B KING ROAD TEST
Approaching the village at 110km/h in sixth, I could see that my route through the mini-roundabouts was clear. I braked hard, held the bike in top gear and slowed to 30km/h.
My left hand was poised on the clutch lever and my every instinct anticipated the jarring shudder of a tortured engine. Instead, it grumbled slightly before pulling smoothly from 1300rpm.
If you hold the throttle wide open this 135kW monster can take you from crawling to 270km/h without a gear change. Its 1340cc engine generates torque on an oceanic scale and that makes road-riding a doddle.
But that is not the most counter-intuitive thing about the long-awaited Suzuki B-King. The real surprise is that it doesn't feel ponderous. Viewed head-on, the big air intakes that wrap around its fuel tank give this Suzuki the appearance of a pregnant puffer-fish.
Add a pair of vast, upswept howitzers that play the part of exhaust pipes and it looks as if it ought to handle like a London bus.
But clumsiness would be folly on the world's most powerful naked superbike and Suzuki's engineers have avoided it.
In the car park at Suzuki's UK headquarters I was conscious that the machine under me weighed 235kg. From above, the tank and air-intake array resemble a small country but the impression of lumbering enormity disappeared as I turned on to the road and opened the throttle.
Its brakes and suspension handle the forces unleashed by its sheer mass with impeccable grace. Inducing handlebar-wobble requires a rider to enter corners at racing speeds and even then it doesn't become unmanageable.
Granted, its upright riding position and naked design render it an improbable track steed, but that does not mean the B-King cracks under pressure. It's impressively agile.
I found the seat a little too hard; aesthetic considerations have kept it excessively thin so, after several hours in the saddle, the absence of padding communicates itself directly to one's buttocks.
The frame geometry also renders the riding position a little cramped for very tall riders but in every other sense the B-King is delightful. I was particularly impressed by the aerodynamic effect of the wide tank and headlight binnacle.
Together they achieve the same effect as a small fairing, reducing buffeting at speeds up to 135km/h and rendering the B-King acceptable as a motorway cruiser - a role in which many naked motorcycles fail utterly.
!--div[code1]top.DisplayAds('SquareAV',19,920);[/code1]/div--
You don't get the alarming sensation of your hands being wrenched from the handlebars by wind-blast until you are travelling 40km/h above the 130km/h speed limit.
Tow an armoured car
That gigantic engine has the manners of a society hostess entertaining royalty. It feels as if it could haul an armoured car across a ploughed field but it never reveals a hint of strain.
In a day of mixed riding I couldn't push the B-King to its red line. Friends who have ridden it on racetracks confessed they didn't hit the rev-limiter either. To do it in top gear would require an act of illegal insanity.
The B-King is new territory for Suzuki. Though famed for its gorgeous GSX-R series of lightning-quick sportsbikes, this innovative Japanese manufacturer has only occasionally attempted to combine high technology with arresting aesthetics.
Design snobs will say it has failed here and that the B-King, derived from a concept machine first unveiled at the 2001 Tokyo Motor Show, is more brash than beautiful. I disagree.
Confidence bordering on arrogance
The look is certainly not subtle. It screams "look at me!" with a cnfidence bordering on arrogance but that is not inappropriate for such a vastly powerful and technologically sophisticated motorcycle.
Naked streetbikes are built to broadcast a message. If you want a Suzuki for sheer performance the legendary GSX-R1000 will beat this new sibling over any stretch of tarmac.
The B-King is about potency and image; it's a rocket for the road, a colossal machine which is a testament to the skill of a superb design team but I wonder how well it will sell at £9200.
Specifications
Engine: 1340cc, liquid-cooled, four stroke transverse four.
Power: 135kW.
Transmission: Six-speed gearbox, chain final drive.
Brakes: Front twin 310mm discs, rear single 260mm disc.
Seat height: 805mm.
Weight: 235kg.
Fuel capacity: 16.5 litres
