Ive just started riding bikes and while I'm not riding on a drag strip I just need to know,
should my VFR400 NC30 be able to beat a cbr250rr off a set of lights?? Im just thinking
my bike isnt running the way it should as my mate absolutely slams me off every set of lights
and he hasnt been riding any longer than me, his bike is just quicker... As much as I am happy
with my NC30, I really wanted the 400 cos I figured performance wise it would slaughter most
of the 250's out there....

It should but the NC30 has a very tall first gear and so won't win much at Santa Pod.

You need to practice your starts....

In general your NC should beat the CBR anywhere, Getting off the line quick is more down to the rider than the bike within reason.

Change your gearing, 14 on the front and 44 on the back and that'll scare your mate big style. Your bike will pull like a train upto 100 mph, beat all of your mates.

Some interesting points.

Mick's suggestion of changing the gearing will deffo imrpove the accelleration.

However. They should be pretty evenly matched due to the lower weight of the MCxx and it still having 45hp.. but I think the NC30 would win it.

IT might be a lot to do with technique :)

Are there any other reasons you think the bike might not be running properly apart from your races? :)

I've only dropped 1 tooth on the front and paired with a 40tooth rear the accelleration is loads better. Best £20 bolt on mod I've ever spent.
I was so pleased I bought another so both NC's are 14t/40 now.

Thanks for all the replies guys. Im gonna go out and get some more practise on my starts for sure. I might
even think about changing the gearing as some of you have suggested, sounds like a cheap mod. I live in
South Australia and I'm looking for a bike shop now who can do some tuning on my carbs as I've read the
flatspot around 5000rpm can be fixed by going up a jet size, lifting the needle 0.5mm and also drilling out the slide
up from 2.0mm to 2.5mm.

Neosophist - Yer my bike which I just acquired only a few weeks ago was sitting for nearly a year. It's my first bike
and I guess I don't really know if it is running %100 or not? I sent it in to a bike shop and had the oil and oil filter
changed out, checked the spark plugs myself, seemed to be fine. I ride it to work everyday and love it but in the early
mornings it seems to go hard as but then once the weather warms up the flatspot at 5000rpms is really bad, after that it revs freely
until just after 10,000rpm, then it seems to snag abit for the rest of the rev range. I had the bike mechanic ride it and he
seemed to think it was just restrictive jets in the carby was all that is letting it down. Could it still also have gummed up
fuel sitting in the bottoms of the carbys?

How many revs do you guys generally give your bike before letting the clutch out if you are in a hurry? :)

Cheers

Technique, CBR250RR has a fantastic powerband, picks up from nothing and pulls from walking pace up to IIRC ~30mph in 1st, dead easy to launch.

The NC30 in comparison needs clutch slip to launch fast and if you fluff it you go nowhere until you get into the power, I'd say about 9k for a pretty quick launch as demonstrated here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7a9Exx3o8s" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Druid

Sounds like your bike still has the restrictors fitted, whip the carbs off and look for a disc in the inlet rubbers

Omg Munkey, I hope your right. I had heard that it could possibly be restricted but nobody seemed to know.
It is supposed to be a learner approved 400 and i figured that surely it would be restricted but didnt know for sure.
I'm gonna check out my carbys asap now. Also Im a bit of a newbee on bikes, where exaclty will I find these
restricting rubbers? In or underneath the carbys? Cheers :)