How Much Do They Really Weigh?

[Blankpage]

An inch makes a Huge difference if we’re talking cylinder bore, steering head offset, sliding forks up the triple clamps, or maybe wheelbase but other than that there aren’t many places where a 1 inch movement of weight can make a Huge difference. What am I missing?

Well, Honda was the first to lower the gas in the tank with the CBR. It put the bulk of fuel weight into/closer to the frame. Others have followed suit. One inch change in center of gravity is pretty big, actually. Even one inch change in rear wheel distance is pretty big, too. Try changing it some time.

Wheel position change, yep mentioned that, see above. "others have followed suit" yep thats what I'm saying, no difference between the group.

As far as a one inch change in center of gravity, I wonder what "pretty big" means to you. I bet most riders wouldn't even notice it happened.

 

[Roadstergal]

28 lbs is a big difference for small displacement bikes.

Yup. It's a bigger % of the weight of a smaller bike vs a bigger one...

Also, having both in the garage - the Yamaha noticeably narrower than the Kawk. I feel the difference between them for sure.

 

[Schnellbandit]

Then, a lot of bikes feel light, until you fill the fuel tank.

There is apparent driveway weight and riding weight. Some bikes are demons to push around but just 5mph and they become almost svelte feeling.

 

[clutchslip]

......
As far as a one inch change in center of gravity, I wonder what "pretty big" means to you. I bet most riders wouldn't even notice it happened.

I thought about this after posting because motorcycles move up and down so much. And suspension isn't set correctly. I wasn't really thinking about everyday riding, really. I was thinking more about higher speeds. The 1" wheel base change also might not be noticeable unless you are at track speeds. The Honda information was just that -information to learn.

 

[Blankpage]

I've noticed a change of tires to ones with a different profile having a huge effect on handling. However the moving of weight by an inch, yeah I suspect not so much.

 

[Butch]

Back in the day, and still a bit now, manufacturers totally misrepresented, even lied, about weights. Now not so much because of magazines (?) publishing actual weights.

 

[Rumbo Sur]

Back in the day, and still a bit now, manufacturers totally misrepresented, even lied, about weights. Now not so much because of magazines (?) publishing actual weights.

True. Fact is, "back in the day" some magazines colluded with OEM's to lie about weights. Luckily, the perps were caught doing this early on and it stopped.

But still, most consumers did not understand what "Dry Weight" meant way back then. (no fluids, no battery).

Good mags like Motorcycle Consumer News (US version) also has shown a bright light on "reality" regards weights and a bunch of other things too.

The other thing the mags colluded with OEM's on was prepping "ringer" bikes for tests. This also was caught out and stopped before it was ever wide spread.
Doing this is now like Kryptonite for the magazines. This info from guys like Art Friedman and other old guys in the publishing industry.

 

[stangmx13]

As far as a one inch change in center of gravity, I wonder what "pretty big" means to you. I bet most riders wouldn't even notice it happened.

Filling the tank probably moves the CG <1" on a smaller bike. ~28lbs of mass is <10% of the bike. its located <12" above the "empty" CG. 10% of 12" is 1.2", but those are over-estimates. if u add the rider into the whole system, the CG probably moves <0.5" because its a smaller weight% and the "empty" CG is already closer to the fuel tank due to the rider's mass. so ya, if u can feel the difference btw empty and full tank while riding, u can feel a 1" change in the CG height.

 

[Blankpage]

Filling the tank probably moves the CG <1" on a smaller bike. ~28lbs of mass is <10% of the bike. its located <12" above the "empty" CG. 10% of 12" is 1.2", but those are over-estimates. if u add the rider into the whole system, the CG probably moves <0.5" because its a smaller weight% and the "empty" CG is already closer to the fuel tank due to the rider's mass. so ya, if u can feel the difference btw empty and full tank while riding, u can feel a 1" change in the CG height.

Feel a difference in fuel load sure but would you describe that as a being "huge difference"?
I can notice the difference in ride height of my bike by installing new tires. But noticing a subtle changed doesn't automatically qualify as a huge difference.

I once owned an R1 and a GSXR1K at the same time. Getting off one bike and onto the other wasn't a huge difference. Getting off one and onto my ktm690 was a huge difference.

 

[stangmx13]

Feel a difference in fuel load sure but would you describe that as a being "huge difference"?
I can notice the difference in ride height of my bike by installing new tires. But noticing a subtle changed doesn't automatically qualify as a huge difference.

I once owned an R1 and a GSXR1K at the same time. Getting off one bike and onto the other wasn't a huge difference. Getting off one and onto my ktm690 was a huge difference.

conversations about semantics are lame.

