Extra power = Safer bike.

[Rogue]

Power or the lack of it have nothing to do with getting you out of trouble
It forsight, reaction time and a fu%kin loud horn that are the main factors
Ride like everyone out there is an idiot even you and you will do ok
I rest my case I still think the poll is a waste of time

[quickbuck]

Anyway dealers need riders to own high powered bikes to shift all those sticky expensive tyres every 6,000kms .

Gee, I only get 5000k out of my rear tyre on a medium powered bike....

[quickbuck]

The difference between a 400cc NC30 coming on cam and a torquey engine [whether through sheer cc's or engine characteristics) is night and day.
.

It is due to the V4 configuration.
V engines inherently develop more torque.

[madandy]

It is due to the V4 configuration.
V engines inherently develop more torque.

More torque, or torque at lower rpm?
I'm changing from a 750cc I4 to a 900cc V2 and I know I ain't getting more of anything but the romance, lol.

[HTFU]

Power or the lack of it have nothing to do with getting you out of trouble
It forsight, reaction time and a fu%kin loud horn that are the main factors
Ride like everyone out there is an idiot even you and you will do ok
I rest my case I still think the poll is a waste of time

Thread is asking people for their opinion on the fact that a lot of people say that lots of power in a bike is a safety thing i.e it gets them out of trouble. Poll suggests its not just as black and white as you suggest it is, that is, if your post was on topic.

Plenty of threads out there about riding safe etc where you can preach forsight, reaction time and a fucking loud horn.

[Skyryder]

Have not read all of this thread but too little power 'can' get you into trouble.

Power will 'keep' you out of trouble more than 'get' you out of it.

Skyryder

[mark247]

More torque, or torque at lower rpm?
I'm changing from a 750cc I4 to a 900cc V2 and I know I ain't getting more of anything but the romance, lol.

Ride a FZR400 then get on a NC30 and you will realise what torque does lol

[Chrislost]

Power or the lack of it have nothing to do with getting you out of trouble
It forsight, reaction time and a fu%kin loud horn that are the main factors
Ride like everyone out there is an idiot even you and you will do ok

What if you were halfway past a truck on a two lane motorway and it pulls into you?
Gas or brakes?
enough power to haull your ass outa there.
or enough brakes to do a stoppie and fall under the wheels?

[vifferman]

It's evident from reading through all the posts that virtually the only time when you need "more power to get you out of trouble" is when you've pulled out to pass another vehicle and have got yourself in trouble due to not allowing enough overtaking room.
The phrase "more power to get you out of trouble" conjures up images of innocently minding your own business when suddenly a huge truck is bearing down on you, but luckily your enormously powerful bike accelerates you to a bazillion km/h in a poofteeenth of a second, saving you from certain death.

I've been riding since 1973, and I've never been in that situation. I have, however, been in the position (car and bike) of stupidly pulling out to pass and not having enough power to accelerate quickly. But that's OK - because we're not supposed to exceed the speed limit to pass anyway. So all you need is enough power to get you to 100km/h, uphill.

I tellsya wot though: it's a lot less tiring riding a bike with a bit of grunt, or a car with a few torques under the bonnet.

[wharfy]

What if you were halfway past a truck on a two lane motorway and it pulls into you?
Gas or brakes?
enough power to haull your ass outa there.
or enough brakes to do a stoppie and fall under the wheels?

When it happend to me I braked as hard as I could (without doing a stoppie - but some smoke of the rear tyre !!) I had given him plenty of room so apart from shitting my pants no harm was done.

If you are closer to the front than the back and DO have plenty of power cracking the throttle open may be the best bet.

The only bikes I have ever seen that couldn't decelerate quicker than they could accelerate were on a drag strip.

[Badjelly]

It's evident from reading through all the posts that virtually the only time when you need "more power to get you out of trouble" is when you've pulled out to pass another vehicle and have got yourself in trouble due to not allowing enough overtaking room....

Possibly, but that doesn't completely invalidate the "power to get you out of trouble" argument. As a rider of a somewhat gutless bike, there have been a couple of times in the last few weeks when I decided to "just get out of there" and I would have liked a teensy bit more power to do so more comfortably. (And yes, on one of those occasions--but not the other--I had got myself into the situation I wanted to get out of through my own poor judgement.)

The poll is still rubbish, though. My answer is maybe/no: I might need more power, but all the other buggers will just get in trouble with it.

[mark247]

yea the poll is rather pointless. Having more power from 20hp to 70hp is going to get you out of trouble. But having more power from 20hp to 180hp is not going to help the same way.

[wharfy]

I guess it's like the bomb - better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it

[xwhatsit]

I tellsya wot though: it's a lot less tiring riding a bike with a bit of grunt, or a car with a few torques under the bonnet.

Yeah, why is that? 26hp is enough for me, really. But why is it that you get so tired on long rides compared to riding a larger bike? I'm not talking about riding position or anything. It's almost like your body is subconsciously pedaling or something, somehow tensing up in an effort to make the thing go up a hill or against a headwind.

[jrandom]

Most 4 cylinder bikes start to really come on cam around 7-8000rpm.

Mine hauls arse from 3500 and stops pulling at 8500.



Then again, I guess you can't expect much else from an engine that's essentially four 350cc aircooled thumpers lined up in a row.