Suzuki RF 6900R

FORGIVE the generalisation but Suzukis are GSX-Rs and RG(V)s, speed-blurred yobs one and all. There are a few second-string bikes — GSX/Fs, worthy but anonymous — but it's the hooligan stuff that shapes Suzuki's image and makes Suzuki's money. The rest is padding.

The RF600R is Suzuki's overdue crack at something different and a full-commitment attempt to diversify its range. The RF isn't a racer-rep (to wit: a protective fairing, a "user-friendly" rider position, those fat-arse high-visibility tail-lights) or a retro or a tourer; it isn't, insists Suzuki, even a competitor. to the CBR600. It is, and I quote, "new".

Suzuki describes it: "A new generation sports bike; a balance between sports performance and versatility and comfort. At the right price." Huge emphasis is put on the whole, how each part is functionally and aesthetically "interwoven" and how the original styling reflects this. For me it's shades of Testarossa but is officially "the hide of animal, giving it the look that reflects its capabilities". Those fins are an "expression of speed", the top fairing its "futuristic outlook". More? How about the embossed logo: "Silent testament to the new-generation character of RF600R and its wide-reaching appeal"?

Entertaining though this is, the RF is simply an all-round motorbike, like the GSX600F only newer. Real excitement stems from Suzuki discarding its double-cradle frame and using at last a (pressed steel) twin-spar diamond frame.

The advantages are huge. First there are no frame rails above or below the stressed engine, itself a narrow and extremely short slip of 16-valve liquid-cooled four. It can be placed low and inclined forward (through 15 degrees) to give a lower centre of gravity (traditionally high on GSX-Rs), a more centralised mass and the desired front/rear weight distribution. Everyone else did this years ago.

In goes a large airbox and a bank of 36mm downdraft carbs which, inclined through 55 degrees, feed down straightened inlet tracts to those foward slanted cylinders. Result: higher mixture velocity, less resistance and better cylinder charging. The tank and seat — everything in fact - can be lowered, and Mike Hayman, who fettled our bike, said it was ridiculously easy to work on.

The RF makes 98bhp at 11,500rpm and 461b.ft at 9500rpm, equalling the 147mph CBR600 -class rocket and the one to beat. Comparisons with the CBR are unavoidable (same 65mm x 45.2mm bore and stroke, similarly inclined carbs) yet Suzuki insists the RF is neither peaky like the Honda nor in direct competition with any of the 600s. Versatile is what Suzuki's talking; a "responsive, usable nature" is what its engine engineers were plugging. They proffered phrases like "linear throttle response" and "great pick-up throughout the rev-range". And despite the launch venue, a grand prix track, no-one mentioned the word racing.

Actually, the British hacks hardly talked about anything else, apart from CBR600s. I became better acquainted with the RF's 14,500rpm rev-limiter. Wandering down the tacho proved it glitch-free and urgent, but it needed 7500rpm — the RF's Fast threshold, heralded by a patch of harshness - to avoid a dwarfing by Catalunya's wide-open tarmac. From there it cantered through to 9000 and take-off; fluid and brilliant to the 13,500rpm red-line. (Power flattens after 11,500rpm but, at a speedo-136mph and 12,500rpm in top, the clearly slippery RF was still pulling as the brakes came on.) Sounded fruity.

Throttle response is indeed immaculate: off-line or in too fast I could accurately adjust speed mid-turn with impunity; I wrote in my notepad "revs - dial them in" and I really meant it. Corners have official gears — "oh, that's a second gear turn" - but, such was the RF's smooth, free-revving suss, I took it through most of them one calming cog too high without losing time. This crispness (as opposed to bigness) was maximised by gear ratios ideally spaced for Catalunya's 3rd, 4th, and 5th gear turns. Sixth, hiding behind a stiff final shift and almost an overdrive, was too tall for Catalunya.

It's a quick engine certainly but, with the jury still out on its much vaunted versatility (no mini-roundabouts or Mis on the modern GP track), I wouldn't say it's significantly different from the competition. It was a smoothed out FZR600 through the midrange, a CBR600 with the taps open.

The chassis gives a clearer picture of Suzuki's intentions. The RF hasn't the headfirst riding position of the Honda: I sat more upright, bum low on a roomy seat, a comfy knee-bend from the scrape-easy pegs. Heels reached the ground with inches to spare while knees slotted into the narrowed snug of the 17 litre tank. The screen, steeply raked by CBR/FZR standards, dulled the wind-roar and promoted sit-up blasting, the Jetstream hitting mid-visor or not at all in a racy crouch. It felt natural to chin the tank, to sit up, to hang off and to sit tight. Superb and, yes, versatile.

It humoured me over the early laps while I played grand prix racer. I got ragged - nothing; I got faster - no worries; finally I got reckless - leary slide. The soft supension (shock squatted on a butchered throttle), limited ground clearance (a peg dug in) and hard, mileage-conscious Dunlop D202 radial rubber (the rear unloaded and let goooo) are the RF's track limit. I backed off and enjoyed the RF for what it is: a fluent road bike, unembarrassed by a grand prix track.

The front brakes use dual-piston calipers on semi-floating 290mm discs and have a lever firm by Suzuki's (four-pot) standards. They're demon-progressive but lack the sharp edge of the racier brakes and need a good yank to get them working hard. The harder I yanked the more the brakes exposed the RF's all-rounder's suspension (adjustable preload front, seven-click preload and four-click rebound damping rear). Both the braced, 41mm forks and shock have a progressive action which keeps things on the controlled side of wallow but there is, on the track, a price to pay.

Firstly the RF has a slightly isolated ride which found the pegs long before the tyres' edges. Secondly, the bike tended to sit down in long corners (a click and twist of preload marginally improved both). Suzuki also furnished the RF with a long wheelbase (only the ZZ-R is longer, both weigh in at a porky 195kg) and the most rake and trail (25 degrees, 103mm) in class. The RF was dutifully stable in a straight line but its steering was only comfortably quick and took surprising effort. Stir in that loose suspension - dive and occasionaly patter under mega-braking - and total chuck-it-in confidence eludes the RF jockey.

Ignoring the suspension, the chassis itself is beautifully balanced. Weight distribution is low and biased towards the front wheel. It is, so long as throttle and brakes are smoothly applied and released, neutral and accurate. Flicking it through Catalunya's chicanes was the handling highlight: effort through the pegs, precisely metered power on early, lots of screaming exhaust. I wanted to fast-ride the track all day, proving nothing but having a ball.

The RF tries to please everyone and will do so at a TBA "reasonable" price, hence a mix of cost-cutting and solid thinking. The switchgear is dated, the (cable) clutch lever has no adjustment and there's no main-stand either. There are however a pair of serious grab-handles, a push-to-open fairing pocket, and two wide and clear mirrors.

The RF was nearly (and still might be) a 750 but came in at 600cc for sensible insurance reasons. If UK importers Heron get the price right the budget bits will be worth overlooking because it's a great ride.