V Twins are a terrible engine design.

r/

Specifically single pin crank Vtwins. They vibrate like hell, the only thing they are good at it turning gasoline into noise. Like I seriously don’t understand the appeal. I miss my old 4 cylinder bike, smooth power, awesome throttle response, high reving. I wish I hadn’t gotten the V-twin i have now.

Comments

  1. AutoModerator Avatar

    Please remember what subreddit you are in, this is unpopular opinion. We want civil and unpopular takes and discussion. Any uncivil and ToS violating comments will be removed and subject to a ban. Have a nice day!

    I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

  2. V4_Sleeper Avatar

    yeah less cylinders mean less stability in the engine and thus cannot rev as high and rougher throttle response

  3. thelonliestdriver Avatar

    I think the whole “turn gasoline into noise” is largely why they still exist unless you’re talking about old platforms like the SV 650 that just refuse to modernize

  4. thatsnotideal1 Avatar

    The noise is (was) the appeal, smooth bikes are (were) for sissies and commies ( /s ), and v-twin hogs have been steadily decreasing in popularity for a couple decades. Why did you buy a bike you don’t like? (other than wanting to feel like Peter Fonda on days you aren’t seeing your dental patients)

  5. Tall-Acanthocephala5 Avatar

    90deg. v twin is the simplest possible enegine configuaration with perfect primary balance, and much better secocdary balance than most 2 cilinder inline enegines and especialy 4 cilinder inline enegines.

  6. RickyRacer2020 Avatar

    3 Cylinder 2 Strokers Rock

  7. Single-Position-4194 Avatar

    I think six cylinders are the best. My grail bike would be a Benelli Sei (if I could afford one), but good ones are silly money now;

    https://www.carandclassic.com/l/C1881467

  8. ID_Poobaru Avatar

    Try doing some highway riding on a big single, you’ll be numb from the waist down after 10 minutes. I love my Savage but goddamn I wish I had more cylinders

  9. superlibster Avatar

    My Ducati is smooth as fuck. Maybe you just don’t like Harley’s?

  10. smorg003 Avatar

    Ducati seems to make a fine V/L-twin.

  11. StopCallingMeGeorge Avatar

    My statement of the 45 degree single pin twin: All the vibration of a single cylinder, but with the complexity of two.

    Not quite true, but I recall reading that a 45 degree angle has something like 80% of the primary vibration of a thumper. Would love to find that article again. It was a deep dive on engine configuration and primary/secondary balance.

  12. SaulTNuhtz Avatar

    It sounds like you’re speaking of very specific v twins but lumping them into all v twins.

    Like, a Harley shakes, yes. That’s part of the appeal for Harley enthusiasts. “Murican thunder! Hale yeh, brother!”

    But, like, have you tried almost any other vtwin?

    The Honda superhawk/rc, the Suzuki tl/sv, the Ducati panigale v2.

    All of the bikes besides the Harley I mentioned here vibrate less than my bmw inline 4.

    I think the problem here isn’t vtwins but your lack of experience with them.

    [edit: typos]

  13. kotare78 Avatar

    They make a lovely noise though. 4 cyclinders sound like an angry wasp. My favourites are triples (love the whistle) or  315-degree crankshaft parallel twin which is very similar to a V twin