If we look at the lap times of the recent AMA race at Mid-Ohio that was held 10/1/06.

Jake Zemke qualified with a lap time of 1:26 in 6th place, Bostrom qualified in the 600 class 1st with a lap time of 1:27. The differences at the pro level is not that much different. If we go to the squid level (which we are compared to the pro level) the 600 bike is a easier bike to handle and is a better choice for a local canyon carver, by far! The 600 is easier to handle in tight canyon's and at the hands of a skilled rider will out preform the 1000 every time! Very few of us can take advantage of the level of sophistication of a 1000-cc bike. All of us would like to think so, but the reality of the facts speak differently. For all out speed the 1000 will smoke the 600 once over the 120-mph mark, which is not the smartest thing to do on the street.

 

Dude, 1 second difference is huge at an average speed of over 100mph ... just like a couple of 10ths is huge in the 1/4 mile. What was the time of the 1000 that qualified 1st? At Infineon the difference is 2 seconds ... I believe Road Atlanta is around 2 seconds also.

It's not really applicable to compare superbikes to what we ride anyway. They truly are another class of bikes -- especially the factory bikes.

I promise I ain't bashing 600s -- not saying I can thrash one to it's full potential either. Just saying that I'm extremely comfortable on my 1kRR. There be no chicken strips on my tires. And at an 1/8th mile track I even beat a turbo Busa -- had it been 100yds longer he woulda screamed past my *** though

The only way to truly tell what each will do is to ride them both back to back on the same track.

 

Dude you are closer to riding with Rossi than the rest of us, I am in awe!

I am speaking to the 99.9% of the riders out there. The 600 class will get them what they want quicker than a 1000. The 600 is easier to master than the 1000 hands down for most of us. For most of us a 600 bike has more ability than the rider, a 1000 is even worse. If will also save them some $'s along the way.

 

ive ridden both .. 1krr scares the **** outta me just because of the brute power it has. now im not saying the 600RR doesnt have power but i find that i can honestly ride the 600RR alot more to its full ability then i can on the 1kRR. now that is probably just because im still a new rider (about 5 months) later on i hope that my skills will improve and i can learn to ride the 1kRR just as hard as i can the 600RR. like chainstretcher said "ride what you like and what your comfortable on"... its all about the rider there are alot of ppl out there who still cant push their bike to its FULL potential (including me) .. its takes time, so keep riding and enjoy every minute of it.

 

First off, I'd like to thank everyone who responded to my post. Now, I have something else that I'd like to bring up...If I drop $10K in my 600RR's motor, suspension, etc., would it be worth it, or would it be better to sell my 600RR, get a 1000RR, and lightly mod it? I love my 600 to death, I'll ride the **** out of it, but then again, I'm a crazy ****, I'll do 160 on the highway and not think twice. I mean, f**k it, we only live once. Anyways...what do you all think?

 

Depends what your vision is for yourself and the bike. If the bike is meant for the track in the 600 class, you may want to check the rules of what can be done to the bike depending what class you race in. If it is for the street is it for performance-looks-other?

That is something only you can decide.

 

Personally, I "prefer" the 600 for it's handling and "flickability". + the rear is less prone to spin on corner exit then on a 1k. All said and done both are insanely fast machines witht he 600 doing 0-60 in just over 3 seconds. 1000 has alot more grunt to it, but as a street bike it cant do anything the 600 cant.

 

I really hope you didn't mean it like it reads. That's what I hear from squids before they end up in the newspapers.

 

If one has the burning to do 160mph the track is the best place. The streets are not by design a place that you want to be practicing "race" behavior. That is a good reason why a 1000 on the street is not as a good of a choice as a 600.

Yesterday, I was coming back from a Sunday canyon carving ride by my self. A crew of 8 sport bikes with full leathers met up with me. The 8 sport bikes proceeded to pass on blind curves, pass each other and to pull wheelies at 70 mph. I slowed down and looked for the nearest turn out.

You can have a ton of fun in the canyon's without breaking the law and risking your life and others. Most of the time you can out run the stunt'ers and braggers in the twisties with superior riding skills that take time to develop.

My motto:

Speed, racing, stunts belong on the track not on the roadways!

 

I second that, Blue Fox. If you like riding your bike, you don't want to end up in the newspaper as a statistic.

As sportbike riders, we need to understand that there are other riders/drivers on the streets. In addition, we need to realize just how fast our bikes are whether it's a 600 or a 1000. Case in point, just the other day I was in my car. The cars in front of me were a little slow, and I saw a path out of the slow traffic. I decided to switch over to the far right hand lane which was two lanes over. I switched over one lane, started to check my rear-view and the side-view mirror before I proceeded to move into my target lane. At that moment a rider on a sportbike (looked like a 600 class) zaps by me in the target lane. The rider was just going too fast in that kind of traffic. If I didn't pause for a moment to check for proper clearance, I would have hit the rider for sure. Even if I did finish checking for clearance, I may still have hit the rider. There is a second or two between moving your eyes from checking the mirrors to looking forward before you actually switch lanes. Assuming the rider was going about 90mph, and I was going 50mph. At these speeds, the bike was moving 40mph faster than me. This means the bike would have travelled 58 feet in one second! That's about 4 to 5 car lengths in 1 second. Even if I checked the mirrors, the rider would seemed to have "appeared out of nowhere".

We just need to think a little beyond ourselves if we want to continue to ride for any length of time. I know why people call cars "cages". The visibility is really cut down when your driving a car. I used to not be bothered by the structures that hold the roof of my car when I did not ride a bike; but now, they really make me uncomfortable because they obstruct my view. RIDE SMART.