Years ago, I owned a Honda 350 street bike (CB model), and it was listed as having 35 or 36 hp. A friend had a kawi 360 2 stroke, and it was supposed to be 42+. Now I have a new z400, and it is supposed to have only 30-32 hp and my Banshee was supposed to be 39 stock.

I thought that when I got back into riding after all these years that with all the new technologies available we would be pushing higher numbers.

So what happened?

Maybe the ratings were more liberal in those days.

 

Atvs don't have near the HP that streetbikes do for the same size motor. Just a fact of life my man.

 

Apples vs oranges! And, 2-strokes are pears.

 

An engine is an engine, and these new ones are even water cooled, has electronic ignition and lighter in weight. Maybe the emphasis is on reliability. I understand the Banshee engine came from a racing street bike.

 

I know what you mean Chips2000. My first cycle was a 1966 250cc Suzuki X-6 Hustler. It put out 29 HP. I know the CB360 you are refering to. I think the quad engines are just detuned because they are on quads. The new sled engines get 150hp out of 800cc. Sled engines are much more advanced than the quads.
Bryce

 

The Honda 450 makes over 120 horespower per liter, so that's 54 horewpower, and why you will be eating a lot of dust!

If you're unhappy, your Z has big hop up potential with just some simple mods, like removing the airbox lid, an aftermarket air filter, header and exhaust.

And, there is a big difference between horsepower measured at the crank, and measured at the wheels. Dirt bikes tend to measure at the crank, and quads measure at the wheels. But, a dirt bike has a lot less wheel weight to spin, so it's got a big advantage there.

And, max horsepower isn't real relevant without seeing the horsepower CURVE, and the TORQUE CURVE.

 

I am not unhappy with the z400's power, I was just making an observation. Actually I went into the dealership a month ago to buy an '06 Trx-450r, but was talked out of it and into the z400. I don't do motocross any more, and just needed a real nice sport quad with modest power. I do have a pipe and jets on the way for a little boost. If I want to race, I still have the Banshee. Actually, it is the climbing acceleration that I love about it, not the top speed. And now that I think of it, I used to have an IT-250, and when I was hillclimbing, I would run up to it up-shifting to 3rd and once I was into the climb, I would have to down-shift and end up in 1st just to make the crest. With the Banshee, I hit the hill in 2nd upshift into 3rd and then 4th and she is still accelerating at the top, and this is in sand not hard dirt that I rode the 250 on....Wow. Of course, it is no where near stock, and that is what this topic is about.

Anyway, back on topic. Yes, snowmobiles and Sea-Doos have way more power than quads and some of the pwc's are even turbocharged, but it does take a lot more power to get any speed on the water. My 750 Jet Ski stand up only goes 44mph stock. I have added a pipe, twin carbs, reeds and other go fast stuff, and it now has been clocked by radar at 56 mph.

Since my last post tonight, I was talking with a friend about the lack of power in stock quads, and he brought up an interesting suggestion. He said he heard that back in the early 80's, ATC's were nearly banned because of the high accident rate of the 3-wheelers, so part of the agreement the manufacturers made was to limit top speed to around 75.

<<<<Anyway guys, thanks for the discussion>>>>

 

almost always is ATV HP rated at the crank. They say predators put out 52hp but thats crank hp and its around 36-38 to the wheels, so if a 450r puts out 54 hp thats to the crank...

 

It was also usually measured different in the old days.

Most of the old HP ratings were done as BHP (brake HP) most of the newer ones are done on acceleration dynos.

BHP generally resulted in higher HP ratings.

And as DS said the HP is measured at the crank for all engines now. The '05/'06 z400 makes about 37 at the crank, about 27 of which gets to the wheels.

ATVs lose more HP at the wheels than a 2-wheeled bike. This is why it takes 100-plus HP to make a snowmobile hit 70mph, they lose so much in the track that they need that much.