The overriding characteristic of the huge V-twin is the honkingly massive amount of torque available. A peak of 115[ftlb] come in at a barely-above tickover 2500rpm. This makes the bike exceptionally fast off the line with no rider effort. Big V-twins are never silky smooth but it’s better than most. It’s a high tech engine, not simply a bored out antique.

With nigh-on 80ftlb of torque delivered to the rear wheel at 3700rpm, the Bandit’s new six-speed gearbox needs little provocation. It’ll cheerfully pull from 3500rpm in top gear and run on to 140+mph. That gearbox is typical Suzuki: precise, perfectly spaced ratios. And, hoorah, no sign of any fuel-injection stutters or flatspots in its performance delivery.

If you do a Roethlisberger and hit face-first, you may only appreciate what a full-face helmet can do for you if you aren't wearing one. Helmet wearers who take a hit that would have scrambled their eggs if they had been bareheaded often just think, "I'm glad I had that on." But it's hard to fully appreciate what you avoided.

Roethlisberger has said that if he rides again, it will be with a helmet. I'm guessing it will be a full-face helmet, since he now probably understands its value.

I certainly hadn't expected a naked bike wearing the blue-and-white propeller badge to be such an unashamed high-performance knockout. Despite BMW's attempted image transformation over the past few years and the fact that the K1200R's 163-horsepower (claimed) peak output makes it the world's most powerful roadster, the German marque still hasn't totally lost its reputation for practicality, common sense and caution.

...imagine there's a Yamaha blue-suited pixie who changes gear for you at your every command. He's a clever little guy too, perfect shifts every time. I (he) never lost the plot all the time I rode the thing, no such thing as a lazy toe here. By the way, if you want, you can override the system any time you like by just using your foot (still no clutch lever needed, or supplied). It's a true manual transmission, with you making the decision when to shift.

While the engine is new, it does retain the same 67 x 42.5 bore and stroke dimensions as before. Interestingly this is identical to Honda's CBR600RR and Yamaha’s latest YZF-R6. Yamaha did have a different bore and stroke previously but have gone with the consensus for their all new 2006 model. Kawasaki's ZX-6RR also utilises those exact dimensions which means that all four Japanese middleweights produce their 599.4cc in exactly the same way. Spooky huh?