I have a few bikes that are lighter and quite a bit more powerful than the latest Norton superbike. One is "streetable"... the others are too kinda, but there's really no point unless I'm feeling a bit insecure that dayI came across something interesting that fits in with your comment about power for street riding. BMW makes two versions of the XR. The S1000XR makes 170 hp. Mine, the puny F900XR only makes somewhere around 105. You would think the S1000XR would blow the doors off the F900XR version but it only does so on the track. I came across a website that tracks the 0-60 mph times and the S1000XR hits 60 in 3.0 seconds. The puny much lower hp version I have does it supposedly in 3.2 seconds.
My point is that in normal riding, the less expensive F900XR feels probably about as fast till you get above the speed limit.
So what would 206 hp get me except a lot of frustration in having the power with no where to use it? It's like having a Porsche and sitting in the parking lot we call I-5 here in Seattle next to a VW Beetle. Both are going the same speed... 0 mph.
And before anyone starts knocking that VW Beetle, it had a fastback, 4-on-the-floor, bucket seats, and a rear engine like real sports cars had.
Chris
The S1000XR is a bit of a pig... power is higher, but so is weight. I think you'd find the M1000XR model a bit faster due to the added power and decreased weight... add some mild tuning and you have (more of) a rocket. Yet on that type of bike, I prefer a V4 like the Multistrada RS (Desmosedici V4 vs. ShiftCam). Time and place permitting, either bike will make the F900 feel a bit wanting (no disrespect meant). Still, I do prefer a twin like the F900 (albeit V2 over a P2) for general street riding, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't seek out those time and place moments more often than not.
I don't know the Seattle area, but I'm supposed to go up there later this year to visit my son. He rides a 140hp, 335 lb. YZF-R6 and a 160 hp, sub-400 lb. ZX-10R, but mostly at the Ridge, which I understand is not too far away. Would I ride either on the street? Perhaps, but they wouldn't likely be my first choice or even second. For me, it's not how much power you have between your legs or how fast the acceleration is. Any reasonably fast large displacement bike allows me to be a lot lazier with the gear changes providing the bike isn't tuned like most racebikes. That said, my latest commuter is a 24yo 996cc 90˚ V-Twin that makes about 120-ish hp and weighs about 470-lb wet. It's not slow, but it's not very fast either by modern standards. Next to the ST, however, it feels like a racebike