 

[ScottRNelson]

I once owned an R1 and a GSXR1K at the same time. Getting off one bike and onto the other wasn't a huge difference. Getting off one and onto my ktm690 was a huge difference.

Getting off of a bike that you ride regularly and onto another bike that you ride regularly isn't usually a big adjustment. I still owned two Ducatis when I bought my XR650L. Once I adjusted to that bike, switching back and forth between any of them wasn't a big deal. Switching between my current KTM and the XR is no big deal either, even though one has more than twice the power as the other, and weighs a good 100 pounds more. I've had both long enough that I don't really feel like it is an adjustment to switch between them.

If you test ride some bike that is different than what you normally ride, to you feel like you have to adjust back to your bike afterward? I don't.

 

[Tom Liberatore]

Thanks for all the great replies, that 313lb CBR sounds about perfect. Most of my issues are centered around a stopped bike, mounting-dismounting, and being responsible for something that just wants to fall over are big concerns for people with MS.

 

[clutchslip]

I was being friendly by not saying, "you just can't feel it", because I realize most folks just ride on crappy asphalt streets. I can feel the difference in 1 inch adjustments. And I have felt that 1" in rear wheel movement was huge. One inch height difference can be huge, too. You only move your Ohlins shock a couple of mms to change handling, for example. One or two turns in fork preload can seem like a lot, and that is only a couple of mms.

 

[ST Guy]

Honda is really good at making bikes feel light even when they aren't. Weight distribution and geometry have as big an effect on how "heavy" a bike feels as the actual weight.

Despite being almost a 100 lbs heavier my ST1100 felt way lighter than my Triumph Sprint.

Yep....a lot more to how heavy a bike feels than just weight. My ST, an ABS model, weighed 725 lbs with 7+ gallons of fuel and that's before all the crap I had in the side bags. Just sitting on it and tilting it from side to side it didn't feel that heavy. Close, but not quite. But then once moving, it seemed to shed 150 to 175 lbs, in part because of Honda's centralization of mass and partly because of the fork and shock mods I made. It railed far better than most people would figure for a bike it's size. I once went riding with one of my brothers and a friend of his who was a former racer and was riding a 600. We were heading down Jamison Creek Road up in the Santa Cruz Mountains. My brother, on his SV650 was left in the dust and I was glued to the ass end of his friend's 600 all the way down. His friend was a bit surprised that I hung with him like that.

So, like others have said, you really need to ride both and see what you think then. The heavier bike might be the best choice.

 

[Blankpage]

conversations about semantics are lame.

So any noticeable change no matter how big or small can be described as huge. Simplifying the language with no need for other adjectives.

 

[stangmx13]

So any noticeable change no matter how big or small can be described as huge. Simplifying the language with no need for other adjectives.

theres no need to put words in my mouth. notice how many times I typed "huge" in my other post. u can have "semantics" conversations all u want with others. I won't be surprised if they are endless and/or generally pointless

 

[clutchslip]

Well, I said "huge" in my last post just to participate, and I got nothing. Hang in there for me, Robert. You deserve it.

 

[Walshman]

These are the numbers I found for wet weight. So yeah, pretty similar.


Honda CBR300 = 357
Yamaha R3 =368
Ninja 300 = 385

These numbers seem correct.

FWIW, I test rode each one of these bikes with a full tank last year.

I didn't have these numbers in my head at the time, but the CBR300 was noticeably lighter than the other two while seated and at lower speed. The differences were less noticeable to me at higher speeds.

During my test rides, I also turned off the bikes and pushed them around a parking lot to simulate moving them around my garage (lol). The CB300 was easiest, for sure.

 

[norcalkid]

Thanks for all the great replies, that 313lb CBR sounds about perfect. Most of my issues are centered around a stopped bike, mounting-dismounting, and being responsible for something that just wants to fall over are big concerns for people with MS.

I'd forget about the weight thing. These are all light manageable bikes and with some practice/training they are all fine for a new rider. Id sit on them all and see which body position feels best (add the CB300F and BMW310R), try and get an idea of the differences twin vs single, fuel injection vs not (ninja 250 doesn't have) and which have ABS.

I honestly can't help here as my only one of these was a Ninja 250 and I don't know squat about the others. But I'd be looking used and weight wouldn't be one of my considerations unless it bothered me on a test ride. I recently test rode the BMW310 and it's way more comfortable than my Ninja 250 was, I assume the CB300F would be similar.

 

[drdonsktm]

Would it be off topic to ask where one could actually get their bike weighed? I don't trust the manuals or the mags.