I ride a Classic 350 with 20hp and absolutely love it. Using all the bike just feels so much more satisfying than using just a fraction, and staying at legal speeds makes for a very relaxed ride.

I've watched several travel across the US with much, much less and they have a blast in the process. Some guy rides, c90adventures, johnny pow rides..... Less is more. I'm all about stripped down small cc bikes. I hope they continue the comeback!

Hi Richard another interesting video, I agree with you horse power is a bit of a myth, in 1979 I travelled from NW uk to France ,Italy, Austria,Germany ,Belgium and back to the uk on a Honda 250 dream,all camping gear etc, it was fantastic and I still remember it well, I am a lot older now68 and only have a 350 hunter, I live n the edge of the Lake District and spring to autumn out 3 times a week,no issues,thanks for another great video enjoyed it now cannot wait for route 66,” go get em Floyd”

45 is deffo enough, I did a 4500mile europe trip in the summer in my 24 horse Himalayan, which was epic, you just need to change your mindset, slow down a bit, look around and enjoy the scenery

I have a 27hp Royal Enfield Classic 500 in battle green. 2021 plate, (so, one of the last ones). It will comfortably travel at motorway speeds, so your BSA's power is more than enough and they look fantastic too 🙂

I have a 101 bhp Honda NT 1100 I bought the bike for comfort I’m 6ft3 “ 120kg I also have a Monkey bike both are fun one is very limited the other very flexible with no limitations it just gets on with the job with competence it’s not about speed it’s about ability 😊

I ride a 2018 Triumph Street Cup with 54 bhp and its absolutely perfect for todays roads.I had a group of young school children say hey look at that really cool old bike.I have thought about trading it but i cant find anything that i like better.

I got my gold star in March last year and the first time i took it out the engine light stayed on so i curtailed the ride and rang my very local dealer here in West Lancashire. He told me to bring it in, he restarted the engine let it run for a while, switched it off and waited 30 seconds before firing it up again and the engine light went out and i have never had that problem again. He said that not every bike needed the update and obviously mine didn't.

It’s probably the best bike to ride as the road conditions has deteriorated and traffic on the roads has multiplied and that’s coming from a seventy year old riding Kawasaki Zzr 1200 with 150 horse power which never uses more than fifty as you say.

18 months ago decided to trade my 175bhp Aprilia for a 58hp Honda 750X to go camping with. Do I miss it, sometimes for the acceleration thrill, but 95% of the time it does everything the Aprilia did, plus I’m getting 75mpg instead of 38mpg.

Hi Richard, Society's been brain-washed into all of this H.P. bull-shit for year's now. That & the latest gizmo shit. And the driving factor is the almighty currency. I'm so glad when I hear channels like yours saying the things you say. Their are many others repeating the same message. However, there are many channels who are brain-washed into the latest craze & are helping to drive vehicle prices to the insane levels that they have reached. Item 2; I love your idea of riding your bike across America. If time is not a factor, I would advise doing the route 66 way. You'll pick up Rt.66 in Chicago & follow it to Santa Monica, California. Distance of 2,448 miles/3,940 km. Doing Rt.66 will be @ a slower pace & more enjoyable. You'll experience more small town flavor than doing Interstate traveling. You will be driving very close to my home & I will expect you to stay for meals/lodging. Have a beautiful day!! Illinois, USA P.S. There's lots of Rte. 66 info on the internet!

Very good point BP it's something I think many of us get hooked up on and some of it is due to marketing hype we are kind of sucked into the whole power race thing as in the more you have the better it's going to be , and I am just the same I tend to feel that much less than 95 brake is not enough needed in order to always get away from traffic ie cars so I can not be tail gated it's really strange when I actually think about it . I know I do not need more than 95bhp because I would never use it but as you say if one only uses 50bhp 99% of the time why have more are we conditioned or just daft ? 😉👌👍

Here in Australia you need way more than 50hp to overtake a road train or multiple road trains. 50 hp or less leaves you on the wrong side of the road far longer than is safe. I have had many bikes under or at 50 hp, my current bike has 100hp and 105 nm and is far safer for it.Yes 90% of the time I'm using less than 50% of the power but the other 10% is an safety margin which is vital.

It will be interesting to see if 45bhp is enough with a full load aboard for an extended road trip. It is probably plenty generally - a little more in hand can be useful, but not essential, particularily in mountainous terrain where the power drops off and circumstances like quick overtakes of slower vehicles between the hairpins allows progress to be made. Hope you saved some annual leave for USA, I reckon that's going to take you a while to cross it, cigarette break every hour, coffee every 20 mins, loo every 10 miles 😉 Hope BSA recognise what you are doing for their brand on this channel and get onboard with some shipping help etc, with the investment in the new camera and mics it should be a great test and vlog of the BSA as a long distance tour machine for crossing continents👍

Interesting that you quote a fiigure of 50 horses. I have a HNTR with 20 horses and this is enough to keep up legal speeds in this country. However I also own a 22 year old R1150RT with 95 horses and this bike does everything you ask without any effort. I have been riding over 50 years and I feel 80 horses is the magic number where effortless overtakes can be achived to keep good progress and not get held up behind traffic travelling just below the 60mph limit.

