Jump to content

How much horsepower do you need


goat
 Share

Recommended Posts

Saw this poster on another forum and thought it was fairly interesting. Apologies if posted before. It's a long read so I'll paste an edited version.


https://www.bennetts.co.uk/bikesocial/news-and-views/blog/how-much-horsepower-does-my-bike-use


'we took four very different bikes; a Suzuki GSX-R600, Yamaha XJR1300, Honda ST1100 Pan European and Harley V-Rod, fitted them with state of the art datalogging equipment and measured how much throttle was used and how much horsepower around a 50-mile blast on our favourite roads. The bikes were chosen for their difference in character, but also because they all made around 100bhp.


To make the test more interesting we used the most talented rider in Corby – a racer and stunt rider who was more likely to use more throttle than we were.


The results were fascinating. The XJR1300 was the only bike to use more than 70bhp, peaking at 89bhp, but only for about ten seconds in the 48 minutes it took to complete the route. The Pan European had the highest average power-used figure at 43.8bhp and the GSX-R600, being ridden by a fast racer averaged just 29bhp and never got above 50bhp once.......

On the road you use your throttle (and therefore power) to accelerate up to a certain speed and then back off, holding a steady throttle to maintain that speed. It needs a certain amount of power to achieve that speed, but once there, you only need a whiff of throttle to overcome the airflow and maintain momentum. Arrive at a corner and you need to slow down. Once through the corner, you accelerate up to speed again.


The reason our heavy tourer used almost twice as much power as the sports bike is because at every corner on our very twisty route it had to slow down more (because it was heavy and handled much worse) and consequently, then had to accelerate harder to get back up to speed, which used more power.


The good-handling sports bike had to slow down much less for the corners and so needed less power to accelerate back up to speed. So, in order to use our bikes most efficiently, Honda should be making 200bhp Pan Europeans and 60bhp Fireblades.'

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Read a similar article some years ago talking about people modifying their bikes for more hp and suggesting it was pointless, their conclusion was if you want to go faster, just open the throttle more. Same sort of test was done and showed the riders were only using a fraction of the available performance in normal riding conditions.

Of course if track riding is your thing its different as you will be at WOT more than road riding.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Couldn't disagree more. I regularly hit and hold top speed on my bike (closed private road) which absolutely requires all the power.


At one stage I wanted to downgrade from my Mt because it was too powerful; I rode my mate's striple loads and had to pin it everywhere as it was simply not powerful enough. Equally both my current and previous bikes have waaay too much power and yes I'm sure I usually only use 50% of it, and I wouldn't ever bother with a mod that adds 5bhp because it's so negligible and you can't feel it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm waiting for my theory to get more than the mighty 14.7bhp I currently have, but as I don't have storage for multiple bikes and it's mostly for commuting I'm not sure I'll be going super high on the power stakes.


Fish

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Mine has 113 hp according to manufacturer. I don't imagine I use more than about half that most of the time. For a fairly hefty bike - about 220 kg wet plus me it gets to speed pretty damned well. I like the acceleration when I pin it. Would I upgrade it if I could? Probably not as effectively that's the 1260 and for my regular use probably too much. Would I want less? Again probably not as when I overtake on a twisty road I don't want to be having to flog the tits off it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That was a really interesting read and makes you think about the necessity of modding a bike to gain extra BHP! My MT10 is 158bhp, the only place I would truly spank the bike is on a track day, even then I wouldn't use it anywhere near to is full potential. We do have unrestricted roads over here but the way some wombles on four wheels drive you'd have to be crazy to ride at track speeds. I put a new end can on the MT but that was purely to give it a better sound, I never went the whole hog of decat and reflash because, for me anyway, I never seen the point.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

An old forum member on here (long gone) used to have a 1250 Bandit and said it was almost like having an automatic :lol: Stick it in 3rd and you're good to go at all speeds

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As someone new to the world of motorcycling this is very interesting to me. I've did my CBT last year and I'm doing my das in a couple if weeks. As you can imagine I have done tons of reading about which bike to get when I get my full license ! And as you can imagine there is tons of conflicting info out there. A lot of he advice seems to be don't go less that 600cc or less than 80-100 hp as you will get bored on anything less powerful than that. But as a newbie I thought something around the top limit of A2 licence horse power would both be enough to keep me entertained but also a nice amount of power so I could ride safely while I'm in the early stages of my riding experience.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

When all said and done does horsepower actually matter, people ride what they like to ride, how many people actually think about HP as the clincher when buying a bike, if HP was the main factor everyone would be riding the same machine :lol:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

When all said and done does horsepower actually matter, people ride what they like to ride, how many people actually think about HP as the clincher when buying a bike, if HP was the main factor everyone would be riding the same machine :lol:

 

Some people do like more horsepower. I certainly would want more than the 14 or so that a 125 churns out. I don't want 200+ as I couldn't use it. I can use at least a goodly portion of mine on some roads and being able to rapidly accelerate to the NSL has a satisfaction all of its own. I do like to ride reasonably rapidly. My choice and also my risk.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Surely more power is more better? :scratch:


I don't see the point in buying a bike only to spend loads of time and money trying to squeeze a few puny extra hp out of it. Either buy a powerful bike in the first place or fit a turbo/supercharger.


I'm guessing the guy in the OP was doing a normal, run of the mill bimble about rather than giving it a decent rip. Also, there are times when mo powah is beneficial to [strikeout]cane it up the inside of someone[/strikeout] extricate oneself from a tricky situation.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Most bikes can get away from the lights quicker than most cars. Anything over 80mph (overall) is too risky for speeding penalties. Hence, I look for mid range grunt. Being able to overtake in a couple of seconds is where real world riding is at.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Most bikes can get away from the lights quicker than most cars. Anything over 80mph (overall) is too risky for speeding penalties. Hence, I look for mid range grunt. Being able to overtake in a couple of seconds is where real world riding is at.

 

Fully agree, could not say better

Link to comment
Share on other sites

When all said and done does horsepower actually matter, people ride what they like to ride, how many people actually think about HP as the clincher when buying a bike, if HP was the main factor everyone would be riding the same machine :lol:

 

I think about power outputs a lot when looking at buying a bike!


No point trying to tour Europe on a Chinese 125 2 up with luggage :wink:


Different bikes have different applications and HP does mean a lot

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think about power outputs a lot when looking at buying a bike!


No point trying to tour Europe on a Chinese 125 2 up with luggage :wink:


Different bikes have different applications and HP does mean a lot

 

You know what they say mate - you can't miss something you've never had.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think about power outputs a lot when looking at buying a bike!


No point trying to tour Europe on a Chinese 125 2 up with luggage :wink:


Different bikes have different applications and HP does mean a lot

 

You know what they say mate - you can't miss something you've never had.

 

This is true


I used to say you don't need a bike any bigger than a 750!


I skipped the 750 and got a 1000 :lol:


Then I rode a 600 a few years after! It felt broken :lol:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

  • Welcome to The Motorbike Forum.

    Sign in or register an account to join in.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Terms of Use Privacy Policy Guidelines We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.

Please Sign In or Sign Up