A more visually obvious change is the move to a stubby exhaust outlet just behind the pegs, with the muffler system now situated under the engine and encased in the lower fairing. The change of engine angle and oil pan shape facilitated this change which has moved the weight of the muffler and pipe system much closer to the centre of mass both vertically and horizontally.  Suzuki has carried it off quite well, and I honestly think you can feel the improvement that comes from such a system.  Laughable as that might sound, I can only comment on the feel I got from the bike and that was indeed that the weight of the machine felt very low and centralised. This could be particularly felt when braking and tipping into a corner and was perhaps accentuated by the low seat height.  Although I must say I never really gained full confidence in the BT014 front tyre in order to get as aggressive as I might have done otherwise when tipping into the tighter turns.

The suspension felt like a great compromise between road and track.  The GSX-R600 is noticeably softer than its 750cc sibling, but still offered enough track performance for all but a serious 'A' group track day punter. The 99% of other riders out there I think will enjoy the fact that Suzuki have not gone too far overboard with spring and damping rates for the sake of outright bragging rights in some fanciful track comparo conducted by a bunch of racers.  I have not covered any road going kilometres on the new machine but certainly got the feeling that out there in the real world of potholes and road corrugations the GSX-R will win many friends. And the very low seat height and adjustable peg position will ensure that most riders will find the GSX-R a comfortable perch for lengthy strops around the countryside.

A radial master cylinder and Tokico four-piston radial calipers clamp on larger 310mm discs and provide amazing stopping power. Never did the adjustable reach lever require more than one finger to dial up huge braking forces. All the while the new slipper clutch helps the machine remain utterly composed while banging your way down through the box. These factors combine to offer braking performance that can be summed up in one word; awesome! It seems every time I get to thinking that brakes have come as far as we can expect them to come I get pleasantly surprised once again. Not always from the outright stopping power at the lever, but instead the improvements in the way the bike behaves under brakes and also the level of feel and control available through a single digit making such little effort on the lever.

While the addition of a gear position indicator seems pretty naff, I actually quite like it.  It can be handy when you are short shifting around town or for those occasions when you're not quite sure if you had already shifted in to top gear while negotiating traffic etc. The instrumentation is quite comprehensive. Along with the aforementioned large gear position indicator there is the normal LCD speedo flanked by a conventional tachometer along with a tripmeter, clock, adjustable shift light, fuel warning light, oil pressure light, coolant temperature light and an immobiliser light as well as the usual bank of idiot lights for high beam, neutral, FI and indicators. Unfortunately, we never had a chance to test the effectiveness of the headlight or to gauge road going fuel consumption.

The new model is a huge leap forward over its predecessor and firmly puts Suzuki back in the hunt for outright middleweight honours. Early reports from overseas suggest that it is perhaps the best of the Japanese 600s when all factors are taken into account. By this I mean factors other than the sole criteria of outright racetrack performance, itself an area where the machine certainly doesn't lack any speed.  The riding position and wise damping rates seems to be where it wins most favour when stacked up against the opposition.

Suzuki’s 2006 GSX-R600, in my book the best looking GSX-R yet, is expected to land on showroom floors late next month. Read on further for the full technical specifications along with a wide choice of wallpaper images for your desktop followed by an extensive detail gallery.