I started on a 38 rwhp (Hawk GT) to 48 rwhp (modded Hawk GT) bike, and it wasn't enough for what I wanted at the time. I did get a mega speeding ticket on it, so in hindsight it probably wasn't as underpowered as I thought, but I was young and more was better.
Next bike was 170 rwhp, a ZX-14. It was too much power, mostly because it was heavy and didn't handle well, so was all about the effortless straight line speed, which was too easy and therefore dangerous to my license.
So I dialled it back to 150 rwhp in a 2nd gen ZX-10R, which was a pretty sweet spot. It handled pretty good once I did up the suspension, and didn't quite have the freight train feeling of the 14, so speed felt like speed.
Then I went to a Tuono, up a notch to 160 rwhp, but feels like 200 compared to the ZX-10R. It's got lots more torque and power below 9,000 rpm, and a bit more up top. It's the best motor I've ever had the joy of using, but has has far more on tap than I actually use anywhere except the track. For day-to-day, I'll take too much and just turn the throttle less, thanks.
But I also recently picked up an RC51 for trackday use, and chose it specifically because it's about 120 rwhp with decent torque. I didn't want a litrebike where I'd develop bad habits, but I also didn't want a peaky 600. I'm a heavyweight, so I need that torque to drag my a** out of tight corners.
I guess the moral of my story is it all depends on the bike for me. 170 in a ZX-14 felt like too much, but 160 in a Tuono feels just right. And I bet if I had that Hawk back, I'd absolutely love it...
too many tree hugging hippies.
