Me...well, I'm waiting for something with more performance to offer like a dna 30 device, or maybe I'll build myself a custom chopper with a dna engine. Said another way, I'd much rather hit the highway on a modern sport touring liter class machine, than a sixty horsepower thousand pound milwaukee sled.
But I digress... I agree these threads serve no real purpose other than entertainment, bragging rights and nit picking like I just did
ps... don't get me wrong folks, I'd love to own one too
LOL, you cut up harley for being underpowered in the horsepower department, do you have a clue as to how torque relates to horsepower?
Harley make a model that pushes out 120 horsepower if you so wish to choose that.
It's called the Night Rod and it's at a dealer near you.
A lot of people are more interested in the torque of an engine rather than the horsepower that it puts out.
A Road King is certainly a competant touring bike.
Horsepower is a function of engine speed, a tiny two stroke dirt bike can make horsepower like crazy, do you wish to buy that and take it on a trip?
A liter class bike? umm, whats the displacement of a Road King?
A VTwin like a Harley engine does not need to spin over to crazy speeds to make power.
Bombardier pretty much copied the design in their line of Quads, it pulls like crazy.
Horsepower ratings are certainly not my criteria for buying anything, sorry you are stuck on the marketing gimmicks.
Did you ever wonder how a truck with a diesel is rated so low in horsepower but so high in torque?
You can make a gas job that has the same power, however, you are going to have to have that engine RPM way higher to do it.
There is an equation for that you can google.
Suffice to say, a Vtwin design will make more power at any given RPM, they just can't rev as high, thusly the peak horsepower isn't as high. There is a transmission that you can shift gears to take care of that.
If you want peak horsepower, good for you, but be prepared for high rpm's
A formula one car makes power for a reason, it spins at insane speeds.
Insane speeds equate to wearing out quicker.
And yet again, I could care less, but don't fool yourself, horsepower shouldn't be the determining factor in your purchasing decisions.
Put your high horsepower machine up against a steady load like a dynometer, you will see that horsepower comes with engine speed. If you like engine speed, good for you, a lot of people would rather have something that just thumps along and pulls hard.
Harley has even addressed this, they have the 120 HP model for people that get their thrills from numbers in a pamphlet.
It doesn't sell that well, most people that drive Harleys wish for reliability. Heck I can't crack the throttle on a nite glide, let alone hang onto a night rod.