Dave wrote on Today at 09:43:59:
I saw the Benilli Imperiale when I was in Italy a couple months ago....it was a nice looking bike.
However - 20.7HP just isn't going to keep me from getting run over if I get on an interstate for a while. I feel that 30HP is the absolute minimum a single cylinder bike needs to be highway capable.
One reads this basic idea in dozens of motorcycle forums, but yet I've never read a single report of anyone being run down from behind while traveling too slow for traffic. Certainly, if it was something to actually be concerned about, all the riders of the current Royal Enfield 350s (which are rated about 21hp and will go 72mph, faster on those models that aren't speed limited by the firmware), and the UCE 350s, 500s and 535s that preceded them, would have a high incidence of "mowed down" accidents.
Also, those Ural riders, who can't manage much more than 60 mph cruising, wouldn't be touring, they would be deceased.
Even somebody speeding at 95 mph, will be closing on a bike traveling at 60mph, at only 35mph. My 9.5 hp scooter can manage 60, and I've taken it out on the highway, for brief, expedient, runs. I remember when there used to be signs on the highway ramps, stipulating that motorcycles entering be >175cc, but those signs seem to have disappeared. I wonder what, if any, legal limits exist now?
What we do see MANY reports of, on the other hand, are fatal accidents where people exceeded the speed matching their skill level, and left their lane, or left the road entirely. I'm ONLY seeing reports of deaths from too much power, or those entirely unrelated to power, like a left turning car, and NO incidents resulting from too little power.
Perhaps you can share the published report of incident where somebody was traveling too slow and was run over from behind?