2011 Supersport Shootout - Street

[administrator]

The sleek lines, svelte figure, light weight and high-horsepower engine of the modern supersport motorcycle, along with the race-bred origins of the majority of the components found on these two-wheelers, project an image that says, "Go as fast as possible! Win that race!"

There's a prevailing platitude among two-wheel pundits that says this type of motorcycle is impractical for everyday use by the non-racing everyday rider. And while not in direct conflict with this theory of impracticality, an equally popular assertion that gets bandied about alleges that of the sportbikes purchased, most will never turn a wheel on a closed course and only ever exist under control of local vehicle codes rather than club-racing rules.

So, after selecting the all-new 2011 Suzuki GSX-R600 as our top choice for use at the racetrack in our 2011 Supersport Shootout – Track comparison in which the new Gixxer went toe-to-toe with the Honda CBR600RR, Kawasaki ZX-6R and Yamaha R6, we now move on to Phase 2 of this often-annual examination in which we examine how they perform in a street environment.

It's time to see if the fresh-faced Gixxer Sixxer can make it a sweep in 2011 at Motorcycle.com or if we somehow found one of the three other – and older! – bikes in this brawl a better streetable package.

More: 2011 Supersport Shootout - Street [Video] on Motorcycle.com