What Is A Powerband On A Dirt Bike? And Some Other Features A Beginner Should Know

A dirt bike is sometimes the first bike a person buys. People who want to learn how to ride motorcycles, very often choose these types of bikes they can ride on all terrains and any kinds of roads. Well, these bikes are not very good for asphalt roads - they are not very fast and are hard to call comfortable. But they are still very good for off-roading.

We've been asked many times about such thing as the Powerband (or Power Band if you like it that way). People sometimes predict that this is some special part that helps them control the RPM of their motorcycles at the optimal range. But actually, this is not true. Today, we are going to speak about the powerband in your dirt bike.

Here's what we are going to discuss:

1. The understanding of powerband - what is it?
2. Should you try to always stay in the range of powerband?
3. What can go wrong with your bike when you are driving in a powerband?
4. What else should you know about dirt bikes before riding?

Let's get started!

A powerband on a dirt bike - what is it?

Some people asked us where they could find the powerband. They thought this was some kind of a button that turns on a special mode in their bikes. But the powerband is something you will need to find by your experience.

Powerband in a dirt bike is the optimal range of RPMs of the engine where the peak torque meets the peak horsepower. This is the most efficient range where your engine shows its maximum effectiveness.

Here's how to find the power band:

1. Play with the clutch to understand at what point the motorcycle starts moving like crazy nearly coming out of your hands.
2. Try to drive your bike in different gears and in different RPMs. Try to understand where the point of the maximum power is.
3. Don't be afraid to rev up the engine. In most cases, the powerband will be somewhere on very high RPM to deliver more power and torque.
4. Read the manual for your dirt bike and try to find out the optimal torque RPM. They usually say it in the specs section.
5. The powerband RPM depends highly on the engine. Some engines will give it at 300 RPM while others will allow you to rotate to 10 000 RPM.
6. Always help you with the clutch because at the moment when the clutch is being applied, you can easily feel the torque and the amount of power delivered by the engine.

Once you've found the powerband in your dirt bike, you may ride it with pleasure. For example, during your start, you can dig the ground under the rear wheel and move the rear end of the bike sideways thanks to a wonderful torque and power combination.

Also, the powerband RPM will help you much in racing. When you know how to achieve the best combination of power and torque, you know for sure what to do with your opponents on the track. Your bike will accelerate like crazy no matter what terrain is under the wheels.

Should you always stay in powerband?

Well, the question of the power band is pretty hard. If you try to always stay in the powerband, your bike will always accelerate like crazy and show its full potential. This may bring to at least three bad consequences we can think of. But the worst thing is that you will not always control the way your bike rides. In the most powerful models, the powerband is not that easy to control - please take note of it.

Also, here are the three reasons why you shouldn't always stay in powerband:

1. Riding pleasure. Yes, sometimes, it's pretty nice to drive actively and to have some adrenalin. But you will want different kinds of riding your dirt bike, and in most cases, staying in a powerband will only interfere with your tasks.
2. Bike condition. Staying in a powerband for a long time is probably good for the speed and performance, but it's not good for the engine and other parts of your bike. In the next parts of the article, we'll talk about this in more detail.
3. Danger. If you are riding in city traffic or on a highway, you shouldn't try to always stay in the powerband. Otherwise, you will bring big danger to yourself and to all people around you. This is the worst thing you may do on the road.

As you see, a powerband is a good thing for dirt bikes only when you are on a racing track. This is important to remember next time when you want to show off on the road. The problem is that when you reach the powerband on the asphalt road, you just lose the connection between your rear wheel and the road. This may cause the rear end to move sideways on the road and hit some cars around you. This will be documented as a road accident and you will be in charge of it. And this is just one of the examples of what can go wrong.

Will your bike be OK if you are always in powerband?

Can you imagine driving your car at 4000-5000 RPM constantly? This is the average RPM with the best torque and power for naturally aspired engines and even for some turbocharged units. If you drive like this, your car will probably need special maintenance, racing oil, a better cooling system, etc. You will most likely kill your engine very fast.

The same can be with your motorcycle. Here are some things that may happen:

• bad oiling of the engine because the oil pump will have no chance to pump as much oil as needed to your engine;
• bad cooling - in most cases, the engines are air-cooled and they will overheat in such conditions constantly;
• piston rings wear - the rings will wear pretty fast and will start leaking oil to the combustion chamber;
• head wear - as the engine overheats, the head is the part that suffers the most, it may even change its shape;
• enormous fuel consumption - gasoline will be burnt immediately in such conditions when you rev up the engine;
• transmission problems - the transmission is not hard to repair in dirt bikes, but it will take some time and money.

Also, you should think about the tires. When you go to powerband, your rear tire starts slipping and it gets excessive wear. Don't like spending money on new tires? Be careful with powerband mode.

The only place where you should always keep the RPM near the powerband is the racing track when you race with other guys. But in all other cases, you should choose the optimal RPM level to find some balance between wear, fuel consumption, and speed.

Some other tips about powerband

If you want to find the correct RPM level where you get the powerband, you should practice. Even if you know the optimal RPM for the highest torque, it's pretty hard to find the best position of your right hand and the clutch when this starts working. You should practice a lot in order to use the powerband for the best bike control.

For this, you will need to be brave enough to drive actively. But be very careful if you don't have good experience with your dirt bike. Newbies often get into accidents because they want to find a powerband but don't know how to deal with their dirt bikes.

Here are some important tips:

1. Never try to use a powerband unless you have at least 6 months of experience with your bike.
2. Be very careful and never do anything sharply. You should investigate your bike at first, step by step, and then try something bigger.
3. Never state experimenting with powerband on the road. This is extremely dangerous for you and for other drivers around you.
4. Never try experimenting with a powerband on the track that you don't know at all. You should know all turns and problems of the track.
5. Try driving in different gears and in different RPMs to understand more about why you actually need a powerband.

Dirt bike owners don't always find the best combination of power, torque, and RPM. Sometimes they just choose the way they want to ride their bikes and they are happy with it. It doesn't mean that they don't know how to achieve powerband, but they don't want to risk their bikes and cause extensive engine wear. It's all about your choice.

Final words

As you see, it's not very hard to find a powerband in your dirt bike. You will only need to practice a little. The easiest way to do it is to try starting your movement with different RPMs and different clutch patterns. Once you find the point of your bike's RPM that offers the highest torque, you will know where the powerband is in your dirt bike. Please use it wisely and never put yourself in dangerous situations on a dirt bike.