Questions for you about the 4 Japanese Sport Bikes

[DTM Brian]

What is your favorite of the four and why?

What is your least favorite?

If you could not have your first choice in terms of manufacturer what would be your second choice?

Do you feel one manufacturer makes a better 600 while another makes a better liter bike?

My favorite: Suzuki. Always have like the looks of them and power they make.

Least favorite is probably the R1. Bad ass looking bike. Just not a fan of the drive by wire and power they make.

As far as my second choice I imagine it would be the honda. The kawi is right behind it. Infact I like the feel better of the kawi while I like the looks of the honda.

Screw it.. I will take one of each and park them next to a new BMW s1000rr.

[Fonzie]

Do you ever even ride Brian? Seems you're workin' all the time

[Disclaimer]

Out of the Japanese four

Fav: Suzuki

Why?: Performance

Least Fav: Yamaha

Why?: Performance, best looking bikes of the four gorgeous bikes, but it ain't a beauty contest.

Really though, I put Suzuki on par with Honda or Kawi, but Suzuki is just my brand preference because more often than not, their machine is always #1 or #2 in the comparos for performance. Honda is leading the pack now, so I think the CBR1000RR would be my 'go to' bike if I had money to burn tomorrow. But, Suzuki has always been good at answering the call putting performance #1 on their priority list.

It's really an unfair question to grossly over-simplify the pros/cons of each brand in choosing ONE. . But if I HAD to rank the Japanese brands based on my personal preference: Suzuki, Honda, Kawi......... then far in 4th - Yamaha. The top 3 are almost interchangeable.

[DTM Brian]

Do you ever even ride Brian? Seems you're workin' all the time

I put WAY more miles on the dyno then I do on the street.

True Story!!

[Fonzie]

Ordinarily I'd say Yamaha last, since I had so many problems with my old one.....

But that new crossplane isss pretty sweeeet

[hummingbird]

fav- suzuki and dont know why

least- kawi because theres just something about them

cant remember your other questions

[magley64]

always been a honda guy, unquestionable reliability with near zero maintenence.

least favorite is suzuki, always seemed like they attract people who know NOTHING about bikes more than anything else.

Kawi is number 2, mostly for sentimental reasons, my first proper motorcycle was a 1981 Kawi 550 ltd when i was just a wee lad.

differences between sport bikes are so tiny, it really is negligible for my skill set, but honda absolutely owns the touring market in japan.

[TSB67]

Whoever had the latest major model change is the best. Like we always said with dirt bikes, pick your favorite color, they're all good.

Wonder if the CBR600 is going to change in 2011...

[jsheikh]

Dang no love for R6's/yami huh.... well when i was looking for a bike, it was basically price range for me honestly. But i did some research and i found that of the 4 japanese bikes in the mid 2000's decade ('03-'07, the latest year i could afford) the best bike was the R6 trackwise... For my purposes any of the 4 woulda been fine, but i figure yo why not. So thats how i ended up with an R6, a little research + awesome price...

I can't rate the 4 bikes because i havent ridden all of them but i'd like to put up my thoughts of each...

Yamaha R6/R1 - research said they reliable and i can vouch. Low maintenance, make a beast 600 and the 1k is also great, looks amazing and sexy as hell, R6 is a bit twitchy but i love it

Honda 600rr/1000rr - Honda reliability, nothing beats thats. Looks aren't bad, not the sexiest but still hot.

Suzuki GSXR's - I hear the gixxers are built like tanks (as far as getting into wrecks) but im not sure of their reliability. Powerful engines. I wasn't a fan of the look at first but its slowly growing on me. I like the flashy color schemes... One reason why im glad i dont own a gixxer is cuz a lot of people already do

Kawasaki - Makes a sweet reliable engine, but the body work suffers... I know a few guys with ninjas and it doesnt seem like it was put together well, apart from the engine which is superb... I like the look of the ninjas tho, cool name too lol

[rusty]

sorry but first is ducati

then honda 1000rr

3th R6

never been fan of kawi

[drew95gt]

1st- Kawasaki

2nd- Honda

3rd- Suzuki

4th- Yamaha

But in reality they all make at least one bike that I would love to have.

[CBRunninfast]

Honda, Suzuki? Please, Hyosung is where it's at...

[NinjaNick]

600's - Not enough hp/tq for me through all gears. I rode one for 4 years and had a blast but today when I ride them there just isn't enough juice to get me grinning and having fun. Some are adrenaline junkies, but I'm a power junkie. Loved speed/power my whole life. It transfered over from cars to bikes.

