Whats the "sweet spot" for you | Page 2 | GTAMotorcycle.com

Whats the "sweet spot" for you

I went from 30hp to 65hp to 135hp then down to 120hp and stuck there through 3-4 bikes, then went upto 175hp and currently have just over 180 at the wheel... The most fun I ever had on a bike though was the 65hp aprilia rs250, dont get me wrong my current bike puts a grin on my face from ear to ear when i turn the throttle but damn that little 250 was amazing to ride and id buy another if given the opportunity, unfortunately they are not road legal in canada(n) too many tree hugging hippies.
 
don't think the 250's were ever street legal here
125's were though
one in Alberta for sale
crazy dough for a 125
but it looks fabulous and sounds great
A GTAM member has (had?) an RS125 that they ran all over the province. Blew it up at least a few times.
 
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I only own one of these.
 
rs11.jpg

Nothing quite like the smell of 2 stroke in the morning.
 
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...
 

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