Aesthetically, OK, it's a nice-looking bike. The Movistar limited edition, pictured below, is very nice, if you're into that "I'd like to be a racer, please, and plaster things all over my bike" look. I suppose it also goes very quickly, which is very important when a top speed of, say, 150mph on the street just won't do. Now, I'm being harsh on the Gixxer, and I concede that if you race, things like an insane top speed really are important. But I see these things on the street all the time. I usually see them with some 20/30-something guy riding them, wearing a little backpack, on their way to or from work. Going, at most, 50mph. Now, seriously, someone explain this to me. Why are these people spending $8000 to commute on a supersport? Especially the Gixxer? I suppose if you enjoy evisceration as a part of your daily commute, the Gixxer would be the bike for you (or, perhaps, the Kawasaki ZX-12R). Beats me.

My thoughts from the saddle: "Um, can I get off this now? Are you done taking the pictures yet? How about now?" Where do I start? The gas tank is so pointy that it literally dented my stomach (mm, I love me that auto-seppuku feature). And low! If I were a man, and a slight bit taller, I would have some serious concerns about the position of that pointy gas tank, if you catch my drift. I was right up on my tiptoes, which wouldn't have been as big a deal, were the bike not so heavy. That surprised me -- I'd expect a racebike to be light, but no. And just in case my legs weren't uncomfortable enough, the footpegs were positioned right so that they'd stab me in the legs. As you can see from the picture, the arm ergonomics are horrible, and my wrists were bent almost at 90 degree angles. I suppose you're meant to tuck all the way in so that you're laying on the gas tank and grabbing the bars from the side (as opposed to the top...but really, how many people actually ride (or even want to ride) like that all the time? I dunno. Like I said, maybe it's a supersport thing, and I just don't understand. But for my 8 grand, give me a bike that I don't want to jump off of after 30 seconds, please.

Suzuki's spec sheet.