100 HP on the street...why?

[velocipede]

I'm curious for any of you who've got S4Rx/SFighter/Speed Triple/Anything else with 100+ horsepower and ride primarily on the street...when does that much power become useful.  I've never owned anything with more than 80ish HP (My current GT1000), and, after 20,000 miles, that still seems plenty.  It's easy to get the front wheel up (sometimes too easy!) and on the twisty roads I like, there's not really enough room to unleash the kind of power a S4Rs can do, and, of course, there's the whole "doing 100mph+ isn't good the for the license thing".  For track days, I can see the appeal, but I don't really get it for the street.  My curiosity isn't just abstract, though, as I have to admit the lure of those more powerful bikes is appealing  , I'm just not sure I'd really feel like the extra $$ for power I'd never use would be justified.  Thoughts?

[Spidey]

Get on a Streetfighter or literbike or any bike with stupid amounts of power.  Find an open road.  Go WFO.  Therein lie all the answers, young Jedi.   

100+ hp . . . Useful?  Only for tracking down cruise missles.  Will it give you a stiffy?  Absolutely.

[minnesotamonster]

Personally, I am much more comfortable commuting on my s4r than my wifes 600 simply because of the extra power. A quick turn of the wrist can quickly get me out of a dangerous situation I may not have been able to otherwise.

[Buckethead]

To make up for the fact that I have a tiny penis.

[SacDuc]

Get on a Streetfighter or literbike or any bike with stupid amounts of power.  Find an open road.  Go WFO.  Therein lie all the answers, young Jedi.   

100+ hp . . . Useful?  Only for tracking down cruise missles.  Will it give you a stiffy?  Absolutely.

100+ hp will indeed give you a stiffy. A tiny tiny little stiffy. But it will be rock hard.

sac

[Veloce-Fino]

Other than speed, any sort of highway cruising or long distance riding pretty much necessitates a liter bike. The gearing will be much more comfortable for these settings. My 696 on the highway SUCKS.

[ab]

I find that I am happy for my Triumph s3 HP compared to my Monster 620.  I get smoked on the str8 always ofcourse by others and even on the twisty I catch up to those that can't turn/lean but still the other good riders, I can't catch up.
But with the 100+HP, I have a chance and do keep up with them or in sight.  So I do appreciate the HP now.  Yeah, on a str8 empty, road, as someone mention - get a good stiffy going for sure   

[Rameses]

Why?

Because too much is almost enough.

[speedknot]

To make up for the fact that I have a tiny penis.

to all the 100+hp bike owners with penis envy.

No inhibition and big balls wins.

[Rufus120]

Isn't bigger (more powerful) always better?

[Lars D]

Because 130 to 150 hp will move me around better than 80 will.

Bigger bikes usually come with better suspension and brakes .

There may be a Superduke behind you.

[ute]

My buddy with the bussa says its fun having an automatic ....he never has to shift ...just leave it in 1st arround town


also doing 300kph   will give you a stiffy

[GBusa]

Isn't bigger (more powerful) always better?

Why yes! Yes it is

[671M900]

This is motorcycling in the 21st century. If you're not wanting more hp, even if you're over 100hp, you aren't doing it right.

[Bladecutter]

Other than speed, any sort of highway cruising or long distance riding pretty much necessitates a liter bike. The gearing will be much more comfortable for these settings. My 696 on the highway SUCKS.

I don't know what highways you're riding on (you might be talking about the Autobahn, for all I know), but here in Colorado, where the highways are anywhere between 50 mph and 75 mph posted, the 696 scoots along with the greatest of ease. Should one decide to crack the throttle open, and watch the speedo climb, it gets up to 118 mph before it starts to struggle.

Now granted, the S2R1k can do the exact same thing with even less effort, and the massive acceleration doesn't start to slack off until you're north of 130 mph, but that's what you get with 43% more displacement.

Now, the 848, is a variable story, depending on what gear you're in at the time you decide to rip the throttle back, and accelerate from 50 mph up to arrest me, but please have mercy, Mr Officer, speeds. If you were in 6th gear, you accelerate at a nice relaxed rate, until you personally run out of balls, somewhere in the 140 mph to 160 mph range (the bike still has more balls than you). If you were in second gear, you are now bouncing off the rev limiter, at exactly 100 mph. And I really do mean that it takes exactly as long as it just took you to read that sentence.

Why do you need that much power at your finger tips?
Its not to get out of the way is something dangerous happens, as 90% of the dangers that happen would be better suited to you scrubbing off speed instead of piling on more.

Its simply because it's damn fun to have that mush power and acceleration available, all the time, whenever you desire it.

A car that accelerates just as quickly as an 848 cost significantly more.
Heck, a car that can accelerate as quickly as the 696 is going to cost more than an 1198S does.

Its all about finding what floats your boat, of course.
Some of us need the extra power to get our boat cruising along.

BC.