BHP required for 'normal' riding

[stevo as b4]

I think Chickenstrip, is partly on the mark too with his point about depending on when where and how you ride and how many bikes you have or can justify to own.

Im a silly person for my age, always will be and as such I only want silly bikes generally. I would like different things on different rides and for different types of riding. Id like a big 130bhp+ naked with an engine over 1100cc for the easy big torque lazy rides.

I'd also like a 125 or 200cc bike with over 30bhp for local lanes and pratting about round town on.

But I'd also like a relaxed 10-12bhp bike or scooter that is basic simple and understressed and one where you can go WOT almost all the time, and never top about 60mph too.

[chickenstrip]

The Street Triple is close to being a perfect road bike imo. If the seat was more comfortable (not hard to fix), and it had reasonable wind protection, I think it would suit single-bike ownership even more than my Fazer, which can be a bit of a handful in the tighter twisty stuff if you start to get enthusiastic with the throttle.
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Chickenystripgeezer's Biking Life (Latest update 19/10/18) Belgium, France, Italy, Austria tour 2016 Picos de Europa, Pyrenees and French Alps tour 2017 Scotland Trip 1, now with BONUS FEATURE edit, 5/10/19, on page 2 Scotland Trip 2 Luxembourg, Black Forest, Switzerland, Vosges Trip 2017
THERE'S MILLIONS OF CHICKENSTRIPS OUT THERE!

[stonesie]

[M.C]

[Nobby the Bastard]

I can't commute with less than 100 bhp...

There again, I'm about to be banned so make whatsoever you want from that.

[chickenstrip]

[mentalboy]

A Kwakkasaggy H2 with a measly 74bhp should sort out any of those doubters who scoff at sub-100 figures.
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Make mine a Corona.

[chickenstrip]

[TheSmiler]

I'm going down to 15hp soon out of choice for the daily run (better fuel economy). Though even on the Cg a few years ago now I almost had 3 points just in a 30 zone.
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CB125>CG125>GN125>ER5>K100RS>R1100RS>K100RS
A2 completed 23/07/15 Ready for the Golden Crisp Packet

[mentalboy]

[P.]

Street Triple is literally the perfect road bike... But I felt limited when playing with the straight line heroes and maxing at like 130

Aside from that, even if it had 30hp less, I'd have one as a 2nd bike.

[F1.ash]

The test ride went well, as expected a very different experience and as hoped, the bike was not short of character . Some have made the point about it the engines characteristics being part of the equation ans this is an appropriate observation in the case of this bike.
It's a simple bike made with good quality and a nicely engineered parts, this also appeals to me. Shaft drive also seems to have an immediacy about it which compliments the V twin characteristics and I'll enjoy zero maintenance on this as a daily ride which is going to get wet and filthy regularly. The substantial rear fender also kept all the muck of the road off me. CMW got a nasty looking bike back in return
I believe it's what I've been looking for and I reckon it'll do me well.

Thanks for the contributions here, it turned out to be an interesting thread

[chickenstrip]

[Teflon-Mike]

[stevo as b4]

I've seen a bloke commuting to work on one of them dull grey H2R things. I guess that the bonus of riding one to work is that when you come out the place at the end of the day and see that face looking at you, it would make you feel instantly better about how your own face looks in Comparison, even if your a real ugly son of a bitch.

[M.C]

[chickenstrip]

[adengtg]

in my opinion, a 125cc (around 15HP) isnt enough to keep me entertained that much. anything over 250cc should be fine as you wont have any troubles getting up to speed or climbing hills and that.

[JAMSXR]

For me it’s 150BHP at the rear wheel and 90+ ft/lb. I’m no hero but this gives me 1 bike to do everything (I would love to have a fleet of bikes but that’s no possible).

I love small capacity 2 strokes and screaming triples, but there is a time and a place, they need plenty of input to get the most from them. As I’ve got older I’ve become more lazy, and spades of power and torque bring maximum enjoyment.
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Honda SFX50 > Aprilia SR125 > Aprilia RS125 > Honda RFV400 > K4 GSXR600 > KTM Duke > C1H 636 > K3 GSXR1000 > Aprilia RSV-R > Triumph Street Triple R > Ducati 899 Panigale > Aprilia Tuono 1100 > Triumph Daytona 675R > KTM SuperDuke 1290 2.0

[Rogerborg]

[talkToTheHat]

My allegedly 46bhp at the crank XV535 found full throttle a lot in normal riding. Would sit at motorway speeds and cope with full luggage and 2-up, but didn't really have enough punch to make an assertive transition from 56mph between HGVs into the outside lane in busy traffic, but would do short sliproads such as those on the A1 reasonably well.

Having said that, the same manoeuvre in a 55bhp Polo or worse an A1 short sliproad is utterly terrifying. I think they both have a similar claimed top speed give or take a handful of mph, as by that point they're dealing with similar aero drag.

A 78 bhp or so of bandit 600 is enough to deal assertively with motorway traffic 2-up with 3 45 litre givi boxes. More than enough. It's always had enough for a swift and assertive overtake. <airquote>Race</airquote> headers seem to drop out some of the smoothness across 4000-6000 rpm and there's a noticeable lurch forward as it finds the still quite wide powerband. I'm not convinced there is more power as I really don't get to hit 1100rpm at full throttle that often. It's got enough to not be constantly stretching the throttle cable asking for more as I was with 125s, the xv535 and my shit car.

Certainly a pre-vtech VFR800 has plenty (don't actually know how much) and whilst one is noticeably quicker than a bandit it's not going to get away on a public road unless you're risking an instant ban or jailtime. A 98 R1 is pretty much wasted on the road and whilst part of me wants to play with a superbike I think it would be wasted if it didn't see many trackdays.

There is, however, a lot to be said for how the power is delivered. Flatish torque curves and linear power is easy to ride and frequently cited as an ideal, but it's BORING. On stock pipes the blandit picks up nicely at 4000 rpm and keeps on going to a wheezy 11000 rpm or so without much of a rush. I'm skeptical of the 'adds 10bhp' claim of my cheap aftermarket exhaust system, but it drops some of the smooth and bland for a bit of a surge. It's enough to feel fun but is easily avoided in the rain. A big lumpy twin with peak torque at fairly low revs is a lot of fun at lower speeds, but needs a bit of respect in slippery conditions and on a short bike means easy wheelies. The 535, to it's credit, was stupid irresponsible fun when you got the rear wheel spinning up a bit and pegs scraping. It wasn't fast but it could be fun. The VFR I borrowed belongs in the same camp as the bandit, smooth and well mannered, it didn't really rouse my inner hooligan despite speed creeping up some. The R1 I mentioned appeared to have adequate pottering about torque and was well behaved until about 8000 rpm where it reared up and lurched towards the horizon with much enthusiasm, but that mighty top end rush came with the price of naughty speeds. I know i've not ridden a really modern sportsbike but I can't really justify owning anything much quicker.

I conclude 75-100 bhp is plenty adequate for the road, be it from a big lump with lots of low down torque for cruiser-posing or comfortable cruising or something smaller that delivers it with a bit of a top end rush. If two-up and luggage at motorway speed isn't a priority then anything in the "restrictable to A2" bracket it plenty adequate, but native A2 and the old 33bhp limit are into the "riding a small bike hard" territory, which is not everyone's cup of bovril. I should probably add that I'm 6' and thereabouts 100kg kitted up so anyone with more of a racing snake physique may find similar results at a lower power output.
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Bandit. does. everything.

[TheMadRatter]

[Alex A]

[Rogerborg]

[TheMadRatter]