Ja power isnt everything, especially when riding off road.
Guys that are obsessed with power and dyno charts usually end up spending most of their time dicing down straight smooth roads - which I find really boring personally - but the Americans call that racing.
The key issues to me are in order of importance:
1) Handling - which is the result of weight, frame design, suspension. You need a well balanced bike that is light and has good suspension that is set up properly.
2) Power delivery - I've ridden my share of violently powerful bikes and without exception they were all dogs on the track. You cant go fast when you are battling to stop the bike from wheel spinning out from under you, or jerking all over the place at the merest touch of the throttle - you need some finesse to control traction - going fast is all about being smooth. Smooth power especially from low down is far more useful than trying to tame a fire breathing dragon the whole time, as cool as that may sound.
3) Absolute power is necessary when you want to cruise at high speeds on the highway - but that is the least important thing for me.
So the figures can only really tell you so much about a bike,- after that you need to ride it to find out if it suites you.
Its no good waving your dyno chart at your mates when you pitch up for a ride - its how you ride your bike that actually really counts (if you ride competitively).
A good rider will ride rings around all of us in technical terrain on an inferior bike in most cases anyway. That tells you that power is not the limiting factor.
Topic: Honda XR650L vs. Husqvarna TE610iE (Read 3978 times)
