919 and feelin' fine
I have always been atracted to sport-orineted bikes that have no fairing or a minimal fairing. But the thing is, you have to have SOME wind protection, especially with high bars. Cruising on an unfaired bike, especially with high bars gets tiring fast. I rode my SV650 from San Diego to San Francisco, and boy was I sore!
I soon put clubman bars on, and a Buell windscreen. I also painted the whole bike flat black. It makes the bike less desirable to theives, and is easy to repair and touch-up.
http://www.svrider.com/photos/sv-pics/gabe/SV_Side.JPG
So there is a niche between sportbike and standard. The "Sport-Standard" should have clip-ons, a small fairing, reasonable power, and be very light. The suspension should be basic, but set up for sporty riding. And don't skimp on the frame! No "tuned-flex"! "Tuned Flex" is Honda-ease for "We're too cheap to give you a decent frame, so hopefully you won't notice."
Think about the favorite bike or cars in history. Seems to me that they are almost always affordable. That's why this bike will be a hit. Monster potential at a cheap price. (Less than a 600!) Sounds like the suspension sucks, but most riders that can feel the difference bin the stock shock and revalve forks in a month anyway, rightafter they burn-out the stock rim protectors into oblivion.
Judging from the intrest my bike garners from other riders, I think there is a market for a bike with a good frame, good suspension, good brakes, light weight, and a mid-sized, not too powerful powerplant, at a cheap price. Cutting-edge tech isn't as important as reliability, handling, and affordability. Kinda like the SV. Kawi could easily crank something out based on the EX500, making 60 HP and weighing under 390 dry. It would be cheap as hell, too.
I think a 600 standard, lighter than the Bandit would sell well, too. Bring 'em on!