Its only a geezer on a soap box - just nod and keep moving, please.
Motorcycle Online recently posed the question, "Should the GSXR1000 be a track-only bike?" As much as I tried to let it go, that question has kept bothering me, since it echoes a much more basic one: "How much is too much?"
I dont think there has been a 250cc bike built in the last 20 years that does not have enough power to haul the average adult male beyond any speed limit. And I once rode a 35hp 69 BMW across country quite comfortably.
Sure, if youre carrying a passenger or luggage, or want a heavier plush bike, you want more power. If you ride up mountains you want more power. But except for maybe cops, nobody NEEDS more power.
I dont like it when some "squid" wastes himself showing off on his crotch-rocket. I dont like it when an "outlaw" intimidates people on a loud cruiser. But, hey, I like to cruise sedately along the beach and then blaze through the canyons, so, to each his own! Im not interested in top speed, but Im tempted to learn to do "stoppies".
Manufacturers have, I think, every right to sell as much horse power for as much money as the market will bear. Likewise, anyone with the money should be able to ride them. If you cant resist the urge to twist the tigers tail, its your business.
If you want to test Darwins theory, go right ahead.
Motorcycle Online recently posed the question, "Should the GSXR1000 be a track-only bike?" As much as I tried to let it go, that question has kept bothering me, since it echoes a much more basic one: "How much is too much?"
I dont think there has been a 250cc bike built in the last 20 years that does not have enough power to haul the average adult male beyond any speed limit. And I once rode a 35hp 69 BMW across country quite comfortably.
Sure, if youre carrying a passenger or luggage, or want a heavier plush bike, you want more power. If you ride up mountains you want more power. But except for maybe cops, nobody NEEDS more power.
I dont like it when some "squid" wastes himself showing off on his crotch-rocket. I dont like it when an "outlaw" intimidates people on a loud cruiser. But, hey, I like to cruise sedately along the beach and then blaze through the canyons, so, to each his own! Im not interested in top speed, but Im tempted to learn to do "stoppies".
Manufacturers have, I think, every right to sell as much horse power for as much money as the market will bear. Likewise, anyone with the money should be able to ride them. If you cant resist the urge to twist the tigers tail, its your business.
If you want to test Darwins theory, go right ahead.
