Performance comparison - FZ-07 vs CB400SF

[faffi]

OK, so it is not rocket science that the much bigger Yamaha wins, but it is how it outperform the smaller bike that I find the most impressive.
 
With both bikes rolling along at about 15 mph, the Honda in 1st gear and the Yamaha in 2nd, they accelerate quite similar (very slight edge to the FZ) up until about 40 mph - from there on, the Yamaha storms away.
 
With both bikes rolling along at about 30 mph, the FZ in 4th gear and the CB in 2nd, the two stay fairly even up to 65 mph with the Honda again falling a bike length or two behind.
 
Final test was starting out even slower, about 23 mph indicated, again in 4th and 2nd, 2000 rpm showing on the FZ tacho and 3700 on the CB item. Surprisingly, the advantage for the Yamaha was now markedly greater, storming instantly to a five bike length lead that then more or less stabilized itself until the little bike ran out of revs.
 
Not possible to put into words is how different the two engines feel. The Honda never feels eager, it just smoothly and slowly gain rpm. It will pull from 1000 rpm in top gear and eventually reach redline, but it never feels alive. The Yamaha just jumps ahead with joy every time the throttle is turned. The four is boring, the twin exciting.