It matters because it's progress. Thanks to its power and weight advantages, the Gixxer will run the quarter-mile in 10.10 (my guess) and up the ante for everyone else.
No, it won't make a tangible difference to you or to anybody else because the differences among riders is vastly greater than the differences among bikes. A squid on a 600 whose butt you regularly kick on a twisty road will still get his butt kicked if he moves up to a GSXR1000. And vice-versa.
But add up those increments of progress over 15 years, and it sums to the difference between the '86 GSXR1100 and the new 1000--50hp, 70lbs, and .75sec in the quarter mile. Not to mention the vast improvements in brakes, tires, and handling.
If it makes you feel any better, the R1 had a good, long run at the top of the heap. Long, at least, in motorcycle years.
No, it won't make a tangible difference to you or to anybody else because the differences among riders is vastly greater than the differences among bikes. A squid on a 600 whose butt you regularly kick on a twisty road will still get his butt kicked if he moves up to a GSXR1000. And vice-versa.
But add up those increments of progress over 15 years, and it sums to the difference between the '86 GSXR1100 and the new 1000--50hp, 70lbs, and .75sec in the quarter mile. Not to mention the vast improvements in brakes, tires, and handling.
If it makes you feel any better, the R1 had a good, long run at the top of the heap. Long, at least, in motorcycle years.
