This is probally going to be a really stupid post, but here it goes...I've had my bike for a year now. Every magazine that I read, every internet spec that I see, about the 600RR's and 1000RR's specs, are pretty similiar. 1/4 mile times, etc., are off just by a couple or so tenths of a second. Yeah, the 1000RR is obviouslly going to have a higher top end, but if the specs are fairly similiar, on a twisted track or your every day street...what's really the BIG differences between the two?

 

just about everything...

 

im guessing the 1/4 times are similer because the 1000 is harder to launch then the 600. But the 1000 is alot faster..

 

hell yeah one of my friends has a 1000 and the difference in power is huge. I can get my bike up in second w/ a little work but his im still triing to keep it down into third

 

I'm about to find out!! Friend of mine from west coast bought an 06 1000RR from nearby & I get to "bike sit" it & store it in my garage until about Christmas when he'll come to get it!!! He told me to RIDE IT regularly!!!

I think I can manage that!!!

 

Big difference. Like Neon/Viper difference.......okay, maybe not that huge of a gap, but still, they are VERY different machines. If the 600RR scared you even a couple of times, just wait until you throw a leg over the 1000.

I went with the 600 over the 1000. I got lucky and had the opportunity to test drive both. The 600RR felt tameable and managable for the street (since it was replacing my car as the "daily driver"). The 1000RR just flat out scared the **** out of me. I KNEW I wasn't ready for it.......I'm not disiplined enough.

 

I rode my buddies 2005 1000RR for a while before I got the F4i, the midrange power is the big difference in everyday riding. It can be SCARY fast quick. My 600 is docile compared to that bike. My other buddy has a 2006 1kRR and he feels it is too much, he says the 600 would have been perfect. He has a track 600F3 that he races (for the past few years) so it isn't a lack of competence, he just feels that the 1000 is a waste for the street even though the torque is nice.

The 1000 always had power, it never needed to build revs to go hard, the 600 has a bit of a lag until 8000. look at the dyno sheets for the two bikes, the 1000 may make as much power at 4000 as the 600 does at 7500, that is the big difference.

1/4 times are all in the launch, but roll on power is like night and day between a 600 and 1000. If you find yourself constantly in the top third of the tach then you may want to consider stepping up to the big one.

 

There is not as much of a difference as you might think. A noticeable difference on HP. But if you look at the AMA lap times of the 600 class and the 1000 class there is not that much of a difference why? The 600 is lighter and has a faster exit speed out of a turn than the 1000 because of the weight advantage. I would venture to say that a 600 has more usable power and handles faster in the twisties for most riders. Going riding on the weekends with friends that have 1000's, I am more than competitive and usually dust them in the tight twisties and they dust me on the straights.

Make sense?

 

Exactly. You can only go so fast in the twisties. This goes for the local canyons as well as for the track. I've never ridden a 600, but people say that the throttle response is more manageable in the corners than the 1000. So, if anything, the 600 should be easier to handle in the corners. In the straight,... well, it's all about power.

Personally, I think the biggest factor between a 600 and a 1000 is the ego factor. You know, bigger the better. I got the 1000 instead of a 600 because I didn't want to even consider "stepping up" after I bought a bike. It's all about feeling. That's all.

 

This topic always makes me smile ... ride what ya like and what you're comfortable with. From my perspective the 1kRR was a huge step down in power but the handling was sweet. The rules in Superbike allow you to run a 600 but so far no takers. And the weight argument is not backed by numbers. According to the Honda site with dry weight numbers (ya, I know ... very optimistic) the new 1kRR has a power/weight ratio of 2.5lb/hp and the 600RR is 3.22lb/hp. Motorcyclists wet weights, which are closer to real world numbers, put the 1kRR at 3.01lb/hp and the 600RR at 4.01lb/hp. So if the 1kRR isn't accelerating out of the curves faster than the 600RR it's probably a rider skill thing.

My personal choice is the 1kRR -- I like that I can be lazy with the rpms. 600's are way too much work for me to ride fast. But I recognize that it's what some peeps like most about it. That and the 30lbs lighterness make it a bit more flickable. In the end it's always rider ability and skill that make the difference whether it be twisties, 1/4 or track.