A comparison between the Cast Iron 500 and DS500.
Got hold of a friends 2012 DS to use for a while this morning. It has run 8k kms and has had a fall in between which led to a slight bend in the handle which can be felt on the left left wrist and right biceps.
I have ridden the Classic 500 and the TB500, but for a short distance in traffic and could not actually feel or figure anything. So, I decided to borrow this DS for short spin to compare it with my 96' 500 to know how different it is.
The first thing that hits you is the amount of torque this engine generates to the cast iron and that is in all gears right from the word go. On the cast iron 500, it does have good torque, but that is when compared to the CI350 and the AVL350 and the power on that comes in much after the accelerator is twisted and comes in steps which can be felt and then dies off around 80kmph which makes the UCE500 a fun bike to ride around only because of the torque it produces.
I wanted to check the handling and climbing abilities, so did Nandi hills and to check the top end and cruising ability, hit the expressway to Hyderabad.
The bike I rode had the upswept factory exhaust which has a nice note but nothing to beat the upswept free flow on the CI500. I suppose removing the cat con's in the exhaust system should free up some more power.
Handling ,I felt was better due to the 18 inch wheels. I could follow the line I wanted by making the bike stick to it which is not the case on my 500. If I am over the speed for a curve, I end up going wide and on the DS, I could still get it to stick to the intented line even while entering above the required speed for that curve. The downside to the 18 inches wheels I felt was high speed on bumpy roads was not very confidence inspiring and small ruts could be felt more although it had wider tires. My 500 with skinny rear tires on 19 inch wheels feels the same.
Coming to the highway ability. This is were I was blown off since this is what I always want on my bike for long trips- effortless cruising. Doing 60kmph with this engine is like killing the bike . 80-90 kmph is the sweet spot. The engine feels so effortless like it is just ticking over above idle and on an expressway , it is just perfect. On my 500, the sweet spot is 80kmph and anything above 85kmph is high revs. On the DS, 100kmph is the border line between cruising and high revving. I did check the top end and with the crouched position, it did not go above 123kmph(there is -5 speedo error). Bike is stable at these speeds unless there is a bus ahead which spoils the air flow and induces Speedmans Wobble and you need to let off. On the CI500, hitting 70kmph is effortless just like 90kmph on the DS.
I am not sure if the gear ratio's are the same on the UCE's and the AVL engined bikes which came with 5sp as well. For a change, I did not search for a sixth gear . The torque is well spread that when cruising at 90kmph, a twist is enough to move to 105kmph which it does quickly whereas on the CI , its a struggle to move above 90kmph and take its own sweet time and you will be happy to see a road sloping when in this process.
Downshifting is a breeze so is on the old 4 speed as long as you are at the right revs. This gearbox too has false neutrals and hard shifts when not in the right revs, but not as pronounced as the 4sp. Shifting at higher revs have butter smooth feel to it.
The seat- was a pain the a**. Would defenetly need a replacement during long trips.
Basically, the difference is like a petrol and diesel engined car of the same model. The diesel generates more torque than the petrol and cruises effortlessly with or without load, but has a little more top end . Same is the CI500 and the UCE 500.
After the ride was done, I rode my 500 and it felt like the bike was not moving when accelerating and I thought something was wrong
I am old school and I was happy to ride the old thumper back home for now and will wait for the Conti GT..
Mods-Please excuse the multiple references to speed since that was the only way I could compare the two bikes without a rev counter.
Regards
Some pictures