Below is a pic of my dirt bike. It is a 1977 Kawasaki KZ1000. It’s been lowered and has a 100hp 1040 cc 4 cylinder engine. It weighs 450 pounds. I have personally driven it over 100 mph on the local dirt roads…..many times, well every time I ride it actually. It will go 0-122 in about 12 seconds on pavement…..traction is a problem in the dirt. It NEVER stops spinning the tire ….5th gear@ 100 mph = huge rooster tail. It has the tallest gearing I can put on it. It will go over 110 in 3rd.
It is a completely bad idea. It does handle OK so long as you don’t mind high speed slides and low speed terror. Big bumps are a problem but small ones are ok. You do not “Jump” it over things. You do NOT expect the dual disc breaks to actually stop you very fast but they will lock either tire very easily at any speed in the dirt. It requires 100% concentration to drive.
I also have an XR250 “real dirt bike”. That is a joy to drive, over 12 inches of wheel travel….dual discs that actually work, Killer suspension….it’s smooth and handles excellently. It’s light and has a wide power band.
So what is my point? Well, there is not a person on the planet that thinks the Kaw is a good idea. Ask anyone who knows bikes if they would consider making something like it and actually driving it. Then show them the image and tell them it exists. Watch the reaction. It is a safe bet to say the word “crazy” or maybe “insane” will be said.
Ask a guy that builds dirt bikes for a living what he thinks!? He will certainly know more than me....and when he says "that's ok but my big Husky will out run it" I'm pretty sure he knows what he's talking about. Unless we get on a road....then I'll spin the knobs off the tires with a good burn out and it's "on"! So , see we could both be "right" based on "experience" and conditions.
So why does it exist? Because I want it to. It does things I really like and it does them like no other bike in the world. Is it a good “dirt bike”? I think not. Is it a dirt bike? Yes.
Should it exist? No not really…..it does NOT go faster than a real dirt bike unless the road is nice and smooth with plenty of room to stop, since building speed is not the “problem”? But I love it. And I could care less what “experts” think about it.
And that is my analogy to single driver speakers…..there are a lot that should not exist…but they may very well be what the owner/ builder wants. This is fine.
There are single driver speakers with motors(drivers) in places they should not be…..but the owner/builder may very well be happy. This is good.
The problem arises when an opinion is put forth that jives with reality. Would anyone look at my big bike and then my little one and say…..”well, that one has 36 HP and that one has 100hp…..obviously the big one will outrun the little one?” Yep, many might, but not someone that actually has driven both and knows motorcycles.
I would simply “push” someone on the Kaw to higher speeds until they crashed. While the big one is crazy good at going fast the little one will go 85 MPH in complete safety.
So which is really more practical….the one that is safer, smaller, and for all practical purposes just as fast down a twisty dirt road or the one that should not exist?
I’ll take both. But for the most part the XR is the better choice.
This is not a great analogy but I am trying……speakers are like that….one person’s opinion (mine) or another’s does not make everything true……truth is what actually is happening not our experience. When I express my opinion it is based on experience that I have. When I say….you can make a KZ into a dirt bike, people laugh……then they see it.
In the case of drivers…..when people say things that I know are not true I will say so and try and explain. For instance….you can NOT get 105 db out of a Bandor 2 inch driver. If some one said they did I'd ask how and then test it, unless I couldn't like say because of expense or complexity. They do sound wonderful within their range, btw.
You also can not get the out puts we get out of a 126 in any cabinet except a corner horn. So don’t try. I already have, 9 years ago with a very similar driver. I use the 126 because it is more suitable than the original drivers I used in my opinion for my purposes. I do NOT argue this point (whether 108 or 126 is “better”) with anyone because there is no “better”. I have my opinion they have theirs. The 108 will not make high spls in anything except a corner horn either, BTW. Am I claiming anything else, nope.
In the case of the 4 inch driver…..if it were possible to achieve the outputs I require in any manner other than what I do I’d do it. The problem is I HAVE tried ALL the other ways. As for OB…..yea, even threw together a “line array” with some drivers used in different ranges and every other combination. If it were any good I’d have talked about it.
Anyway, a statement like…..”the 126
in my speakers sounds forced at high volumes” is acceptable to me.
But this……“the 126 sounds forced at high volumes to me ” is NOT acceptable, because it is not ALWAYS true. I prove it all the time.
Questions about “which driver is better” can never be answered “correctly” since there is no correct answer.
And for God's sake remember all this applies to my opinions too.
Hope this helps,
Ed
I sold her 2 years ago and got her back this April. Will get her back to shape this winter....nothing major wrong. Need to clean the carbs and minor stuff.
