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[dnovo]

One subject of interest to most riders -- or at least to this rider -- is actual horsepower versus builder claims. And, to coin a phrase, builders' claims are not the same as what shows up on a dyno, and power figures at the crank are not as important as where the real result show up, at the rear wheel, where the power meets the road and the real work gets done.

My SB6R, recently acquired and dead stock, was delivered to my local dealer for general clean up and tune up. The bike hadn't been used much before my purchase from the second owner, and while in good shape, the carbs were gunked up beyond belief (the pilot jets almost filled up) and I decided to ask one of the mechanics to tear them apart, rebuild and replace as needed, and then set the bike and the jetting up on a dyno.

The dealer (Corse Superbikes in Saukville, WI, just North of Milwaukee) was formed, in part, from the former Bimota dealer in Wisconsin. They are a Suzuki dealer as well and the mechanic who worked on the SB6R, TJ, is an ex-Bimota wrench. The result of the work on a dyno and by a tech who knows both Bimota and Suzuki? The bike started out after the intial work at 124 HP at the rear wheel. After a lot of tuning and rejetting, the stock Suzuki 1100 engine (Bimota only changed the airbox, and exhaust and played with the carbs a bit) ended up at with a reading of 136 HP at the rear wheel.

That is about what I have seen at the rear wheel of some current bikes, especially the Ducati 1098S. Not bad for a decade old design and an engine a bit older than that.

When I get some miles on my DB5 and my SB8R, they will go up to Corse for the same procedures, although no carb rebuild on these fi motors. Since Corse and TJ work on both powerplants (Ducati 1000DS and Suzuki TL1000) I hope to report back with some real world figures in the near future.

Dave