HP isn't everything. Torque is more important and where in the rev range that torque appears. The 1250 has it spot on so, AFAIAC, I twist the grip and it goes like a rocket.
Exactly. That's 100% true...
on the street. On the racetrack, where you have lots of horsepower in the high rev range, you use your gears up and down much more to control power, speed, and braking. And tuning an engine for racing, you can get lots more horsepower, but only in a narrow "powerband", so you run it in the range that it performs the best... it's a lot more work. And it comes at the sacrifice of "streetability". Which is what you are saying, right, D?
So many young squids these days get it in their head that having a race-bike on the street makes them the fastest thing alive... and then they end up splattered on the back door of a semi. Sure, you can go fast on a Gixxer, but it takes a kot of concentration and work to do it... leaving less brainpower for watching traffic and other hazards.
On the track you learn every curve in a relatively short time, it becomes automatic. There's no traffic or obstacles, no suprises other than the occasional downed rider. On the street it's the opposite... at least half the road you ride is new and unknown, and even the familiar roads will have different traffic on them.
I grew out of the 'drop it two gears and scream it' mentality years ago. With the Bandit, I'll be able to enjoy the ride and what's going on around me without having to concentrate on playing merry tunes with the gearbox and engine to keep it on song like a racer.
D, there's already been a couple times that I've used the B1250's monster torque to spank a sportbike.
While they were busy dropping their gear to find the powerband, I was already blowing by them without needing to shift. And the fact that the Bandit handles nearly as well as a sportbike, an experienced rider can easily lead the way around the twisties... so many young sportbikers that
think they are fast, but just don't have the skills or experience to actually
be fast. Dragging their knee or scraping a peg does them no good if they are getting out-braked, or they are inconsistent through the S's. Smoothness, rythm, and
finesse works just as well going fast as it does with the ladies on the dance floor.
BTW, SteelD... you get your baby home yet? What's the deal? I think I'd have a tent set up outside their door by now...