Thought process review: Suzuki "Litre" bike

Can I honestly consider myself a Squid? That'll be pretty hard to swallow. But every magazine and comparison review I read consistently puts the Suzuki GSXR 1000 at the top of the list. Supposedly it's power is intoxicating, and you never want for more.


Toughness: Great
Japanese bikes are notoriously abused. They never get oiled, they get dropped, stunted (aka "stun'd" on Craigslist), run through rain and snow, and generally neglected. Yet they still run like mad and get raced down the FDR and 9A at midnight and generally stand up (until they get run into a divider by a young squid who never learned to counter-steer).

Handling: Great
It's a sportbike, and every review I've read says "it holds lines well" which I presume is racer lingo for "it corners well and is stable". On the street, I like to say, "my bike avoids cabs". Maybe it's not as nimble as the Daytona 675, but the GSXR 1000 wheel base is comparable to the Buell XB12ss, so I'll be familiar with it.

Coolness: Ok-Great
Ok - so I could say I own the fastest production vehicle you can buy. I could go 0-60 faster than the fastest Ferrari's, Porsches, or whatever that other banker spent to drive next in the Hamptons. But something inside will die a little bit everytime I have to tell a co-worker, client, or colleague that I ride a "racing sportbike". I'll need to work on another term. For instance, I like how they call them "litrebikes" or "superbikes" in the UK.

Comfort: Ok
I just learned that the Suzuki has "the best ergos of the litrebikes". That's a good thing, but I doubt anything will top the Buell or a BMW. I'm going to have to try this out to be sure. My primary concern is that I retain complete freedom and neck movement. I'll need to "check my 6" every 3 milliseconds, and I don't want to have to look down my back every time. I need to be able to swing my head around freely, and I'm quite concerned about this point.


Summary: Ergos and the squid image are my primary concerns. But otherwise, I've always been curious about the legendary litre superbikes "they" always talk about. I just have to be careful to balance safety against the obvious other points above.