Anyone race one yet. I heard the 650 beats the 400 ex.
Thanks.

 

I've raced both a 400ex and scrambler 500HO.
The scrambler was a joke.
It was much closer with the 400ex but I got him by about 1.5 to 2 bike lengths by the time we hit 100kms.
I must admit that the reason I beat him is because I was in 4 wheel drive and got him off the start, he was spinning, if there was no loss of traction by either I think it would probably be dead even.

 

You guys are trying to compare a race horse with a mule. While the new 650 may carry a very respectable top-end speed, this brute was built more for high torque applicaions. That being said, a better challenge might be to race one while pulling a boat up a steep hill.

 

Then I guess you are calling me a liar?
I'll take a minute to explain why it takes off just as fast (if not faster) than a 400ex "sport bike".
A four stroke (which both are) requires four cycles of the piston to produce just 1 power stroke.
Because the 650 is a twin, while 1 cylinder has just finished producing power the other is ready to go again.
Its almost like saying that a Chev 350 v8 which produces, lets say 245 hp, will not beat a Honda Accord v6 which also produces
245hp.
Fact is that the v8 will smoke the v6 even in a car that weighs a hell of alot more.

It's called TORQUE!!!!!!

 

PrairieDust, you are alittle right about torque, but you are mistaken about the 350 chev and honda v6 assumption. If you say the v8 will smoke the v6 even in a car that weighs a hell of alot more, then why is it that a 180hp Acura Integra 4 cyl with a tiny amount of torque can kill the 350 v8 in any race. And of course im not talking about the corvett. But if you do want to bring up the vett, ill just bring up the NSX which has 2 less cylinders but will still smoke the vett 350, so just cause you have more cylinders and more torque does not at all mean you are faster. I do believe that your prarie is faster than a 400 though!

 

Which is just the point I was trying to make. The true value of the V-twin engine would be demonstrated by it's ability to generate enough torque to overtake the 400EX with both being tied to an equal load. We have to keep in mind that gear ratios are equally important. The engine with more horsepower can maintain more torque with a over a much wider ratio. The 400EX could generate the same torque but at a price- more rpm and lower gear ratios. The wider performance curve of the V-twin would provide more speed at higher ratios.

No doubt my truck would win a race against a tractor with an equal size engine and both in a no-load situation. However, attach a plow to them both I would soon burn up the engine trying to keep up.

Change one (horsepower) and you have to change the other (gear ratio) in orde to generate the same torque. The larger horsepower of the V-twin would allow it to drive larger gears to reach the same torque whereas the 400EX would require smaller gears. The larger gears would result in more rpm at the wheels but only once the EX is outside it's performance curve.

It would require a little research on both models, but such a question would be an excellent math exercise for shop class. The more difficult information to find for both models would probably be gear sizes. Once you have all the values, you could also compare how much rpm the EX would require to produce the same torque as the 650 and how many rpm would be transferred to the wheels.

I guess my old high school math teacher was right, there is a need for it. If it doesn't run faster on paper first, don't expect it to run any faster at the track.

 

Just like Grand Nationals beating z28 Camaros and Cobra Stangs.

 

yea, but the Grand National doesnt really count because it has forced induction. I tried to keep it fair!

 

But my 87 GN only has 231 cubic inches. It counts.

 

AL300ex, your Acura also has 4 valves per cylinder, dual overhead cams, and higher compression ratio. Do the same thing to the v8 and it will smoke you. As for the Grand National, it is superchared. Once again put a supercharger on a v8 and it would smoke you too.
There are, of course exceptions to prove every rule but in general the larger the displacement the more torque.

The long and the short of it though is that the Prairie 650 will in fact beat the 400ex if both are stock.....