Suzuki GB says that the new GSX-R1000 weighs in at 168kg, which is better than the porker days. The bike certainly feels a bit smaller that last year's.

Best bit is the steering, amazingly light and easy yet the Gixer stays stable over the bumps. Gotta be the best steering Suzook yet and probably the best of the lot at the moment.

The motor is raw and growly and adds lots of airbox noise to heighten your onboard experience.

Biggest no-no in our humble opinion is the fairing design. In these days of absolute design in bikes it's a shame to see a throwback to jellymould plastic, spesh with that bloody awful Hyabusa headlight. Urk! The "sharp" (©Suzuki) new styling is said to provide improved aerodynamics and greater efficiency in its ram-air intake system. Perhaps it does, but it looks anything but sharp, more like some ghastly aftermarket item for your GS850. The 750Y looked the part - why not carry that design forward rather than use the worst looking bike of the lot as a pattern? Back end's not too bad. Not good though.

The new twin-spar ally frame is now black, as are the fork sliders, strangely enough. Apparently the gold stuff kept wearing off from last year's model. Wot's wrong with that nice chrome look? Tank is a bit narrower, which helps make the bike feel more compact.

Brakes are OK, not in the R1 or Fireblade league of stoppyness, not quite the same initial bite although they stop the bike plenty quick. And they are radially mounted so they look trick.

Suspension is pretty good, firm but able to absorb the humps and bumps without throwing the bike around. Praps Honda should buy their Fireblade suspension from Suzuki. Handling is precise, helped by the brilliant steering, so you can pretty much plomp the bike anywhere you like in the bend.

MCN reckon it's the superbike king thanks to amazing power and a race-ready chassis, with better suspension and slightly quicker turning. 164bhp and 168kg gives the Gixer a power to weight ratio of 0.97bhp/kg. Which is a lot. It’s restricted, just like the similarly awful looking Hayabusa, to 186mph. Pa, poofs! Mind you, it don't half get there quickly.

Main chassis changes include reducing rake by ½° to 23.5° and knocking 5mm off the trail figure to 91mm to encourage faster turning. Also, the camshafts have lost 80 grams, oil flow is increased and extra crankcase venting reduces the amount of air pressure produced by the pistons. Lessening the amount of pressurised air contributes to the overall power improvement of around 4bhp. So says MCN and who are we to argue?

If you buy this bike, avoid walking round the front of it, or the back of it come to that, and you will not be disappointed. It's the best handling of the big sportsters ... at the moment.