Hi Mate, I'm here in Pennsylvania bin riding motorbikes 48yrs and never had more than 50hp. Wife and I last year on my birthday bought 2 Royal Enfields me 2023 classic 350 red chrome wife 2022 Meteor 350 and we run everywhere on them except for the interstate roads. And getting 87 mpg great bikes. I'm in my 60s and 65mph fast enough for us. I get same response great restoration then I have to explain it's new. I was thinking of doing cross the country run myself. We made a great choice buying the Enfields I had an old bullet 500 4sp years ago loved it. Later Mate

I’m sure you could do route 66 on a smaller bike even a Honda cub. The difficulty you will have is coping with the heat in certain places ( desert) in particular. The bike will be fine it’s the rider that may struggle. The companies that do these trecks use big bikes I assume to cross the deserts faster.

The Rockies eat up a lot of power.Some of those passes take a 45 h.p. bike down to 25 or 30

I have a SRX600 with 45hp it is enough for my needs - its roll on from 50 -80mph in top gear is the most impressive and useful - I thought the new Gold Star was a bit of a dogs dinner to look at compared to the RE Meteor stood next to it in the show room - it was not just the ugly radiator or the tractor like foot levers - The naff fake plastic pushrod and fuel injection covers add to the cheap look - If the Meteor was a bit more powerful........

Hoirsepower sells motorcycles hence the new Tiger with a few extra ponies. Why would you chop in your old one to get the same thing again. It has been this way since the dawn of two wheeled powered transport as manufacturers annually persuade us to part with our hard earned cash. However some people have been around the world on 20 horse power or less. How much is enough depends on each and every individual who throws a leg over a motorcycle. I would say that if you have to use full throttle regularly then you could probable do with a bit more. Good luck with your trans atlantic adventure and I hope that BSA will pitch in and help. Top Tip... Your average car driver might look at you on your 50 year old fully restored Goldie and be astonished that it is not such a beast but never ever even consider taking it to a BSA owner's club event because believe me when I say that they will be able to tell the difference and you will not be welcomed with open arms?

Yep you're 100% right. Most of the bikes above 600cc are just for show, my r1250gs could send you to jail in 3rd gear and its certainly not a performance machine. The new breed of 200bhp super bikes most people couldn't use half of it even on track

Hello Richard I think 45hp is plenty tbh and your trip sounds like Youl enjoy that.. you may aswell go for it why not 😊😊 I noticed your machine cut out twice whilst waiting in traffic 😮 Annoying that tho I haven’t had that so far but probably will.. iEML light tho should reset tho using the reset procedure I had it once and it did reset 😊😊 Good one Richard nice to see May bank and the the Victoria Been there many times 😊😊 Nice pub All the best Phil

Hi hope you well watching you for long time now and saying shipping bike to USA omg what great idea I've got triumph 900 gt pro what love to ship that join you on travels that would be something to add to bucket list all the best stay safe kind regards

Should I buy a Gold Star, I’m in the market for a “second” bike. My concerns are reliability and dealers, my nearest is a couple of hours riding away. I don’t mind servicing the bike myself. Any advice or suggestions from owners would be greatly appreciated.

I've heard a lot of vloggers saying that you don't need a big bike , but the majority of them do have a big bike as well . Funny that eh ? 45 hp will get you across the USA , it's been done on much smaller bikes , so I don't regard that as an issue , but just stay off the highways where 85 mph is the norm . Most modern " classics " are less powerful and heavier than the bikes they are imitating , so they have little appeal to me as I already have ridden most and still own a few of the originals . You could say that the modern bikes are more reliable , but I dispute that . Most riders these days can't maintain a motorcycle properly and can't even mend a puncture . Old bikes that are kept in good condition will be reliable , but it requires knowledge on the part of the owner . The bikes aren't deficient , but the owners may be . Also I feel proud to ride an original classic and not have to explain that it's a modern " lookalike " . When I travel long distances, I take a set of tools and not a credit card + International Rescue membership . Taking my modern hi tech big bike worries me , not so with my older simpler machines . But enjoying the higher performance goes some way to justifying the hi tech anxiety .Do I want low power AND hi tech ? No . Motorcycles are about performance in my opinion and slow bikes , whilst charming in their own right , don't interest me . I don't knock people who buy them , but I do get a little tired with hearing their justification . As for the ponies that you mention , well I think we both know that the computer on the bike won't let you have them all anyway, it's a moot point but Triumph had to increase the hp of the 900 Tiger to stay competitive . Will Mahindra ,oops I mean BSA send you some cash ? Why not ? It's worth a try if they want to sell bikes in the USA . But do they want to do that ? At present they only make one model .

...and BSA said "Your not bankrupt and don't you 'work from home'? We don't need the publicity, but have a safe journey"