The twin vs triple debate. time to bring back the trip---or not?

popcorn popper

Active VIP Member
Joined
Nov 26, 2008
Messages
464
Reaction score
511
Location
central alberta
I have an old 779 motor with carbs in my garage, I was gonna throw it in an old zx or a dragon roller for a fun project. It needs an overbore, since it was slightly squeaked in the middle cylinder. Old school sleeves I believe. It runs, but needs a couple of things...

Anyone have a donor sled they can donate? LOL:cool:

I just sold a 2000 zx pipes and all? Owner would sell chassis cheap,already setup for three holer.I could be off on this whole topic?Maybe 4 cylinder is the way to go?
 

teeroy

Active VIP Member
Joined
Oct 7, 2007
Messages
9,100
Reaction score
14,101
Location
Roma, Alberta
I have an old 779 motor with carbs in my garage, I was gonna throw it in an old zx or a dragon roller for a fun project. It needs an overbore, since it was slightly squeaked in the middle cylinder. Old school sleeves I believe. It runs, but needs a couple of things...

Anyone have a donor sled they can donate? LOL:cool:
a friend of mine that makes them old triples haul the mail said he prefers the 799 to the 809. Ralph does some massaging and he clutches and tunes them, full bodied F chassis that lays waste to the cookie sheets on snow, grass, or asphalt.
 

DRD

Active VIP Member
Joined
Oct 21, 2008
Messages
2,729
Reaction score
5,390
Location
Red Deer County
Hmm, ever seen a 1200 Watercraft pull? A 1200 twin isn't in the same league.
 
  • Like
Reactions: cs5

lilduke

Active VIP Member
Joined
Sep 15, 2009
Messages
17,735
Reaction score
63,004
Location
Local
I would love to see a new triple turbo sled
 

mach123

Active VIP Member
Joined
Jan 22, 2008
Messages
2,005
Reaction score
762
Location
St. Albert
a friend of mine that makes them old triples haul the mail said he prefers the 799 to the 809. Ralph does some massaging and he clutches and tunes them, full bodied F chassis that lays waste to the cookie sheets on snow, grass, or asphalt.

X2 I have a ps800 made from a 779 bottom and runs on race fuel 15.5 to 1 comp and is 205hp all motor halls the mail.............
 

mach123

Active VIP Member
Joined
Jan 22, 2008
Messages
2,005
Reaction score
762
Location
St. Albert
We can confuse each other with all the facts we want. All I am going to add is that my brother still has a Formula III 600 that his wife rides. ANd it is THE best sounding sled in our group, bar none. My goodness that sled sounds awesome.

I have that exact sled in my garage now, and agree with you. When I bought it new in 96 there was no poo poo 6 or 700cc sleds that would come close to beating it. Still runs like a champ, I also have a 06 mach 1000 with nos since new and still perfect comp and people say they are junk..............hmmmmmmmmmmmmm
 
Joined
Nov 18, 2012
Messages
13
Reaction score
1
Location
Grassland, Alberta
The down fall of triples are the weight, and even high performance 800 triples cannot pump the hp that even a twin 800 of its time could, without the reliability that a twin has. Yet I do not think that we can pump any more hp out of modern twins, today without losing the great reliability ie turbos. In mg opinion I think that we could bring back triples with today's technology.
 

lilduke

Active VIP Member
Joined
Sep 15, 2009
Messages
17,735
Reaction score
63,004
Location
Local
I dont know what new twins u all have been riding,, but the ones I ride are anything but reliable.... barley get 2 or 3000km out of one if you ride it hard
 

popcorn popper

Active VIP Member
Joined
Nov 26, 2008
Messages
464
Reaction score
511
Location
central alberta
Yes in 96 I bought a new 96 f111 600 all my buddies bought 670 summits and then 670x? I would kill them everywhere we went. I just sold it two weeks ago but I remember repairing their 670 pto bearings every 2nd year. Ha the good ol twins!
 

