BHP required for 'normal' riding

[chickenstrip]

[TheMadRatter]

[grr666]

Yep,wrong triple. 850cc /188kg wet is where it's at.
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[TheMadRatter]

[JAMSXR]

[chickenstrip]

I think 150+bhp in a litre bike tends to mean you end up with a fair bit lower down the rev range too, unlike your average screamy Jap IL4 600. Of course, if you have a V-Twin, you'll have even more. 140-ish on mine (IL4) gives me plenty of shove lower down, and I've generally found that to be the case: Z1, GPz1100, FZR1000, FZS1000. And I agree, it makes for better road use, as you have the flexibility that this gives you.

The Street Triple was surprisingingly flexible for a mid-capacity bike, but I still wound up thrashing it everywhere
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[stevo as b4]

I can say that even when I rode bikes alot, did Sunday blasts, or went touring that the 108bhp (94bhp r/w) of my 600 was enough power in absolute terms, but there was times where 1000cc worth of grunt lower down would have made a huge difference to ease of use, enjoyment and reducing fatigue too.

110bhp in a 1000cc V-twin was better but less smooth too, so there's no ideal maybe.

But then for local rides, days out in the country or visiting family a 58bhp 500cc twin was also enough bike too. I only found it wanting a couple of times when loaded up with a tent and luggage for a weekend on the coast, and a journey deliberately avoiding motorways.

I think weight comes into play big time in all of this though, and it really depends on what your doing with your bike too. Rolling on at 80mph on the motorway on your 150bhp bike probably doesn't make much odds if it's 180 or 280kg. But in town and on twisty roads one will be much quicker than the other probably.

I'd like to know what a 50 something bhp bike would be like if it's one that weighs about the same as my KMX 125. For the sort of riding I do now, I couldn't care less what a bike feels like at 80mph on the motorway etc.

[Eddie Hitler]

30ish.

[Blah blah]

[chickenstrip]

[redeem ouzzer]

Off topic but general consensus is the H2 is actually a bit of a softy apart from the chassis designed by Smiler. A guy in the RD club bought one and was underwhelmed, I think he used the term “most disappointing thing I’ve ever ridden”. The 500 and 350 are supposed to be the edgy ones.
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[Old Git Racing]

How do you define normal, suppose it means different things to different people. If your criteria is riding within legal limits but having enough grunt to beat cars then probably not much more than 40 ish.
But hey that aint no fun. Normal for me is to ride whatever I have at the time to its limit or mine whichever comes first given conditions and circumstances. It can be my beemer (even took it on a Cadwell trackday last year) or ringing the nuts off my YPVS.
I don't go barmy all the time but sometimes I do and that's normal for me.
How much is enough? more than enough is quite sufficient for me.

OGR
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2022 Tiger Sport 660 2019 Street Twin 2003 K3 gixxer 1000 1998 Srad 600 track hack

[chickenstrip]

[Old Git Racing]

[AshWebster]

Most have covered it already - but it's literally Horses for courses...

If you ride your bike erryday and just need the power to beat cars off the line / filter then 250-400cc is more than enough.

If you are a fairweather greenlaner then id say 600+ or you'll be left behind as Rog says...

If you are Rossi / Marquez then i'd say you need as much cc as RnD can deliver you within the rulebook..
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[Jayy]

Having owned / own a couple of 200+ bhp bikes as well as an 11 bhp 125, safe to say that the 11 bhp bike is more than capable of replacing the 200 bhp if I really had to.

It's just a hell of a lot more fun with the 200 bhp bike when you want to "go" or over take. There's something that makes you smile about groms / tnts though, they're so small but feel nippy that you forget and just hoon about with a big grin on your face.

[trevor saxe-coburg-gotha]

[temeluchus]

Having ridden a variety of machines, I’ve found that once you get to about 40hp, the bike will cruise at 70 on the motorway with another 20mph in reserve. That seems more than adequate for all round use.
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[techathy]

For legal A-to-B riding the latest 400cc class of A2 have enough power. However, their delivery means you have to work the bike over quite a lot of the time. For example, say I'm doing 45mph and want to safely pull into a gap between two cars moving at 75mph. On theRC390 you'd have to drop half the 'box and pin the throttle. On my R1200RS you can just feed crack open the throttle in 6th for the same or better acceleration.

