]

Originally Posted by pyoungbl

Malcom, a high spinning twin is certainly delightful while you are on it in the upper part of the power band. I loved the Ninja 400 for that. If you want to plunk along on a fire trail at much slower speed the torque of a thumper is much more desirable. The RX3 benefits from being a thumper even though the maximum torque is absent until about 4K. You can still thump along at walking speed in 1st gear. I have done exactly that. Somewhere in this mix of offering you will find the combination that fits your needs. Ain't it great to have so many choices!

Peter Y.

That challenge is finding that balance between what makes a decent road bike and what makes a decent fire roads and off road bike. If you can get that torque off of the bottom of the rpm spectrum then you are golden. Like you said the twins "typically" don't produce the power until you have them spun up some so that compromises the off road walk along speed. Maybe the RX4 will bring that blend of road power but chug along ability?

[Goshawk]

Originally Posted by MalcolmReynolds

That challenge is finding that balance between what makes a decent road bike and what makes a decent fire roads and off road bike. If you can get that torque off of the bottom of the rpm spectrum then you are golden. Like you said the twins "typically" don't produce the power until you have them spun up some so that compromises the off road walk along speed. Maybe the RX4 will bring that blend of road power but chug along ability?

I suspect we will see the Versys400X before we see the RX4, more's the pity. My hope was that the RX4 was imminent, but that seems unlikely. I agree about low down torque being better for "Plonking" through technical stuff, but I could live with the 400cc Versys on fire roads and jeep trails, especially if Kawasaki alter the gearing on the Versys 400X as they did with the 300cc version. My wish would be for a six speed box with an ultra low first and an overdrive sixth, which would give me the best of both worlds.
I did try a TL200 for the more knarly single track stuff but unless I stood on the pegs all day my ancient hips could not tolerate being so scrunched up for more than a few minutes. I also had a Honda NX250 for a few years and really liked many aspects of it , but it was not a highway bike and quickly became tiring at highway speeds. It would go, virtually vibration free, all day at these revs but I couldn't. My foot kept reaching for another gear to calm the revs down a little. In the end it became too valuable (it was pristine) to drop and so was not ridden very much. The search goes on.