There’s an interesting little tug-of-war going on in the Australian adventure-riding fraternity at the moment.
On one side a section of bike manufacturers has decided horse-power is an excellent marketing tool. Whatever one brand offers, the others will match and go bigger.
The Ducati Mutlistrada 1200 Enduro offered 160 horsepower and we all peed our pants. KTM’s new 1290 matched it and we all peed our pants again. BMW’s Wasserboxer motor has a punchy 135 horsepower, and I must say I’m a little surprised that wasn’t increased for 2017, but for a while it was king and we peed our pants.