1000's + Are my cup of tea the past 3 years.

They go in this order:

Liters: Yamaha, Kawasaki, Suzuki, Honda

Bigbores: Kawi, Suzuki

[flyboy1011]

least favorite is suzuki, always seemed like they attract people who know NOTHING about bikes more than anything else.

[SJC1000rr]

Fav: Honda-Riders position is more comfortable, reliability, easy to learn on.

Lst Fav: Kawi-Looks, under performing bike compared to the others.

Suzuki GSXR's - I hear the gixxers are built like tanks (as far as getting into wrecks) but im not sure of their reliability. Powerful engines. I wasn't a fan of the look at first but its slowly growing on me. I like the flashy color schemes... One reason why im glad i dont own a gixxer is cuz a lot of people already do

Might want to research their infamous frame breaks. Most of the new 600s are snapping front or front+rear at the weld points. Even in low speed accidents or crashes.

[ReconRat]

I really should dismantle a few modern bikes and see what I get for an modern opinion.

I still base my opinions on what happened when the big four were introduced into the USA.

Honda was reliable, with slightly less power as a result. Fit and finish was better than the others.

Kawasaki was powerful. Nobody else could even come close. Chrome and paint wasn't as good.

Yamaha was quietly building good motorcycles. Nothing too fancy or fast. Just good work.

Suzuki was light weight bikes. Performance through weight reduction.

A different set of tools was always needed for Suzukis. Every bolt on a Suzuki had a bolt head one wrench size smaller. So where all bikes used 10mm, 12mm, and 14mm, etc. Suzuki would use 9mm, 11mm, 13mm, etc. I always thought that was funny.

[RVTPilot]

least favorite is suzuki, always seemed like they attract people who know NOTHING about bikes more than anything else.

That is the "what wins on Sunday sells on Monday" aspect of bike sales coming to fruition. That the only thing keeping some squid from being the next Kevin Schwantz or Mat Mladin is riding the same machine they did.

I liked Hondas before I bought mine, thought they had the most fit and finish (as previously stated by another poster), and made just a solid all-around machine. For the same reasons, I wasn't a fan of Kawis for a long time. They made remarkable engines, but put them in heavy, poorly constructed frames. Poor looking welds and a slapped together look on many of their bikes turned me away from them. Though I feel in recent years they have gotten much better and on par with their Japanese counterparts. Now I am just not a fan of their styling. But they make some bikes that perform really well. Always had a soft spot in my heart for Yamaha since my first sportbike was an FZR, but until the R1 & R6 came out, they always seemed to be reactive in their R&D rather than proactive. At least when I started buying bikes. Suzook was always a distant 4th for me until they completely redid the GSXR line in '96. By the summer of '97 I was on a brand new Gixxer 750, and that is still one of my favorite bikes. For whatever reason, it fit me like a glove, and I had complete faith and confidence in that thing wherever I rode.

Today, I'd have to give Suzuki the slightest edge over Honda in the liter class. And I think its fair to say that the margin of difference from one manufacturer to the next, or even the fourth overall is minimal. From top to bottom, I'd have to go Suzuki, Honda, Yamaha, Kawasaki. And of all of the Kawi's the ZX-10 is my favorite.

With 600s, its a crap shoot. You can make a solid case for any of them. My personal favorite is the R6, having been on a couple and been so uniquely impressed with how nimble it was. Like riding a scalpel. The CBR is a fun bike, but seems to be getting lost in the conversation sometimes, though I think that has a lot to do with the lack of Honda's racing effort here in the US, which does have a trickle down effect to the street. Still a wicked right bike though. The Gixxer once again is hard to argue against, and just does it all well. I appreciate the work Kawi has put into the 636, but having not thrown a leg over one, I have it fourth on my list only from lack of knowledge with it. (Maybe sometime on a ride Cleave and I can swap up so I can edumicate myself on that sled.) So for sixes, I would say Yamaha, Suzuki, Honda, Kawi.

[chevysoldier]

Well I haven't ridden long enough to give a very good answer. I've only had a Ninja 250 and my FZR. I will say Suzuki is my least favorite. Seems like mostly idiots have them and think they are invincible. Being an auto tech I also see a lot of Suzuki cars and they are just a basket case of problems, cheaply made. This has really turned me off to the name.

[RVTPilot]

Well I haven't ridden long enough to give a very good answer. I've only had a Ninja 250 and my FZR. I will say Suzuki is my least favorite. Seems like mostly idiots have them and think they are invincible. Being an auto tech I also see a lot of Suzuki cars and they are just a basket case of problems, cheaply made. This has really turned me off to the name.

