Re: [ST] understanding power....

[Gavin Lawrie <gavin.lawrie@xxxxxxxxx>]

On 30 Sep 2005, at 18:50, Matt Heyer wrote:

> Sorry for the rant - it goes to more than this thread, as I'm  
> always annoyed with people and their love of peak hp, and quoting  
> these numbers when not really understanding them.

I think your point was rather well made.  But it is not just peak  
power - it is the hang-up on power (per litre) that I find odd.  I  
think it was Rolls Royce who used to describe the power output of  
their cars as 'adequate' rather than giving a figure.  I feel the  
same - my ST produces (I think...) about 120bhp - enough to mean that  
I don't suppose I've ever used peak power (I wasn't even hard on the  
stop when I was doing 140mph on the Autobahn in May).  Quite what I  
would do with 167bhp remains a mystery - but I suspect that I would  
get no closer to running out of power than I do with the ST.  But I  
absolutely appreciate the higher torque of my ST compared to my  
(previous) Z650 - but as importantly I value the size of the bike  
(I'm 6'6) and its handling, brakes, sound... it is what it is like to  
ride that counts, not what it is like on paper.

I've not ridden the FJR1300 - but sitting on one at the Bike Show  
last year it seemed to be closer to the 'RT' armchair style than the  
ST, and that put me off somewhat.   I prefer bikes where you lean  
forward to reach the controls rather than sitting back.  But YMMV.

Best regards

Gavin Lawrie
ST'03




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