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Friday, 07 September 2001 |
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So there I was flying out to Sunny California to go test ride the new Gixxer 1000 and 600. Come to California, they said. Great weather, they said. Well, it rained and rained, consequently, we came back with some super soggy pic's of the 600 and no real ride impression. So here's a Sunny Florida review, where tires are warm and sticky and the sun is always, always shining... Mike Emery
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CLASS WARFARE
Review by Ricky Racer ~ Photo's by Bob's Pawn Shop
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I tell you what; it's gotten a little ridiculous lately trying to stay on top of the 600-class pecking order. It's almost as up-to-the-minute as the bloody computer industry. This seems to be the name of the game in the 600 arms race. The cold war may be over, but the mid-size crotch-rocket wars are just shifting into high gear. It's a bit of a dilemma for the sportbike buyer, no sooner have you laid down your hard earned dosh on a new steed, when a rival manufacturer goes out with the specific intention to out do it. |
You really can't buy a bad motorcycle anymore though. Some are just better than the next, and usually only minutely better at that. We've heard all the tough talk. We've seen how the GSXR 750 compares to the open class. What can the new middleweight Suzook do?
From the moment you take a seat on Suzuki's 600 Supersport class bike it becomes immediately apparent that this bike has one singular purpose: To win races and dominate any asphalt skirmish.
Starting with the seating position, it is either perfect or torturous, depending on your point of view or whether or not you are a strapping young buck (like myself) or a tired old geriatric like Emery, who should really be riding a VFR anyway.
Air flow over the fairing seems to relieve a lot of the weight normally placed on your wrists that lead to fatigue. The windshield is smaller than last years' but still much bigger than the tiny piece of glass on some of those other 600's.
This bike was designed to go fast though, very, very fast indeed, around a given racetrack or a tasty stretch of your favorite uninhabited canyon road. All other considerations, such as wind protection, long distance pillion seat comfort, or fuel economy become quickly irrelevant. |
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