I have now proudly owned a 2000 cbr f4 for about 6 months now. This is my second street bike, my first being the f2 (also a pheonomanal bike) and countless other dirtbikes. I remember my first ride, which was on the way home from the sellers what a bike. The first noticeable thing to me was the overall control of the bike, and especially the control over power. The power band hits very consistantly at around 7500 RPM's. The big con in my opinion is momentum is EVERYTHING with this bike. You can cruise on the highway alongside a same year gixxer 600 both downshift twice and gun it, and you will no doubt notice the difference in pull (don't worry though, you WONT be far behind) This point alone though makes it a reasonable begginer bike for somebody coming off the dirt looking to get into sportsbikes, you canasily feel a lot of power without it being too touchy. I love speed, and I feel like I'm allowed to appreciate the speed even more on this bike because of the perfect (to me) power and, you get to feel the difference between going pretty fast and going super fast ikn the matter of 500 RPM's. I'm running Michelin road pilot 2's and have about 2 milimeters of chicken strips, this bikelets me get down in the corners and I still feel like i can go much lower (not testing that statement on public roads). I can't compare this to other bikes except my 92 f2 which was mmt first bike, but when i gun it full on in first gear the front wheel usually comes up about 4 inches at about 10k then shakes pretty good till about 12k, then when i shift to second the ffront wheel almost always comes off the groundand i can actually hold that wheelie all the way through second gear. Only mods I have is a custom Shorty pipe with no baffles(very loud) and stage 2 jets. Can't remember the actual tooth count on the sprockerts but I remember its the equivilent to +1 on the rear. Anyways, I ride this bike 7 days a week and couldn't be happier. I get 40 miles to the gallon when ridden preety hard, 45+ when lounging around....it amazed me how well this bike holds its MPG rating through all ranges. Over all, this bike is extremely comfortable and most certainly will keep up with most bikes of its class. Fast and comfortable....and very reliable.