Was insulted today !

[flynrider]

I got my first bike in 1980, at the height of what was called the Horsepower Wars. With UJMs being somewhat universal, manufacturers tried to get a a step ahead of the competition by offering the most powerful UJM. It struck me that, in squeezing the most HP per CC, the highly touted power tended to concentrate near the the top of the powerband, where ironically, most riders didn't venture anyway. The result tended to be bikes with impressive power at high rpms and not so much in rpm regions normally used on the street. It didn't seem to matter to the buyers, they were buying the numbers.

By contrast, bikes like the CB11 and the Triumph twins (and my late model CB750) use a more logical approach. Though the peak HP number is not as impressive, power is delivered evenly throughout the rpm range, making for much better responsiveness in normal street riding. Often an engine that is designed like this is referred to as "de-tuned". I tend to feel that they are "properly tuned".

With some cam and intake changes, the CB11 engine could easily put out over 110 peak horsepower, but that would ruin it's wonderfully linear power delivery. If you're not racing, why wouldn't you want the power delivered where you can use it? If you haven't guessed yet, I've never been a fan of peak HP numbers as the measure of a bike.