More power

Xclimation

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Many of us would like our Super Tenere's to have more power. A handful of us are satisfied. Most who want the power, want it in the form of horsepower. Myself, I prefer a torque curve. That is why I chose the Tenere over other adventure bikes. I like to carry camping gear and have a passenger.
For my riding skill (and nerve), I'm sure what I'd do with more horsepower. Either I'd get hurt...or never use it. I know the weight, suspension and design don't exactly make MotoGP skilled riding possible. I will say that compared to my cruisers.....I can take curves much faster on my S10!

But...In an ideal world, I'd like more power...but not at the expense of reliability or gas mileage. I think there is a deep rooted feeling that I want to have a faster bike than the next guy! But having said this....on a straight away those other bikes...(Multistrada, KTM, BMW) are not THAT much faster. When it comes to curves...maybe the Ducati will have a slight advantage....but I believe rider skill can make up for it. I notice BMW guys more than others like to wheelie more. But we can do that on our S10s as well. Another thing I've noticed is that other manufacturers kind of fib on their specs. I've observed that Harley, Honda and Yamaha; if anything "under promise and over perform" when it comes to specs. such as power HP and Torque and even weight.

I personally know an S10 owner here who is an extremely skilled rider and riding motorcycles was part of his occupation. His son rides a sport bike (R6) and this certain S10 owner was able to reasonably keep up with him including curves. His son is an adult and experienced rider. This S10 rider is happy with the power the S10 has and is wouldn't know what to do with the extra power. And I more than trust his assessment.
The only thing more I think I would use more power is getting around some 18 wheelers in tight situations. Beyond that...I don't know
What do y'all think? If the Super Tenere had more power, then how would it change your riding?
 

Jlq1969

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For more hp, more revolutions would be needed, it's not what I'm looking for. I like diesel, and the T12 ... is the closest thing
I like that, at the same speed, the engine of my T12, is turning 800-1000 tr / m less than my companions in their other Adv Bikes
If they updated the T12 and placed a Diesel, I would buy two:):)
 
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Sierra1

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Xclimation is right. There are certain times/places where more would be helpful. Trying to get around that 18 wheeler....when you're loaded....going into a headwind....definitely. The other time/place that comes to mind....high altitude. Fuel injection spoils us when we increase altitude, and the motor never misses a beat. But, the higher you go, the more horsepower (HP) you lose. But, on the bright side....your mileage increases quite a bit. While traveling in Arizona in my Jeep, my mileage increased by 30%. And the seat of my pants felt a similar amount of HP loss. So, for all of y'all that do a lot of high altitude riding, all loaded up....more HP makes sense. But, for the vast majority of us, we likely wouldn't, or couldn't, use it often. More HP would also likely raise the price of admission. N2O? I'm afraid s**t would get broken....even the bike.
 

EricV

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If you want more power, down shift. The transmission is a torque multiplier.

I seriously doubt anyone when they say they want more power. 99.8% are not using the power they have. And too often, they confuse Hp with torque. "I'm in 6th gear at 50 and the bike just doesn't have enough grunt when I want to pass." That's a complaint about torque, not Hp. So multiple the torque and shift down to a lower gear, THEN grab a handful of throttle. It's not uncommon for me to shift down twice if I need to make a quick pass. Regardless of what gear I'm moving in before I need to pass.
 
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Sierra1

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If you want more power, down shift. The transmission is a torque multiplier....

See, I don't even think about telling people about that. But, you are SO right. I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed, but to me, that is a common sense statement; shouldn't have to be said to anybody but those just learning to drive....anything. One of the HUGE reasons that I got the FJ, was the torque. Regardless of rpm, it almost always had GRUNT. Back in the day when the Ninja 1000 had the speed crown @ 160mph, the FJ would only do 152mph. But, and it a huge but, the FJ dominated all roll on (45-70mph) speed tests; regardless of gear. The Tenere will never be an FJ/FJR rocket, but in the real world, at real world speeds, it is just so freakin' easy to ride....without the NEED to always be shifting up/down. I'm also in the Eric camp....automatic double down shift to make a pass NOW.
 

VRODE

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If you want more power, down shift. The transmission is a torque multiplier.

I seriously doubt anyone when they say they want more power. 99.8% are not using the power they have. And too often, they confuse Hp with torque. "I'm in 6th gear at 50 and the bike just doesn't have enough grunt when I want to pass." That's a complaint about torque, not Hp. So multiple the torque and shift down to a lower gear, THEN grab a handful of throttle. It's not uncommon for me to shift down twice if I need to make a quick pass. Regardless of what gear I'm moving in before I need to pass.
This.
I was used to just rolling on with my FZ1 and it would spool up pretty fast. The S10 has plenty of torque but doesn't spool up as fast, naturally. I had to train myself to downshift if I wanted a faster response. And it obviously does not have the hypersonic drive of an I4 at high revs, but it's got other endearing qualities. .
 
B

ballisticexchris

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I'm very interested in squeezing more power out of this beast. The Super Tenere in stock form is a crippled dog when it comes to acceleration!! As it is I'm never able to peel off more than an 11 second quarter mile. And the top end is just a shade over 140mph. I might as well be on a moped!!
 

EricV

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I'm very interested in squeezing more power out of this beast. The Super Tenere in stock form is a crippled dog when it comes to acceleration!! As it is I'm never able to peel off more than an 11 second quarter mile. And the top end is just a shade over 140mph. I might as well be on a moped!!
Buy a different bike. No engineer on the Super Tenere project ever aimed their goals at what this bike will do at the drag strip. I keep getting the impression that you've not had too many modern bikes with EFI and computer control. You seem to have owned a lot of bikes that you were accustomed to changing gearing, changing brake components, changing exhausts and modding to improve. Like you always wanted a different bike, but couldn't afford it. Now you can afford the bike you want, but you're still left with the mentality of things need to be changed.

Some change is good. But don't try and make it into something it's not. I could spend weeks explaining why you wouldn't pick a twin cylinder bike to make power and go fast. It's like the poor HD guys throwing $10k at a motor to make 100 Hp when a stock $10k inline four will make well over 100 Hp.

I see a very pimped out moped in your future. ;)
 

Jlq1969

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I'm very interested in squeezing more power out of this beast. The Super Tenere in stock form is a crippled dog when it comes to acceleration!! As it is I'm never able to peel off more than an 11 second quarter mile. And the top end is just a shade over 140mph. I might as well be on a moped!!
Maybe if you cut a little here ... a little over there ... and weld another little ... you can put it:):):)
69DF1EB6-309C-4129-AF61-E2F830D13339.jpeg
 

Sierra1

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I'm very interested in squeezing more power out of this beast. The Super Tenere in stock form is a crippled dog when it comes to acceleration!! As it is I'm never able to peel off more than an 11 second quarter mile. And the top end is just a shade over 140mph. I might as well be on a moped!!
I could be wrong, but I think he got y'all again. This looks like another Chris-ism. It's hard to bitch about an 11 second quarter, and 140+ top end….on a dirt bike. Not saying there aren't faster/quicker dirt bikes out there, but you're gonna pay for them. And Chris, if you ARE serious....you might want to check into the nearest rehab. :cool:
 

Tenman

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Good topic..... I still have my 12 NC700x.....
The Super Tenure has so much more of everything..... I'm satisfied with the power......


I rode a friends nc700. 2000 miles on it. I thought some thing was wrong with it because it felt weak.
 
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