The irony in the name Sport Rider is, that while our primary emphasis is on riding, we tend to get captured by the siren song of the latest and greatest machinery. Sometimes we need to tear our eyes off the exotica to gaze upon some of the other options. After all, sport riding is about getting out on the road and getting down. When you view sport riding from this perspective, you can see that you don't need the latest plastic-wrapped race replica to have some good ol' motorcycling fun.
So, how should we refer to these bikes that live more than a few paces back from the cutting edge? General purpose bikes? Standards? The ubiquitous UJM? We weren't sure, so we enlisted three novice sport riders to help us categorize these bikes. (See "Guest Rider Opinions," below.) Whatever you decide to call them, the trio of bikes on the next few pages will be equally at home in the commuter bump-and-grind as they will be sport touring or ransacking the local twisties. Just don't make the mistake of calling them beginner's bikes....
Suzuki Bandit 600
Kawasaki ZR-7
Suzuki SV650
Guest Rider Opinions
Mike Burawski
Mike has four years riding experience on a 550cc cruiser. Since he sold his bike, he hasn't ridden for a year but is now actively searching for a new, sporty ride.
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 150 lbs.
Kawasaki ZR-7: The Kawasaki is a responsive bike with a smooth power band and good braking that felt best to me during city driving.
Suzuki Bandit 600: The lack of low-end power along with a clutch that doesn't engage until the clutch handle is almost fully extended was annoying.
Suzuki SV650: Responsive performance, a comfortable ride, and easily read gauges are what made the Suzuki SV my favorite of the three test bikes.
Mark Masker
Mark started commuting to college in '89 on a Honda Elite scooter, which lead to a Suzuki 350, a Yamaha 250 and a 93 GS500. He is now associate editor at Hot Rod Bikes, our sister magazine.
Height: 5'5"
Weight: 180 lbs.
Kawasaki ZR-7: The Kawasaki handled city traffic the best because it was the easiest to manage in stop-and-go conditions.
Suzuki Bandit 600: The Bandit felt top heavy and didn't respond as well in the twisties as the others.
Suzuki SV650: I loved the way the SV responded regardless of how subtle the input I gave it-either accelerating, braking or turning.
Penny Osiecki
Penny has been riding for five years. Although almost all of her time has been spent on a 1991 FXLR, she's been curious about more sporting machinery and leapt at the opportunity to try our trio of bikes.
Height: 5'3"
Weight: Mind your own business
Kawasaki ZR-7: It was responsive through the canyons and felt very light and cooperative.
Suzuki Bandit 600: On the canyon roads, it seemed that I had to muscle the Bandit a little more than the others, but it felt more stable.
Suzuki SV650: Once we went through some canyon roads I started liking the SV more than I wanted to admit.
This article originally appeared in the December 2000 issue of Sport Rider.