Are those "newer 600's" really that quick?

Ha ha we have grippier tarmac

 

My little heart got broken when I looked at the factory stats on the 2009 CB600RR versus my 6th gen. The 600 had more horsepower and more peak torque with about 100lbs less weight....

 

First generation VFR750F RC24 is the lightest and the most sporty handling. Weighed mine as per the picture above and its 202kg with a gallon of fuel.
In the UK road tests in 86 they reached 152mph. I also have a 97 FV and its so much heavier and slower steering.

 

If it's any contribution, I have a 1kf, and my girlfriend rides a 95 FZR600. The FZR easily has the advantage for anything that doesn't need torque. They are pretty evenly matched as far as power itself goes... But Power to weight would let the FZR win any day. 113ish HP @ 600lbs vs 98 or so HP @ 460 lbs.

 

Totally disagree with the "there is a reason" the only reason is the manufacturers started a middle class war in the 80's, this pushed the middle class up from 500cc to 550cc then to 600cc & water cooling with the GPZ600 which was the first sports 600 with a high specific power output & water cooling AFAIK.

This moved the middle class & its max power output very close to the 750's of the day & the 3/4Litre class was used in world superbike & thus remained in production, but when the WSB rules changed to allow 1000cc fours, the 750 class died & was replaced with the 600 supersport class & they are amazing bikes, but they lack torque for road use, due to the manufacturers tayloring them to fit within the WSS rules. The same has happened with the thou's for WSBK, amazing, but not exactly practical or comfortable for everyday use, especially if you are over 40 & your not practicing Yoga !

If the VFR had been developed along the same lines as the 600's it would eat them. There is still a need for 3/4Litre sized machine for use everyday. That's why the Triumph 675 & Suzuki GSXR750 get praised all the time, they handle like a 600, but have the torque of a VFR (nearly) both make more Dyno HP, but that does not translate to real world POWER. Torque is the thing you need for acceleration, a higher HP only means the peak torque is higher up the rev range, so thou's accelerate faster than 600's not because they make more HP or Torque, but because they make more torque sooner than the 600's !

In standard trim the VFR makes more torque than any current 600, by about 10ft/lbs or 25% more torque, if the VFR was lighter it would out accelerate a 600 easily, but the excess bulk it carries reduces its acceleration to about the same as the 600, but because they can carry a gear longer due to the higher rev range, the 600's out accelerate the VFR, but it is close. I like to rev my 5th Gen & have smoked many 600 road riders who think it will explode when the revs rise so change up to early & miss peak power ! So a lot depends on the rider & their technique. My lightweight VFR would smoke any 600 on acceleration now !
See here http://vfrworld.com/forums/5th-generation-1998-2001/39430-vfr800-10-year-refresh-part-d-ux.html