Converting power to BHP

Hello dears.

As I've only got 22 months of Motorcycle Shopping left I was just
having a browse to see what's on offer in the "tall bike" department
and I've noticed that some manufacturers unfortunatly do not list the
power of a bike in a form that I can easily recognise.

For example, the Suzuki V-Strom DL1000
<http://www.suzuki-gb.co.uk/techspecs.asp?id=26&l=> lists the power
as:

98 PS (72.0 Kw) @ 7,600 rpm

And by using a conversion utility I get 72 kilowatt worked out as
96.5535 horsepower. On a modern motorcycle, will the BHP be far less
than the HP?

If I'm not dead/abducted by aliens/etc by the time my licence ticks
over I'll be having a few test rides of the various beasties around
that tickle my fancy. I'm not looking for something that's terribly
sporty (but I do generally go at the highest resonable speed a machine
will let me on motorways and if this is only 120 then I'm not all that
bothered) but I'm looking for something large to sit on* and the only
things that look practical for me so far are the BMW GS Adventure
(Perhaps a bit overkill as I'll only be using it for the road) and the
V-Strom DL1000 - Apart from buying a Goldwing (Lovely but I wouldn't
have anywhere to put it) have I missed any obviously large machines?

*<sigh>

 

In uk.rec.motorcycles, BGN amazed us all with this pearl of wisdom:

It's about 98 BHP. I had a converter that sweller kindly posted a link
to but I've lost it.

Try Google.

 

PS is pfederstarke or something similar which is german for metric
horsepower.

You divide PS by 1.0something or other to convert them.
It's near enough that most people don;t worry though


--
Alex

Hermes: "We can't afford that! Especially not Zoidberg!"
Zoidberg: "They took away my credit cards!"

www.drzoidberg.co.uk
www.sffh.co.uk
www.ebayfaq.co.uk

 

In uk.rec.motorcycles, Whinging Courier amazed us all with this pearl of
wisdom:

Found it.

http://www.joshmadison.com/software/convert/

 

BGN emerged from their own little world to say

1 BHP (SAE) = *1.01387 BHP (PS) = 0.7457 KW = 33,000 lbs/ft/min

So, basically the PS figure approximates to the SAE bhp figures we are used
to. When comparing relative power outputs of wheezy boxers like mine to
more sprightly bikes like the Vstrom/Tiger/Caponord anyway.

I might be off to France next month. If I decide to use a Kent ferry you
are welcome to a CIHAGM on the GS. Although I favour the Pompey/Poole
ferries as they are a lot closer than Dover. The journey to them is much
more pleasant too. Depends on the price differential to a certain extent.

 

'Lots'

Speedferries are 78 quid return, Poole - Cherbourg comes in at £226 for
a 5 day return in July.

However, if you factor in less time and mileage on the road in the UK, I
still reckon it's worth it. Especially as the Poole crossing can be done
overnight.

 

That's the one I used

 

SteveH emerged from their own little world to say

I got a BF quote for next month - daytime Fastferry both ways - £136
from www.ferries.co.uk

Speedferries are £58 for 20-30 June

I haven't looked at the other western route options. There's sure to be
some sort of deal going to bring that price down a bit.

I quite fancy doing what Rufus did. Travel down the west of France and
travel across the Auvergne towards Lyon/Grenoble. I'd take a bit longer
than 1 day in each direction though.

Therefore, a western route, even 50 quid more is going to be more
attractive.

 

Hi,

Saw you were using the V-strom as "an example" and wondered if you were
considering it
as a possible purchase ?

If so, I have had one for a year and 10,000 miles, done a bit on the
continent,
doing a 600 mile day tomorrow (Land's End and back) and would be
happy to pass on any comments etc.....

Nick
DL-1000

 

Plenty. Start by having a look at the Tiger - the 2006 model's being
released early as they've sold out of '05s.

 

Sometime around Thu, 05 May 2005 20:21:03 +0100, BGN babbled on about:

The Adventure sure is tall, you should have said at the BOSM, I was so
hung over on the Sunday I would have gladly given it to anyone who asked
just to evade piloting it. One of the downsides is it is quite heavy when
full of fuel and luggage, however it has a range of 300 miles + and is
very agile once moving and equally at home on motorways or twisty country
lanes. The engine feels quite agricultural but it seems to go well now
I have slung the CAT (prolly still less than 90 BHP even now) and it
sounds a bit better as well. All in all a good machine and it gets me to
work quicker than my T595 did, despite its filtering limitations.

Off road it is kind of OK in alardy way however important things to
remember are Tourances are shite on wet grass and the banging sound from
the back may well be a laptop you forgot about in one of the panniers.

Oh, they rust like **** as well, mine has 2k miles on it and has more rust
on it that the Daytona has with 45k

 

Ignoring the difference between PS and BHP, do you think you could really
tell the difference? Honestly? If it was within, say, 10%?

I probably couldn't.

See which bikes you like the look of.

Then test ride all of them.

Then buy the one in the nicest colour/with the best 'style' [1]

Works for me.

Dave

[1] I bought my GSXR purely on the grounds that it was bigger than a 600,
looked nice and had a nice 'R' logo stamped on the inside of the swingarm
where no-one would ever see it unless they looked hard... Best bike I've
ever had. But utterly impractical and very uncomfortable on long
journeys... (

 

Thanks for that.

Let me know if you decide to pop down. I would be most interested in
having a go on your machine.

 

It's on my list - not that I've discounted any bikes in any catagory,
but a taller bike is something that I will be looking at.

Thanks. My main question is: Will I fit on it?

Great name, btw.

 

Ooh, 860mm seat height.

 

That's okay. I was eyeing it up to see what it was like, I'll see if
I can grab a seat on one next time one comes near me.

The only reason I'm considering a BMW (I wouldn't normally look at a
BMW for even a car) is their fantastic attitude towards adventure.
Whenever I look at a GS Adventure I'm brought back to the book & TV
series of the Long Way Round. Those bikes took SO much shit and were
still working after being welded back together after a 20,000 mile
journey.

And KTM's "We won't give you our bikes because you might fail on your
adventure" vs BMW's "Part of adventure is trying - if you fail then
that's just part of the adventure, but you've got to try." Nice way
of thinking about the world.

Nice bit of marketing there, even if BMW didn't intend it to be.

I've heard people say the engine feels agricultural, but I've no idea
what that really means. I've heard the engines, and they sound quite
chunky, but they are built to last.

I'm not planning on doing any off roading (not any intentional off
roading...)

Bit of a bugger really

 

No, which is why I asked later in the post if there was any real
difference between the two figures.

I'd probably end up with the most impractical beastie in the world
Oh, motorcycles are lovely, aren't they?

 

If you are going to buy a GS Adventure try to get a twin spark (2003 MY
onwards) they are less agricultural than previous models and IMHO a very
good bike. Before I moved to distant shores I owned one and would buy
another without hesitation.

 

Thanks for that. How big is Big Tony?

I'm 6'6" and could do with losing 3st.

 

Ha.

I'm a mere 6'5" but probably could do with loosing about a Lozzo.