I can see where you would have that opinion based on the latter, but I am not one for bashing a brand because of the clientel that chooses to buy them. True, Suzooks are the choice of most squids, but that doens't make it a bad bike. On Suzuki cars, when I worked for Enterprise many years ago, we had Grand Vitaras. POS. Constantly in the shop for tranny issues or leaking oil. Granted rental cars get beat to shit, but when compared to all the other rentals we had, they by far were one of the ones least capable of taking the abuse. Wouldn't hit a dog in the ass with one.

[chevysoldier]

I can see where you would have that opinion based on the latter, but I am not one for bashing a brand because of the clientel that chooses to buy them. True, Suzooks are the choice of most squids, but that doens't make it a bad bike. On Suzuki cars, when I worked for Enterprise many years ago, we had Grand Vitaras. POS. Constantly in the shop for tranny issues or leaking oil. Granted rental cars get beat to shit, but when compared to all the other rentals we had, they by far were one of the ones least capable of taking the abuse. Wouldn't hit a dog in the ass with one.

No you are right. The main reason I don't want one is do to their crappy cars. It isn't the bike that makes a squid, it's the rider.

[e-flores]

Out of the jap class, Honda for sure, build quality is great there are only a few pet peves I have about the 600rr after 4 years of ownership. And they are tanks when it comes to reliability! I hav ridden my rr like she was supposed to be ridden and I have had no mechanical issues whatsoever. 9 trackdays and around 10000 street miles and I have had not one mechanical issue. That makes me happy.

A close second would be yamaha, and a far off third would be Suzuki for the fact that every duechebag I have ever met on a bike has ridden a Suzuki. Not saying that everyone who owns a Suzuki is a duechebag I'm just saying almost every duechebag on a bike owns a Suzuki. I guess they've picked a target market and they are sticking to it

last would be kawi, mostly for build quality reasons that's about it, though I have seen a couple of well built kawis latelly. Which is a plus.

But really you can't go wrong with any of the jap bikes.

[RVTPilot]

No you are right. The main reason I don't want one is do to their crappy cars. It isn't the bike that makes a squid, it's the rider.

I will concurr with you you when it comes to shitheads on Suzooks, though. I mean, look no father than r1slushy and JRMMeeee.

[RFM]

None of them. I've never looked at one and had that gut response. Get me by a MV, Ducati, or Aprilia though and then it's a comparo for me.

[redkow97]

people usually like what they're most familiar with. And this isn't a simple question at all...

on the world stage (World Superbike and Supersport), Honda's dominate the 600cc class - but at the club level, the front of the pack are all on R6's. So the Honda is "better," but the R6 is "better on a budget."

I love my honda, but if i'm talking performance potential, reliability, ride-ability, etc., I'd have to rank the big 4:

1) Yamaha

2) Honda

3) Suzuki

4) Kawasaki

The R6 is just an amazing package for the track. I'm used to my honda, but I've never seen anyone race and R6 and regret it. The R1 is just as trick.

I put honda second because I love the fact that I can beat the hell out of my bike and know it's still relatively bullet-proof. I do think the 1000RR is kinda... off, but it's light as hell. Again, bullet-proof, which counts for a lot on my budget.

Suzukis were listed third for me because I just don't like them. I can't explain why. I've always thought the headlight configuration was ugly, but they look fine from behind the bars. Whether i'm right or not, I've just always felt like the build quality of suzuki's aren't as "tight" as Honda and Yamaha. I can't definitively say why - probably because the GSXR is like the bat-signal for squids. Not suzuki's fault, but I do hold it against them.

With that said, i admire that Suzuki continues to build a 750, and I know a LOT of racers who are fast as hell that swear up and down by the GSXR 1000. Probably the cheapest way to go racing with the big boys on the AMA stage. Like I said, I don't know why I don't like them more...

and then there's Kawasaki... the new ZX6 is a bike I haven't ridden, but want to. The 636's transmission problems, and the current ZX10's dismal race performance have jaded me to a brand I should have developed strong loyalty to! I hope the 2011 ZX10 gets as good of reviews as the ZX6.

[obesityrules]

Having owned all but Kawasaki; i would rank Honda 1st and Suzuki 3rd. this is based purely on performance, i could give a shit how cool i look riding it. And on a squidliness level, if you ride a sport bike (crotch rocket) then you are a squid .