Good afternoon all! I hope everyone has been enjoying the riding season so far.
I have an opinion question (that I would love to see written up about in the various motorcycle mags)
This is a two part question. There has been a lot of fanfare and accolades about the new BMW sportbike that is cranking out crazy amount of HP. I'm sure it is a fine bike in it's own rights (minus the headlights) and it is shown to have a top speed (governed, I'm sure) of 188 mph. More than most of use/need anyway. This speed, to my recollection, surpasses the "gentlemen's agreement" that most of the manufacturers agreed on. All that being said, do you think this will cause the manufacturers to ignore the "agreement" and start making bikes with top speeds even higher?
My next question: There usually is a "master bike" article written yearly in a couple of the bike mags. They usually compare the main liter bikes, the Daytona 675, Gixxer 750 (when it was out) and the 600's. Do you think the other sportbikes like the Busa, and ZX14 should be included as well? I know some will say those larger bikes are really "sport tourers" but public perception is they are all "crotch rockets" or belong basically in the sport bike category. I know each bike has it's advantages and disadvantages IE- 600's are lighter and more "flickable", but lack on steam. Busa and 14 would have straight line advantage, but not as maneuverable. IF they did a true Masterbike competition and tested track, street, comfort, HP, all the categories we usually look at when comparing bikes, how do you think the 14 would do in all the categories with an experienced rider on board?