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In Praise of 35 horses

Beauregard said:
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Cool.
 
I love this thread. After riding my first bike(600cc) for a year, I'm making the decision to get a DRZ as my next bike. Sure going fast is fun, but I aim to be a better rider and getting a smaller engine bike feels like it would help.....plus I want to go down stairs and goat trails :twofinger:ride
 
Does my stock sportster that I've never gotten bored of qualify here?
 
I have more fun riding my small hp bike fast than riding my high hp bike slow...
 
I rode faster on my RD 250 than I ever will on my Ducati, in the hills anyway. Perhaps youth was a factor, but anyway...

Great thread! :thumbup
 
Lunch Box said:
Every bike is heavy with me on it, and I still love the low horsepower rides. Great post, OP! :thumbup
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Aaron, load your pockets with Twinkie's which are lighter than air, it counters any actual down force of actual said weight of rider!:thumbup:teeth
DT
 
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Two R69S's and one R69. 42 and 36 bhp respectively, we all own newer, faster, bigger motorcycles, but we have more fun riding these on our annual Eastern Oregon adventures than riding our modern bikes with nearly 3 times the power.
A couple of years ago, I followed a couple of sportbikes down Skyline blvd on mine. Pulled in to the parking lot at Alice's just a few seconds behind them.
 
Where's the like button. I must might have to buy an old BMW one day...
 
CaptCrash said:
Too often riders with excessive power race from corner to corner only to gently bend the bike around the next turn and then turn the dial to eleven before wildly backing off and carefully making the next turn.
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I think it's wrong to confuse rider error with bike selection. Rider error can take place on the straights on a liter bike but it can also take place in the corners of a low power bike. A rider can ride too fast regardless of where he/she is or what he/she is riding.

My first bike was a M696. With only ~2000 miles on it, I signed up for the Keith Code school and got a chance to ride the S1000RR. Though I was hugely intimidated, the first thing I noticed was how much easier to ride the BMW was in every single way. I cornered way faster on it than I ever had the courage to on my Monster. And while a part of me hoped that my new found "skills" would translate to the Monster when I got back home, they didn't. I always found the Monster tricky to ride until the day I sold it.

But my point is that I only enjoyed the BMW because I exercised a lot of self control. I never got over 10k rpm so I was only experiencing 848-like power. I sat up between the corners and maintained a speed that would make braking and corner entry stress free so I could concentrate on cornering. And I did get better, smoother, and more confident. My body position, bar inputs, and throttle control were all improved. In short, the time I spent on that high HP beast of a bike made me a better rider.

That said, I want an Aprilia 125 for the track. I know it's no longer available in the US. I'm just saying I want it. It's fast enough for me. It's cheap. And I bet it's a real hoot. I just wanted to point that you can buy a liter bike and still approach rider education with the right attitude and still develop. Every liter bike in the world makes 35 bhp if that's what the right hand asks it to make.
 
Scott, I think Crash's point in what you quoted is that you are more likely to park it in the corners if you're on a liter bike than on a low-power bike.
 
Love this thread. I totally agree with OP. Anything with 2 wheels is fun.

I'm 44 this year, been riding for more than 30 years. My wife is Chinese and we go back to her hometown out in the farmland pretty frequently. Nothing to do out there.

Couple of years back I bought a cheap-o little 125cc motorcycle. Clutchless 5 speed. Probably puts out 7-10hp max. Bought for 4000RMB (about $700). Looks like a cross between a scooter and a motorcycle, actually. Goes about 55mph downhill max speed (and feels like it's gonna rattle apart at that). But I love riding it. Hop on it just about every day when we're out there, and take it for a spin down the little strip of road, or in the fields, or whatever. I can even get it to wheelie (!!) a little bit with just the right technique. Fun. As. Hell. After 30 years, still can't get enough of anything on two wheels.
 
Great thread!!! Even after 45 years of riding I still love riding a 250cc moto. They can go fast enough to still be fun and are great at commuting through our horrendous traffic. I now compete in fuel economy competitions ( the Vetter Challenge, www.craigvetter.com )and get to push the performance limits in a new and meaningful direction. :thumbup
 
This thread rocks! I was lucky enough to go on a group ride with creatures of the loin last year now that was a buzzy good time! I was borrowing my friend's green Kromagnum (pictured)
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I also have the drzsm which seems like a big bike compared to these. In most of the world a 400cc is a big bike! :teeth :twofinger
 
dtrides said:
Aaron, load your pockets with Twinkie's which are lighter than air, it counters any actual down force of actual said weight of rider!:thumbup:teeth
DT
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Doood I need some of those Twinkies!! My DR650 cranks out a whomping 36 HP on the best of days, and it is a hoot around town! OK its is a pig in the dirt but that isn't what we are talking about here, right? I went down 1 tooth on the counter sprocket and my "butt dyno" says YEAH!! :twofinger
 
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