Thanks all...been doing a bit of riding. Took Carolyn to school on it this morning.

I was looking for one of the nekkid sportbikes. When I used to race AMA/CCS and WERA, we used to bring the full bodywork to the track just to get through tech inspection...then put them back in the truck and go racing on nekkid bikes. (Those of us in the privateer ranks couldn't afford extra bodywork)

Of the current nekkid from the factory bikes, the Honda CB599 was my first choice, the regular SV650 being second. Only one I found was this "*" model with the front fairing on it...the rest of them are pretty much gone already. This one was a dealer demo bike left over from Biketoberfest promotions at the speedway. Took a look at the color, inquired about the price, asked if they would take a battered 18 year old VTR in trade...and SOLD!

After years of riding Honda CBR'*, this Suzuki takes some getting used too. Sounds like a Ducati with it'* even-fire 90 degree twin. Handles pretty well (little soft for my tastes, but some re-valving of the forks should fix that) Power band is different too...still, digital fuel injection on a bike is new to me and I dare say it'* nice just hitting the button to start it vs. messing with the choke and feathering the throttle every morning.

And yeah, I dig the color too

These days, they use the engine as a stressed member of the frame, so they don't need the front down tube. Saves a lot of weight, and makes the frame a lot stiffer.

That thing is purty, love the color, and I have always liked the nekkid look. A bike should be two wheels, an engine, and a place to sit.

Yep, trend started in the late 80'* with twin-spar frames. This one is mostly aluminium. Tips the scales at 350lbs. Biggest chunk of steel in it is the crankshaft. Going to be interesting to see how well it sets off the sensors at stoplights. My old VFR had a problem with not having enough ferrous metal in it to set them off. The CBR'* never had that problem owing to the steel frame.