Superbikes you can remap for lower power?

[Vanilla]

Noob question all.

At the age of 36 I'm finally considering getting a Motorbike as a raft of friends have.

One friend passed his test and straight out of the gate got a Ducatti Panigale. I suggested this was a bit too powerful for a first bike but he said that you can remap them so you can increase power as you gain confidence and experience. He currently has it at 70hp when he trained on a 74hp bike.

My question is, can all bikes do this or is it limited to ducati. As you can imagine searches fr superbikes and remaps is quite a hard search for this specific subject!

 

[Deleted member 651465]

I’ll move this to Bikers Cafe

Depends what you mean by remap. That to me suggests adding performance, what he probably meant was restricting.

I don’t believe all bikes are capable of being restricted, but a google search with your desired bike should clear that up.

You’re old enough to pass a direct access course (DAS) and jump on any size bike, so providing you can handle the 600/650cc at the test centre then the choice of which bike is entirely in your ballpark. Would I go for a panigale? Not as a first bike, but people have jumped straight on R1s and lived to tell the tale.

 

[The_Abyss]

Engine mapping changes performance, up, down or the same with different characteristics. Then there are physical ways of limiting performance.

Most modern bikes have default mapping modes that lower performance. I'm not sure if the 959 remaps down to 70 bhp, as that's over half the standard performance. If he wants one though, then he should just get one. He'll learn about managing power, with the added bonus of also learning about what 'Italian passion' really means when owning a bike

 

[TallPaul_S]

He's probably riding the panigale in 'rain mode', which does indeed reduce the power.

A lot of modern bikes have different power modes, say Rain, Sport, Race.

Rain mode might be 100bhp with lots of TCS and ABS and a soft throttle repsonse. Sport would be full power with medium TCS and ABS and a sharper throttle respose. Race mode would be full power, minimal TCS and ABS and a very sharp and direct throttle response.

Sounds like your mate has an 899/959 Panigale which actually has 150ish bhp so it's not classed as a 'superbike' - A superbike refers to a 1000cc 4cylinder or 1200c twin with 180BHP or more. His bike will have 100bhp in rain mode which is about 80-85bhp at the wheel.

 

[Vanilla]

Thanks all, sounds like you're right - it's just the different modes for wet/etc on the Ducati.

If I go down the bike route i'd likely go for something like an R6....which is still probably too powerful. Depends what value I place on my own life! Still, i'm hoping at 36 I have a bit more sense than 20 years ago.

 

[Deleted member 651465]

Thanks all, sounds like you're right - it's just the different modes for wet/etc on the Ducati.

If I go down the bike route i'd likely go for something like an R6....which is still probably too powerful. Depends what value I place on my own life! Still, i'm hoping at 36 I have a bit more sense than 20 years ago.

I wanted an R6 but was put off by the power band (best power at higher RPM), so went with an SV650. The power of a 600cc is fine for a newb, if you are sensible

 

[Kreeeee]

I wanted an R6 but was put off by the power band (best power at higher RPM), so went with an SV650. The power of a 600cc is fine for a newb, if you are sensible

The R6 has almost double the horsepower that the SV650 has. This is why I think looking at cc in isolation isn't that useful.

 

[Deleted member 651465]

In that case, RIP

 

[tom_e]

@JunglistE jumped straight on an R6 IIRC and isn't dead.

 

[Junglist]

Can confirm. Still alive. Still riding!

Haha, the first time I felt that powerband... I was both terrified and also had a grin on my face that I've never had before. The pull in 1st and 2nd still makes me laugh like a maniac till this day.

Life's too short to not get what you want... admittedly bikes could make that life expectancy shorter anyway but that's the risk we take when we ride.

I'll probably have this for another year or so before getting a S1000RR or a 848.

 

[acemastr]

R6 will bite you if you aren't careful but you really do need to thrash the hell out of it to get performance from it, even after having mine mapped to 115bhp at the rear wheel.

My R1 has a rain mode, cuts it down to about 115bhp lol

I would definitely not recommend a panigale for a new rider, that's called more money than sense

 

[Diddums]

Uhm SV650 has the same (if not a tiny bit more) torque than an R6 and way lower down, so imho a much better street riding engine. It's going to accelerate faster from a standstill (it's also a bit lighter). Obviously higher you go up the revs slowly the R6 will take off, but i'm not sure why someone would ever choose a small 4cylinder over a twin for street riding, obviously each to their own!

This. You really have to wrangle the nuts off a small IL4 to get the most out of it, whereas a twin will have double the torque at half the RPM.

 

[Deleted member 651465]

R6 will bite you if you aren't careful but you really do need to thrash the hell out of it to get performance from it, even after having mine mapped to 115bhp at the rear wheel.

My R1 has a rain mode, cuts it down to about 115bhp lol

I would definitely not recommend a panigale for a new rider, that's called more money than sense

Lol. Does it even rain in Florida?

Every time I’ve been there’s a tropical thunderstorm then it’s dry 20 minutes later!

 

[Kreeeee]

Uhm SV650 has the same (if not a tiny bit more) torque than an R6 and way lower down, so imho a much better street riding engine. It's going to accelerate faster from a standstill (it's also a bit lighter). Obviously higher you go up the revs slowly the R6 will take off, but i'm not sure why someone would ever choose a small 4cylinder over a twin for street riding, obviously each to their own!

You're proving my point that you can't get any useful information from a bike's cc alone. I don't disagree with anything in your post by the way.

 

[Vanilla]

I would definitely not recommend a panigale for a new rider, that's called more money than sense

He has the cash.

Is there any 600cc sports bike that is a bit more forgiving or are they all within 10-15% of eachother. GSXR, CBR, Kawasaki.

Yeah I could be sensible but I just like the look of sports bikes. However, the most I have ridden personally is a scooter in places like Vietnam and Cambodia. Been Pillion of a fast bike years ago in Sardinia and WOW I got off it thinking I WILL HAVE. It soon faded.

I promised the old man when I was 16 I wouldn't get a bike while he was alive. Didn't know he would still be going strong at 84 - now i'm a 36 year old who has to ask permission to get a bike!

 

[Vanilla]

There's no way someone with a panigale has it mapped to 70bhp... Guessing that's what he told his partner?

Likely. He was/is a cyclist too so I guess while cyclists lie about how much they paid for bikes motorcyclists lie about the power??

 

[TallPaul_S]

Even at 36, a sportbike will be £1000-1500 to insure for a new rider. Check out insurance before you get too settled on a specific bike!

 

[Kreeeee]

He has the cash.

Is there any 600cc sports bike that is a bit more forgiving or are they all within 10-15% of eachother. GSXR, CBR, Kawasaki.

Yeah the V-Twins (SV650, ER6F etc) are the easiest and most forgiving, with about half the horsepower of the in-line four engines of the ZX636 and R6.