Wanting a bit of weekend fun? Then the R1200 RS will need you getting close to triple figures to be having the same amount of fun as the RC390.
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[biker7]

I have ridden bikes of all powers and as said above there is fun to be had on all. My current 190+bhp ride makes most seem sluggish when doing spirited overtakes but you don't need this kind of power often. You can ride a powerful bike slowly but pulling away from the lights to show up the boy racers needs a bit of muscle. My 883 HD suits me fine in town. The Busa smile I get is just to remind me I'm alive now and then. About 130 bhp would be enough for me although torque is as important. I had a Dyna Harley a while back - could beat most Ferrari's off the mark so hp is not everything. My GSX1250FA was just over 100 and that was a great all rounder. All I would say about power, is if you have got a lot.....make sure you have got the skill to match!!
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Fat Bob (2019)

[Roidrage]

It would be around 70hp for me, that's about what an fzr600 makes which was my first bike and I wouldn't want any lower for A road or motorways, downshifting for screaming overtakes is annoying. Currently ride is about 160hp IL4 and it's much better for me riding about on. A bit overkill when riding for fun though, I can't pin it the first couple of gears and not many places I can redline in 3rd . Went on a srad600 today and didn't enjoy it at all with it around town.

A 650 twin is the min I would want for a commute, but 120hp would be about perfect for me for having fun on too.

[stevo as b4]

I think Jayy's reply is very true and that as little as 10-15bhp can be fun in the right setting and environment. So really there ain't no ideal bike for every highway, road and journey.


Hell in a 20mph zoned city I'd see a de-restricted 50cc scooter with what 5bhp to be enough and enjoyable. We are all different though and the likes of M.C think a 5bhp bike in a 20mph zone would be suicidal. God knows what he thinks of riding a push bike or 250w electric assistance bike on the road. But we live in different places with different traffic and road layouts etc.

I understand those people with only one bike for the commute and for fun liking a 160-200bhp beast as it's their toy, adrenaline rush, and work hack all in one.

But my question to those that say their 200bhp is useful for road use and spirited overtakes etc, I'd say how much of your 200bhp are you actually using when riding it? If 100bhp is as far as you need to turn the throttle to blast past traffic, then is your second hundred ponies just for show/pub bragging rights etc? There's the aspect of legality in terms of speeding, but more than that there's only so many bhp you can send to the road on acceleration at or from low speed, without flipping it over itself or lighting up and burning out the back tyre, and that's all when your bolt upright on a straight road.

Sure if you want to accelerate stupendously fast from 100mph to 150mph then 200bhp is better than 100bhp, but you can't do it without massive law breaking, so again it becomes irrelevant for most peoples level of law abiding.

Power alone definitely doesn't equate to fun levels for me. I'd find much more fun, excitement and involvement in trying to get a 14bhp pit bike round a karting track in the fastest possible lap time, than I would accelerating like a rocket from 100mph on a motorway for example.

Its not any different to the people that commute to work in a 350bhp hatchback. Its never going to be used in rush hour traffic and your grip limited even on a clear road.

[M.C]

[stevo as b4]

Maybe I get that a bit, but I do struggle especially as your in a city with much more traffic. I do remember someone saying that London is a different case to everywhere else though. I remember them saying that the safest place in any traffic is at the front, and that there's literally a traffic jam full of bikes all trying for the holeshot at the traffic lights etc.

But you saying that overtaking 20mph traffic on a 125 is hard, maybe? If you were in rural hilly Shropshire with narrow twisty B-roads and limited places with less than 200m of clear vision I'd understand it more.

[M.C]

I don't do rush hour If I did I'd cycle, but at 6am* I can halve my journey time compared to cycling. It's not 'hard' to overtake on a 125 just more risky IMO. I'm safer with more power, it's just that you need self-control

*it's a bit Mad Max at that time, I regularly used to do 40 through a 20 zone (on a main road but 20mph borough) and have a Range Rover fly past me doing 50/60.