There's a big difference between "what's possible" and "what's desirable".
In this particular case, I think that the two riders wanted to take their time and go slowly, and in particular, they WANTED to do the ride on scooters.
For the 'average' cross-country rider who does not have a fetish for scooters, I think that 500 cc is about the minimum engine size needed to be able to keep up with traffic when going uphill on interstate highways, or to be able to safely and efficiently pass a truck on a two-lane roadway.
40 years after the event, I still have painful memories of riding across Canada (from Calgary to Toronto) on a Honda CB360. It was fine as long as the road was flat and there was no headwind. It was woefully inadequate, to the point of being hazardous, in a strong headwind or going up hills on the Trans-Canada highway.
Back then, I weighed about 150 pounds, and I had no luggage of any kind with me.
Michael
|