+2 great post. Now I wanna know what this little thumper is? See I remember the real thumpers - BSA single cylinder 500s, Triumphs - Daytona and Bonneville - had both and those guys for all their idiosyncracies were really tossable. Although I find it hard to believe they'd stack up to the Ducatti 1098 in any way shape or form. So please explain this.
The overiding issue I get; completely agree. There is no other affordable both in long term maintenance or buy in that offers the level of performance that our NSXs have that I know of - but then I have never driven a Subaru STI.....so how do the used ones stack up to our beloved NSXs??? I'm not sure I understand the comparo there?
Well, sticking close to the honda fold, it's a 1989 GB500. Completely stock, all flaming 26 whp through all 5 gears. It is utterly out gunned and out classed in any measurable category you choose to compare. Skinny tires, with tubes, big monster factory chain (original) and sprockets, just a simple 2 wheeled crowd pleaser. It's the sleeved down xr600 motor, 10k rpm of counter balanced thumper goodness.
The advantage it does have: You can use all 26whp all the time. In fact you have to row the gear box like you are a gp racer, while carefully shifting your weight and managing the bikes weight transfer to conserve every last ounce of momentum. The problem is, the riders with bigger ego's and wallets. They won't spend $300 for a track day, because they have to buy a new $1200 set of leathers. Yet, when we ride they are the ones who blast down the straights at tripple digit speeds, masterfully shocking little blue haired ladies on their way to church (sunday rides).
So, as we transition into the curvy sections of our rides, where technique counts for everything, even the 1098's seem to lose 130 whp. Even wide open and stamping on the shifter like I've got ants on my toes, I'm just barely 10 mph over any given speed limit. It's great! Ride the beejesus out of that little 500 and never worry about anything but the road. While the 20 grand exotics are tiptoeing around the corners waiting to cane the throttle when the road straightens, I'm tootling along in the zone. Smoothly down shifting, barely touching the brakes, settling the chassis and rolling back into the throttle going into the corner, snick the next gear just after the apex and off I go with little to no loss of momentum.
I realy think that most of the people I was riding with were missing out on 70% of the enjoyment of the ride, while they were exposing themselves to 100% of all the possible downsides. Sure the bikes are beautiful, sound exotic and are more powerfull than any gp bike out of the 70's, but I have lost the enjoyment of doubling the freeway speedlimit as I redline in 2nd gear. Those 4 seconds of shrieking through the rpms are so short lived when the red and blue victory lights proclaim you the winner.
So, just like the ultra exotic 2, 3 and 4 cylinder super rockets.. the guy with the Roush came to a complete stop in the technical sections, killed all my momentum and then proudly blasted up the hill of the on ramp. Cool guy realy, talked to him twice now, but he summed it up quiet well when I asked him about that day. "Too cold on those tires and too much power, dampness on the bridge, no way am I putting 50 grand into the barrier to start out my day."
Although he understood the situation perfectly well, "no way was I gonna stay with you, if you were in front of me; I doubt I would have caught you before the end of the on ramp." The Sti is useable, but vague. It does what you want with out vice, yet it just sort of mumbles at you. The Nsx is wonderfull in this sense, you have a perfectly coherent conversation going the whole time you are driving. It's like hanging out with an old close friend, with a few words you know what each other are thinking about, clear as day. No silly surprises or practical jokes a thoroughly enjoyable day just spending time with each other. You've known each other for years and the trust is explicit.
My other bike analogy I often use with my bike friends is exploring the difference between riding a honda Rc30 (1990) and a Cbr900rr (1992). The Rc30 is a scalpel and the 900rr is a butcher knife. The Nsx is a scalpel, the Sti is a butcher knife. You can explore the road with precision while driving the Nsx, how small do you want to carve each slice? You are limited in the way you cut your slices with the Sti; it still cuts, but you just can't get those ultra thin slices, no matter how hard you try.