GSX-R600 and CBR250R the glass is half full

Suzuki’s GSX-R600 might not look that much different to the outgoing model but I suspect this bike could be very much a dark horse in 2011. I say this because two years ago I was definitely not building my hopes up en route to the K9 GSXR 1000 launch.

The leaked pictures suggested the biggest change from the 2007 version would be some fresh graphics but I was so wrong.  As it turned out, I was greeted in Almeria with a brand new bike, built from the tarmac up and it proved to be more than a match in every department for the much hyped 2009 Yamaha R1. For the past two years the GSX-R600 hasn’t featured anywhere in Supersport racing so I can’t believe Suzuki would even bother with a new model unless they had studied the competition and built something to put them firmly back to the fore.

And how about the new CBR250R? One year ahead of the Moto 3 class (250 singles replacing 125s in GPs) Honda have given us a race replica to get every youngster (and me) salivating and dreaming of racing at Phillip Island and Silverstone. I really hope this is the first in line of a new generation of beautifully crafted mini race replicas that are sensible money and reasonable to insure. I want one in my shed now.