DRD

Active VIP Member
Joined
Oct 21, 2008
Messages
2,729
Reaction score
5,390
Location
Red Deer County
The down fall of triples are the weight, and even high performance 800 triples cannot pump the hp that even a twin 800 of its time could, without the reliability that a twin has. Yet I do not think that we can pump any more hp out of modern twins, today without losing the great reliability ie turbos. In mg opinion I think that we could bring back triples with today's technology.


The HP triples couldn't make the power of the twins?? LMAO.
Show me a twin that isn't turboed that will make the same HP as a similarily modified triple. It isn't going to happen, less transfer port area, less pipe etc.
 

DRD

Active VIP Member
Joined
Oct 21, 2008
Messages
2,729
Reaction score
5,390
Location
Red Deer County
HP to HP the twin will ALWAYS make more torque than the triple.

Because they make their peak HP at a lower RPM, a single with a large flywheel will make more torque than a twin.
Since I have a CVT, making torque over a 2k RPM spread doesn't matter to me. My triple will make within 20HP and 5 ft/lbs over a 1000 RPM spread. Even with my limited clutching ability I can hit a spot where it will work.
Your 1160 will make good power but a similar triple will make more, have less vibration and be more reliable without the deto problems that seem to plague big twins. Ask Sever next time you talk to him. The bigger the bore the worse it gets as you can't get enough transfer port area or crankcase volume to make it work like it should and get the hp/cc.
 

Longhairfreak

Active VIP Member
Joined
Oct 19, 2008
Messages
3,261
Reaction score
3,096
Location
Spruce Grove
Because they make their peak HP at a lower RPM, a single with a large flywheel will make more torque than a twin.
Since I have a CVT, making torque over a 2k RPM spread doesn't matter to me. My triple will make within 20HP and 5 ft/lbs over a 1000 RPM spread. Even with my limited clutching ability I can hit a spot where it will work.
Your 1160 will make good power but a similar triple will make more, have less vibration and be more reliable without the deto problems that seem to plague big twins. Ask Sever next time you talk to him. The bigger the bore the worse it gets as you can't get enough transfer port area or crankcase volume to make it work like it should and get the hp/cc.

First of all dont mention the 1160 CUSO doesnt like that. Also I agree with detonation problems increase as bore increases but that can be fixed with fuel. For comparison sake though if you took a twin and a triple making the same HP and put them in identical chassis and raced the twin would win every time.
 

teeroy

Active VIP Member
Joined
Oct 7, 2007
Messages
9,100
Reaction score
14,101
Location
Roma, Alberta
Yes in 96 I bought a new 96 f111 600 all my buddies bought 670 summits and then 670x? I would kill them everywhere we went. I just sold it two weeks ago but I remember repairing their 670 pto bearings every 2nd year. Ha the good ol twins!
lol....everywhere you went? must have been hardpack, because that sure wasn't the experience we had running 670's against F3's or any other stretched triples in the mountains. I can recall one specific situation where we dropped into a creek late spring to discover the creek had opened up and had to climb back out of the tight trail, and the only sleds that could make it out were the twins....there were three triples that we had to hand bomb up. you had no run, and really had to rely on the bottom end grunt to get moving to gather momentum. the triples were so peaky they would immediately trench when they got on the pipe, the twins could all lug their way until the tight spot where you could then give it throttle. yes, wide open and screaming the trips were great, but that moment there really showed their shortcomings. weight and lack of torque at lower rpm's.

as for the pto bearings? I knew of only one 670 that ever had a crank bearing issue, it was 2 years off of warranty and 'doo was so surprised that it had a problem they warrantied it anyways. it got a brand new bottom end, those 670 rotary engines were bulletproof. not uncommon for them to roll up 5000 miles or more without a hiccup. after 2 seasons or so the triples were always a tuning nightmare, fouling one plug, eating the center piston, seemed there were always something wrong with them.
 

CUSO

Active VIP Member
Joined
Jan 21, 2007
Messages
4,771
Reaction score
5,522
Location
Edmonton
What about identical displacement? Who would win? and why?

First of all dont mention the 1160 CUSO doesnt like that. Also I agree with detonation problems increase as bore increases but that can be fixed with fuel. For comparison sake though if you took a twin and a triple making the same HP and put them in identical chassis and raced the twin would win every time.
 
Top Bottom