If I may, let's look at the two opposite ends of the HP vs Tq spectrum.
The GSXR 600 by Suzuki makes around 100 HP and 46 ft-lbs of torque, weighs 400 lbs wet, and will do the 1/4 mile in 11.0-something.
The way my bike was before it made 120 HP and 131 ft/lbs, weighs 720 lbs wet, and would get down the 1/4 mile in 11.7-something.
So... in a drag race, I would lose by almost 3/4 of a second.... However, when the two of us are riding together on the road it's a totally different story. He has no torque and needs to run the crap out of that thing to stay with me, even if I'm short-shifting. Every time we accelerate off a light or make a pass he feels like he's outgunned. In order to accelerate with any authority he must keep the engine in its "powerband" which starts at 10,000 RPM. My bike didn't have a "powerband" and made 100 ft-lbs by 2200 RPM.
I actually did play around with one of those on the street. On one occasion under hard acceleration he closed the throttle when in front of me... I couldn't hear his quiet bike... and I almost ran right over him! Unless he's willing to ride around at 11,000 RPM, he's playing catch-up all day long.
This is also why I'm not a big fan of the V-Rod. The fun starts at around 5000 RPM on one of those. Doesn't suit my riding style.