What is the best bike engine for a Vortx build, R1, ZZr1400, BUSA, Blade?

Anybody got preferences or experience?

Don't fancy changing clutches regularly.

Go for the newest most powerful engine you can afford.

This one...

Linky

Depends on your definition of "best", best value, bangs for your buck has to be the ZZR1100, or the carb'ed R1 (pre 2005 ish?). the ZZR had some issues with 2nd gear, the Yam some general gearbox/clutch issues, both are dirt cheap to buy & if you get a good one then solid as a rock.

The early Fireblade up to the late (2010 on?) CBR engines were grossly over rated, very low on torque & entirely unsuitable for car use other than perhaps on track - even then there are much better, cheaper engines (see above)

The 'Busa is a good solid engine, tho' overpriced & over rated in my opinion & the slightly cheaper ZZR1400 has equal or more power & more torque, plus has a better clutch/gearbox & is more reliable, the 'Busa needs a dry sump if running in a 7 style car on track, the ZZR just needs a baffled sump. Where the 'Busa scores is that there are far more tuning goodies available (like you need more power)

The late CBR engine (like Scootz has) is a brilliant engine, not significantly slower in a 7 than the 'Busa & ZZR1400, but a little lighter & significantly cheaper

Bothe ZX12R & ZX10 are excellent engines & cheaper than the CBR, IIRC the ZX10 has a rather high mounted output shaft which can cause clearance issues with the tunnel?

Avoid the Blackbird engine like the plague unless you are prepared to dry sump, in a 7 they lose oil pressure cornering & run no.3 big end

The Suzuki GX engines have a good rep, but don't seem to get used on the road, tho' plenty of peeps hillclimb, sprint & grasstrack with them

I run the ZZR1400 in the Furore which at 565kg is significantly heavier than most 7's - the performance is way more than you could safely or intelligently use on the road & I would suggest that unless you want truly lunatic performance then significantly cheaper units like the CBR, the ZX10 or ZX12R are way more than adequate - with the engine at the front & the drive at the rear you are always going to struggle to get the power on the road unless on a hot day with sticky slicks! I have a friend with a R1 (early) engined MNR & the performance is more than you would ever be likely to regularly use on the road

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Originally posted by russbost
Depends on your definition of "best", best value, bangs for your buck has to be the ZZR1100, or the carb'ed R1 (pre 2005 ish?). the ZZR had some issues with 2nd gear, the Yam some general gearbox/clutch issues, both are dirt cheap to buy & if you get a good one then solid as a rock.

The early Fireblade up to the late (2010 on?) CBR engines were grossly over rated, very low on torque & entirely unsuitable for car use other than perhaps on track - even then there are much better, cheaper engines (see above)

The 'Busa is a good solid engine, tho' overpriced & over rated in my opinion & the slightly cheaper ZZR1400 has equal or more power & more torque, plus has a better clutch/gearbox & is more reliable, the 'Busa needs a dry sump if running in a 7 style car on track, the ZZR just needs a baffled sump. Where the 'Busa scores is that there are far more tuning goodies available (like you need more power)

The late CBR engine (like Scootz has) is a brilliant engine, not significantly slower in a 7 than the 'Busa & ZZR1400, but a little lighter & significantly cheaper

Bothe ZX12R & ZX10 are excellent engines & cheaper than the CBR, IIRC the ZX10 has a rather high mounted output shaft which can cause clearance issues with the tunnel?

Avoid the Blackbird engine like the plague unless you are prepared to dry sump, in a 7 they lose oil pressure cornering & run no.3 big end

The Suzuki GX engines have a good rep, but don't seem to get used on the road, tho' plenty of peeps hillclimb, sprint & grasstrack with them

I run the ZZR1400 in the Furore which at 565kg is significantly heavier than most 7's - the performance is way more than you could safely or intelligently use on the road & I would suggest that unless you want truly lunatic performance then significantly cheaper units like the CBR, the ZX10 or ZX12R are way more than adequate - with the engine at the front & the drive at the rear you are always going to struggle to get the power on the road unless on a hot day with sticky slicks! I have a friend with a R1 (early) engined MNR & the performance is more than you would ever be likely to regularly use on the road

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Stop talking about bike engines - I'm getting tempted!

"What is the Furore like?" - see my Avatar or furorecars.co.uk, it's comfortable (surprisingly so!) & very, very quick, 0 - 60 is around 3.5 seconds with the ZZR1400

The new 'Blades are a cracking engine and that one Scootz is selling is a steal! He's a top bloke to deal with too

If you don't want to eat clutches then don't launch it frequently, fit an uprated spring set / diaphragm and go for one with a slipper installed (the 2013 Blade has one as standard).

I had similar questions as you a couple of years back, you need to define 'best' and also budget

money no object then buy yourself a RLM built ZZr1400 or Busa

But if you want a free engine, or even make profit then buy a full Zx12r bike (preferably out of season) with mid range miles for less than £2K, break it keep what you need (engine,loom, pump) and sell the rest. There's a good market for older OEM bike parts.

Thanks guys, appreciate the comments and suggestions on BECS.

Cheap and good fun. 893 or 918/919 blade engine


Good fun and not overly expensive r1 Honda engine later models with slipper clutch.

Crazy fast busa and zzr1400 engines. As mentioned above scoot is a top bloke I've bought from him before.

David

[Edited on 4/7/18 by jossey]

I'm feeling the love guys! Straight back at y'all!