Unofficial Royal Enfield Community Forum

General Discussion => Campfire Talk => Topic started by: barenekd on April 10, 2014, 04:59:47 pm

Title: Hesketh Motorcycles
Post by: barenekd on April 10, 2014, 04:59:47 pm
Another one returning from the dead, except, to me,  this one is all wrong
http://www.heskethmotorcycles.co.uk/hesketh-24/
Bare
Title: Re: Hesketh Motorcycles
Post by: ace.cafe on April 10, 2014, 07:31:09 pm
The original Hesketh from the 1980s didn't exactly set the world on fire, either.
At least this one isn't quite as ugly as the original, and probably is a better overall bike.
Title: Re: Hesketh Motorcycles
Post by: cyrusb on April 11, 2014, 12:34:19 am
This is the one I remember . Lord Hesketh supposedly used parts from their Formula One engine. It's not so ugly, remember, this was a long time ago.
Title: Re: Hesketh Motorcycles
Post by: ace.cafe on April 11, 2014, 12:49:00 am
Yes, not quite as bad as I remembered it, but sort of ungainly.
I like the new one better, for appearance.
The belly tank on the new one is an interesting feature.
Title: Re: Hesketh Motorcycles
Post by: cyrusb on April 11, 2014, 12:59:30 am
I like the new one, very XR-ish road racer .But whats weird is how  they manage only 120hp out of 1950cc's?????. That must be a typo.
Title: Re: Hesketh Motorcycles
Post by: ace.cafe on April 11, 2014, 01:16:02 am
I like the new one, very XR-ish road racer .But whats weird is how  they manage only 120hp out of 1950cc's?????. That must be a typo.
If it's a low-revver, which it may be with what appears to be a long stroke and pushrods, then the low hp figure might be accurate. But, I'll bet the torque is pretty beefy at low rpms. If you look at the Supersport 600 class which only has about 120-130 hp, they do over 150mph, so this thing could get moving pretty good, in theory.
And it has a real separate gearbox and a primary case, which I like a lot.
I think you got it pegged with the Harley XR thing, and it probably will appeal right to that clientele.
I'll bet that I'd like riding this thing. I'll also bet it is really expensive too.
Title: Re: Hesketh Motorcycles
Post by: High On Octane on April 11, 2014, 03:38:17 am
I know nothing of these bikes, but based upon what I just read and saw on that page, if money was not a factor for me, I'd be calling first thing in the morning and buy 1.  And I agree with Ace, that motor isn't designed to wind up, it's designed to rip your pants off right out of the gate.  It probably has a taller final gear ratio than you would find on a 600 sport bike, as it will have more torque up to 5k-6K RPMs than you'd know what to do with.  From the pic it looks like it is based off of a S&S 130CI 130HP crate motor which runs as I just mentioned.  The styling I could take or leave, but the performance that bike is packing is impressive.

Scottie J
Title: Re: Hesketh Motorcycles
Post by: bob bezin on April 11, 2014, 11:41:32 am
performance aside, the old one looks more interesting. not just another harley-buell -etc.
Title: Re: Hesketh Motorcycles
Post by: barenekd on April 12, 2014, 01:46:28 am
It's got an S&S, nee Hardley, in it. That explains the lack of HP and the long ugly look to it and, no doubt, handles like a pig.
Notning in it resembles a Hesketh. The original one, even after they started building the production versions, had a lot of problems. I remember the gearbox was one of the big ones. The critics really tore it up. IT was supposed to be the Superbike of the decade with its F1 heritage, but it never came close to living up to the hype. Hesketh finally just ran out of money to continue development.
That new Cruiser isn't going to live up to the name.
Bare
Title: Re: Hesketh Motorcycles
Post by: cyrusb on April 12, 2014, 10:36:44 pm
Well, none of us has to worry about ownership, they are only making 24. And I'm sure (as before) the price will be obscene .