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[Half_Crazy]

Lots of conversations about this lately. I have heard people say "Power is not important. These bikes are not race bikes" and I have heard people say "You can never have too much power".

In my mind, it's not about racing or speed, but about the weight of touring bikes... add to that 2 people, gear, and luggage and ride it up mountains and at high elevations... having power comes in handy. It seems like most people at least do pipes/airbox/FI controller to get some additional oomph going (some may do it just for more sound or cooler running). Aftermarket performance parts seem to sell pretty well and there sure is a ton of it available.

So, how important is performance to you? How much is enough?

[ralford]

Get stuck behind a chicken truck in AR and you will realize just how important power is!

A touring Harley will never be impressively fast, accelerating a half a ton costs.  My BMW RT weighs about half and makes almost twice the power - you do the arithmetic. 

As to "how much is enough", can't be answered.  Just did a Stage II upgrade (well more accurately, a correction) and the Ultra is considerably more fun and responsive.  Is it enough, depends on the definition of "enough".

[GregKhougaz]

Too much is never enough.  Just my $.02.    

[dayne66]

Just rode the twisted road from Sumas up to Mount Baker yesterday...having more power than a stocker was freakin' blast!

[Keats]

Most, probably not looking for a "Dragger Bagger".

But not many would not turn down the opportunity to get more power than 80 HP on a 1000 lb bike.


I think that the quest for power has always have the perspective that a Tourer will need to be reliable.

Breakdowns are not fun, but infinitely less fun if you are 1000 miles from home.


More squeeze of the last drop of HP, always leads to more breakdowns.

You just need to define what level of aggravation you are willing to put up.

[Half_Crazy]

Too much is never enough.  Just my $.02.    

You'll like this:
"If a lot is good and even more is even better, then too much is PERFECT".


I learned this year that there's a threshold where you start sacrificing drivability and the bike gets hard to ride slow on. At that point you probably passed by 'enough' and crossed into 'overkill'. If only I had learned that lesson last year...

[Half_Crazy]

Get stuck behind a chicken truck in AR and you will realize just how important power is!

I need to get out to AR one of these days. I hear the roads are awesome for bikes.

[miker]

The higher the power, the greater the maintainence.

Dang thermodynamics mess up everything.....

[smkblwr]

for me its all about long distance touring reliabilty and plenty of torque, my builder knows keep the compression touring distance freindly and give me all the torque that i can get. so i might not win the HP dyno drags but torque is king in my book. 

[Midnight Rider]

Some folks go nuts with engine mods, to the point of making the bike less reliable and causing drivability issues in "normal" riding.  There's a happy medium there somewhere.  I had a '06 SEUC with the 103...pipes, A/C, and a good tune was good enought for my purposes.  Had I been able to keep that bike, I would likely have installed some kind of drop in cam when the chain tensioners were due.  But it's gone.  Now I have the '11 SERGU and my main use is two up riding, with some trips thrown in when we can afford it...neither of us are large people, so I am happy with the Fullsac Stage I system I installed. Those simple changes made the bike "feel" better, and improved drivability.  A more efficient cam would be nice, but not necessary for my needs at this point in time.  If I need more power when riding, I just drop it down a gear.

My "thing" on a bike is handling and ride quality.  So, I invested 3K in suspension improvements, and for me, that is money well spent.  It makes the bike more fun to ride in every respect.  So does HP/TQ, but within reason, IF you actually use the bike for touring.

[2smoke]

Had a 2009 Ultra Classic (bought it new).  Had it for 11 months.  Most underpowered piece of crap I ever owned.  That stock 96 incher barely had enough power to move out of its own way.  Took a trip out West.  Riding 2-up with all our gear and that thing was lame.  I commented on my survey that it should be illegal to sell something that underpowered.  It was borderline dangerous.  So yes, power is very important in a touring bike.

[Half_Crazy]

Had a 2009 Ultra Classic (bought it new).  Had it for 11 months.  Most underpowered piece of crap I ever owned.  That stock 96 incher barely had enough power to move out of its own way.  Took a trip out West.  Riding 2-up with all our gear and that thing was lame.  I commented on my survey that it should be illegal to sell something that underpowered.  It was borderline dangerous.  So yes, power is very important in a touring bike.

No need to hold back, go ahead and speak your mind   

[RayG]

Not more than two hours ago I was turning left into a bike shop when this old guy in a sports car goes straight through the stop sigh and proceeds to turn left and heads straight into me.  I nailed it as I was watching his bumper miss me by less that a foot.  There were a number of bikers who told me later that if I had not nailed it I would have been run right over.  Like many others on this site I have had numerous close calls but not to the point of what happened today.  I'm only at 100HP & 110TQ and needless to say another 10 to 15 in each category wouldn't hurt.  I'm positive the info I learned on this site of watching every vehicle as a potential target had me vigilant enough to avoid a messy situation. 

More power, more caution, pray often!

 

[2k]

HP numbers are good fo "Bragin"........but TQ makes it go!!!

[kraut]

a touring bike's pupose is to reliably carry you, your company and luggage as fast, safe and comfortable as possible over lengthy distances and through various weather.

Performance is important not only for a fast ride but for safety and comfort too. In the countries I usually travel (Germany and it's eastern or southern neighbours) a motorcycle is safest if kept slightly ahead of the rest of the traffic and overtaking with an underpowered vehicle is just never as safe as it could be. And riding with ample power at hand is just more fun, keeps you more alert and therefore adds to both your riding comfort and safety