Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1237845
CURTISS P40 WARHAWK FINAL EDITION R I D E R E V I E W P68 pushrod V-twins. Though S&S declines to fit any vibration- sapping counterbalancers to it, the triple-camshaft X-Wedge motor is pretty smooth by air- cooled V-twin standards, with no undue vibration despite being solid-mounted for extra chassis stiffness. Thanks to the refined fueling delivered by the Delphi EFI, it'll pull cleanly off idle with acres of grunt, and truly impressive acceleration. Just crack the throttle open in almost any gear you care to throw at it, and the Curtiss surges forward irresist- ibly, but controllably. Engine mapping is ideal, without too vivid a throttle response, and wheelies aren't an issue be- cause of the long wheelbase. That great acceleration comes thanks to the massive amount of torque on tap at almost any engine speed, which peaks at just 2000 rpm, but holds hard and strong all the way through to the new 6200-rpm rev limiter, which because of those oodles of torque you have no business ever approaching. The shift action of the Bomb- er's five-speed Confederate gearbox with Andrews gears is quite positive, swapping ratios smoothly while allowing you to find neutral quite easily at rest. But with so much torque on tap, two of those five ratios remain completely superfluous—you can start off from rest in third gear without slipping the clutch much, and the Curtiss will go almost anywhere in top gear, with hugely impressive roll-on performance from virtually any revs. The quartet of leading-edge Beringer 230mm cast iron floating front discs work bril- liantly well with heaps of feel in stopping the Curtiss from the high speeds it's so fully capable of reaching. This was proved by Confederate customer Jim Hoegh establishing a new land speed record on his Hellcat at the Bonneville Salt Flats in 2014 at 172.211 mph (277.146 km/h) in the APF-3000 category for unstreamlined, naturally aspi- rated, pushrod V-twin engines above 2000cc, with a one-way pass of 176.458 mph. "I believe this Curtiss War- hawk is the best internal combustion-engined motor- cycle I've ever made," says Matt Chambers, "and I've been mak- ing them for almost 30 years. It seems an appropriate way to say farewell as we turn the page and focus totally in the future on our next-generation electric models. Because this Final Edi- tion also resonates the fact that Mr. Curtiss invented the Ameri- can V-twin—but then laid it to rest as far as he was concerned in favor of striking off in a new direction, namely aviation. Well, we're doing the same, though staying on two wheels but with electric propulsion. Either way, it's an epiphany—and we can only hope to be just a tiny bit as successful with our new direc- tion, as he was with his!" Amen to that! CN S P E C I F I C A T I O N S CURTISS P40 WARHAWK FINAL EDITION ($75,000) ENGINE: ....Air/oil-cooled, triple-camshaft OHV, pushrod, dry-sump 56.25° 4-valve V-twin 4-stroke, with one-piece forged crankshaft, toothed belt camshaft drive, and machined 6061-T6 billet aluminum crankcases DISPLACEMENT: ................................... 2163cc BORE X STROKE: .............. 111.76 x 116.76mm POWER: ...........................156 hp @ 5500 rpm TORQUE: ....................... 160 lb-ft @ 2000 rpm TRANSMISSION: ..................................5-speed CLUTCH: ....................................Wet multi-disc CHASSIS: ........ Machined modular aluminum monocoque, with 7.0 in. backbone contain- ing fuel load FRONT SUSPENSION: ..........Double-wishbone parallelogram fork with tubular aluminum struts and direct-action RaceTech mono- shock, fully adjustable REAR SUSPENSION: .....Fabricated aluminum swingarm with cantilever RaceTech mono- shock fully adjustable FRONT-WHEEL TRAVEL: ....................... 3.35 in. REAR-WHEEL TRAVEL: ......................... 5.50 in. FRONT BRAKE: ................ 4 x 230mm Beringer floating Aeronal cast iron discs with 2 x 4-pis- ton Beringer radially mounted Aerotec calipers REAR BRAKE: ................ 2 x 230mm Beringer floating Aeronal cast-iron disc with 4-piston Beringer radially-mounted Aerotec caliper FRONT TIRE: ........ 130/70R18 in. Pirelli Night Dragon on 3.50 in. BST carbon wheel REAR TIRE: ........240/40VR18 in. Pirelli Night Dragon on 8.50 in. BST carbon wheel RAKE: .........................................................27.5° SEAT HEIGHT: ...................................... 29.5 in. FUEL CAPACITY: .................................3.75 gal. WEIGHT (WET, CLAIMED):.................. 545 lbs.