To Scott Guthrie.
"racers want to measure their performance against bikes similar to theirs"
What I wanted to say is that (in my opinion only maybe) you must have an even playing field.
Even me, I understand that there is not much hope for a push rod engine to beat a 4-valve DOHC equiped bike. Consequently, we must have enough classes to allow different types of engines/fuel/frames/aero to enter.
I presume that the owner of a 1000cc Buell for example can't compete against a 1000cc Suzuki GXRS. Just in the showroom, there is already 70hp difference! A 1200 H-D Sportster gives 100hp to a Hayabusa!
Even allowing to tuning, performance parts, lightening, boosting, etc...it's obvious that some engine types need to be in different classes than the latest Nippon technology.
This is what I was trying to convey in my intervention, but I accept that it may have been badly worded.