How much power do you "really " need for a proper:: Adventure Bike ? 50 70 85 .... no more

50 bhp has got me to all of the places I have been to, sometimes with a passenger.

Probably a lot less than that now as both of my BMWs have done nearly 200,000 miles and no amount of rebuilding restores them to factory original.

For most "adventure" bike riders you do not need 100bhp +

George Wyman crossed the Continental United States with 1.5HP
Ted Simons's Jupiter had 40-ish
Plenty of long rides on 6HP C90's
Nutty Nick Sanders took 130HP to get his pictures in the paper.

18HP in a Bullet gives less performance than in an XT225 due to weight, but then aerodynamics might change perception of even that.

Another jam or cream first conversation.

Andy

met some guys in atlas 3 years ago, dressed in dinner jks.
off road on monkey bikes ............ from New zealand !

so think about 70 bhp is about left ( right )

I've done long trips with 10bhp (= not enough (but 15 would have been ok)) and with 120bhp (= too big, too heavy and you're a slave to the bike). The 'sweet spot' for me is somewhere between about 30 (solo on a light bike) and 60 (solo on a heavier (180kg max) one.

There's more to it though than just bhp numbers, there's how the engine produces that power. A 125 producing 30bhp at 12,000 rpm and nothing under 10,000 isn't going to be my first choice for a 5000 mile trip (although I did once consider something similar - with a pillion!) A 1500cc engine producing 30bhp at 1200rpm is going to make me wish I'd taken a bus.

If you ride with a pillion though that changes the equation as two (normal sized) people on a light bike isn't that pleasant over a long distance and you might need a physically larger bike. That usually means a bigger engine and more power to compensate. Go much more and the weight overwhelms the ride so you're chasing your tail.

It's all very variable though - I know someone with around 300,000 miles on a couple of MZ 250s. He's obviously found what works for him. If you disagree and think 150bhp is entry level, remember it's all opinion.

as you say its one persons opinion..
Dont think a 150 hp big is a suitable adventure bike
I wouldnt be seen dead on a monster like that !
Thats my opinion after many years of off roading and adventuere bikes !

you need 40 of these for 150 hp !! etc !

I've done my share on 12HP and 10 inch wheels - it will get you anywhere around the world, even with a hefty load, and even some off road stuff.

That much said - more HP is better, and 50HP is plenty for most.

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last year i went to my beloved maroc on a cb 500 and did 6.000 miles . would say the perfect bike for morocco , but.................. think 70 hp is about the ideal amount of power. .... and you dont have to use it all !
.so which bike do i love the most ? (7 )

Hello

Please, first define what a proper adventure bike is...
Then also define what an adventure is...

I open the bidding with 1HP (1 human power, take a bicycle).
Enough to have an adventure (personal view) in parts of the world that others call there homeland.



cheers
sushi


P.S.
I'm bored too

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My RTW:
http://www.youtube.com/user/MrXt660ztenere

Careful with questions like that! You can only prod a bear with a stick so many times

Personally I think 1hp may well be too many Most of my recent 'adventures' (in the sense I took it on just to see what it would be like) have been done with whatever my legs produce - a couple of hundred watts if I'm lucky. What am I talking about? - stuff like this :

https://www.thresholdtrailseries.com...to-the-stones/

As they call it "the ultimate 100km adventure" I guess it qualifies.

'So what' you might ask, 'what's that got to do with bikes?' My point is that trying to optimise or even define these things is as, err, pointless as it's ever been - and this topic has been done to death here and on just about every other forum or magazine or any other medium of information exchange I've looked at over the last 50yrs. 'Adventures' are in the head of the beholder and cover just about every aspect of the human experience from birth to beyond the grave (remember Peter Pan's take on mortality?).

Trying to optimise what is essentially a tarted up touring bike is an equally fruitless task - your two wheeled meat may well be my underpowered poison if you're taking the T.A.T to L.A. and I'm on Route 66. I've been as happy trundling down the back roads of Italy on my 10bhp Suzuki as I've been parking the GoldWing outside a Waffle House diner in the US and spending 20mins hearing the waitress's life story.

Much of the time these 'which is best' discussions are about as helpful as abandoning the RTTS 100km run because I can't decide which running shoes to use. Just pick one and get going. If you've chosen badly you won't make that mistake again.

No such thing as an adventure bike, only adventurous people and their definition of adventure varies considerably, so will their need/want/desire for power.

If you’re really talking about an overland bike then that too has too many variables - time, budget, route, accommodation etc......

As a general question it's impossible to answer. There are over 7.5 billion people in the world and every single one is different, even identical twins are different. Time and time again I hear “I don’t understand why people do this or do that”. No one knows why we’re different so no one has to understand, we just have to accept it.

As a specific question........ At the moment 110 bhp, with lots of torque, is perfect for me. If I get the opportunity to circumvent Africa then 25-35 bhp will be my choice.

I’ve read lots of posts like this and they nearly always descend into a big v small bike argument. The trouble is the bike is only one factor of a trip. You don’t sit in a bar crying with laughter with a bike, a bike doesn’t share a campsite meal or a cold round a campfire, a bike doesn’t help you when you’ve got a problem - the rider does, whatever the power of their bike.

Vive la difference

Define 'proper' please.

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Hear the challenge, learn the lesson, pay the cost.

I really don't get why people are so dead bendy on questioning what an adventure bike is - seems like a hazzle having to define it all the time, than just assuming the most accepted definition when the term is used - most often the style or form, not the use. I think most of us have a stereotypical image in our mind, much like when someone talks about SUVs (cars), or touring bikes, crotch rockets, cafe racers, etc.

Sure people have done adventures on anything from Vespas to Harleys... When people talk about adventure bikes, those are among the last that comes to mind.

BMW F650GS Dakar, the funduro, the F800GSA, 1200 GSA The Teneres, The Transalps and Dominators, the African Twins - they all come to mind.

Bikes out of the factory that have greater than 19" front wheels, bash plate, long suspension travel, upright sitting position, strong subframe to hold panniers, preferably spoked wheels with innertubes, windscreen, decent seat (not mx style) hand protectors, tyres that are ok off-road and onroad, quite tall... I'm sure you can think of other images. General consensus that the bike is typically 30/70 off-road/onroad, built for long distance travel (think RTW), more than 600cc (most often), some popular modern choices being upwards 1250cc, long range.

A dual sport on the other hand, is a lighter more sportier version, lacking creature comforts, built for shorter trips and more off-road oriented 70/30 or 50/50. Ride to the fun stuff rather than having two bikes and having to put your off-road bike on a trailer to get to where you want to ride it. Usually 250 - 700 cc, one cylinder, etc... Many farkled for thousands with adventure bike properties to get a bike that is somewhere in-between (light weight adventure bike). Add long range tanks, better seat, center stand, tall wind screen, strengthened sub frame and panniers.


The most ideal bike for an adventure is not necessarily an adventure bike - it depends on the ”adventure”.

Also, I guess that when people talk about adventure motorcycling in a forum like this, I think most of us assume long trips with road conditions that are not all perfect, in places where a tow truck can't allways be called to your location in a jiffy, in places where there might not be a dealer for your brand of bikes for a thousand kms or more away, or in places where you can't pay with plastic at every vendor, where fuel isn't always great or even readily available - in places that does not have a lot of businesses every where tailored around motorcycle travel, and so forth.

When people talk about touring, cruising or adventure motorcycling, I have very different images in my head... Even if one guy's commute is another guy's adventure...

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I've had adventures on 125s and on 800s, and many sizes in between.

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Bruce Clarke - 2020 Yamaha XV250