I wonder how much of this comes down to maybe that most salesman are basically looking at the dollars and cents equation of any encounter. While a few may know their stuff(the particulars of each model, the history of their product or the industry in general), I'd say many if not most are just trying to put food on the table.
While this does not excuse that fact that many salesmen don't "do their homework" and appear to not know what they're talking about(I believe one has to have a passion for something to really know the in's and out's of whatever that "something" is), I'd say this pretty much explains this phenomenon.
And BTW Jack, off-hand I'd say that the reason our brit friends seem to complain less about the lack of "real" power in our bikes is because the whole island over there is about the size of California. If one would attempt to ride the "Superslabs" of America, say from CA to NY, on a BA or Speedy, I think a "little more" power would be quite welcomed by most of us Yanks who could find themselves out in the middle of nowhere on Interstate 40 attempting to stay well ahead of those semi-trucks that roam those superslabs at 80+ MPH, hours on end.
Cheers,
Dwight
(now if you'll all excuse me, I have an appointment with Dr. Vinny Boombatz!.....the Rodney Dangerfield fans["no respect"] out there will get this one)
