Size matters...

The bigger the better, right? That’s what my missus always tells me and, as far as bikes are concerned, a lot of people would have you think the same way. Who can blame them?

With capacity comes horsepower and with horsepower comes bragging rights… and, let’s face it, we all need a few of those every now and again. More tangibly, bigger bikes often make life easier, from general tootling around to pulling whopping wheelies, so it makes good sense. Then you’ve got the technological side of things, which typically sees the bigger bikes get the best bits before, even if, the scraps are handed over to smaller siblings.

Yep, when you stop and think about it there’s no wonder the once bustling 600 class stood no chance at fending off the lures of the litre bike offerings, which have dominated so princely they’ve pretty much killed off the supersport scene. It was a devastating blow when Suzuki, Triumph and Honda pulled their 600s from the market, and Kawasaki’s disappearance of the 636 only pained the sector further. But the good news is the Kwak is back, and it’s better than ever, as Boothy and Carl learned first-hand this month on road and track in a (slightly) sunny Spain. Just for good measure and to make sure no one got lonely, they also took a GSX-R1000R, representing the bigger bore brethren, to help gauge which capacity ticks which boxes.

In less exotic climes (Costa Del Mallory Park), but continuing with the GSX-R theme, I’ve been getting more familiar with the model this month, having descended on the Hawk Suzuki BSB boys who’ve helped us kick-off the inaugural part of our 2019 track bike build. Just like me, it’s been subjected to something of a diet, with the main difference being that the bike’s actually lost weight… and a fair chunk at that. If you’re planning to slim down your pride and joy, you might want to gander over the superbike squad’s techniques. While we’re talking of techniques, we’ve also put together the second of our workshop tutorials, with step-by-step guidance on chain and sprocket fitment. But for those that would sooner stab a fork in their big toe than spend time in the workshop, there’s plenty of other great features, like our middleweight naked test. Now that was a blast, screaming the living daylights out of four very different 650cc offerings, and reliving our misspent youths in the process. Rest assured, no animals were harmed in the making of that test, but we can’t say the same about the bikes. Enjoy.