Seems to me that the technical numbers (i.e. dyno figures, quarter mile times, etc.....) are being muddled with real world riding experience. People often perceive that one bike is quicker than another or it makes you faster through your favorite section of highway but is it really? You don't know until you put a watch to it and find out for certain. I have an S curve near my house that I've taken hundreds of times. I've watched my speed through there almost every time I've ridden it. The ST and RT speeds were almost identical, the NC and Tenere are about 5 mph slower but feel just as fast or faster to me. On paper the 2012 RT I owned is much slower than the ST but in real world applications it would keep up with just about anyone on an ST and would run off and leave others.......it comes down to the rider and not the bike.
To me, a 10-15 hp difference between two bikes is pretty much meaningless, especially, if the bike with the more hp weighs 100 lbs more also. My RT weighed 570 lbs compared to the ST which weighed 720 lbs (some anal techie will probably correct me on these numbers but you get the idea). It felt like it handled better and I could ride it faster........but could I? Who knows, who cares? I enjoyed both bikes.
Real world riding experiences are much harder to quantify. That is why technical data that can be measured is published for most bikes. Both are meaningless until you throw a leg over the bike and take it for a ride. If it moves your soul, great!
Mike
To me, a 10-15 hp difference between two bikes is pretty much meaningless, especially, if the bike with the more hp weighs 100 lbs more also. My RT weighed 570 lbs compared to the ST which weighed 720 lbs (some anal techie will probably correct me on these numbers but you get the idea). It felt like it handled better and I could ride it faster........but could I? Who knows, who cares? I enjoyed both bikes.
Real world riding experiences are much harder to quantify. That is why technical data that can be measured is published for most bikes. Both are meaningless until you throw a leg over the bike and take it for a ride. If it moves your soul, great!
Mike
