Suzuki B-King: A beast with good manners

Approaching the village at 70mph 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 20mph. 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 1,300 rpm.

Holding the throttle wide this 181.5bhp behemoth can haul a rider from crawling speed to 170mph without a gear change. It generates torque on an oceanic scale, which 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 does not 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 the 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.

Performing figures-of-eight in the car park at Suzuki's UK headquarters outside Milton Keynes I was conscious that the machine beneath me weighed 235kg. From above, that tank and air intake array resembles a small country. But as I turned onto road and opened the throttle, the impression of lumbering enormity disappeared.

The B-King weaves through chicanes like a motorcycle half its size. 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 high track speeds. Even then the machine does not 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 is impressively agile.

I found the seat a little too hard. Aesthetic considerations have kept it excessively thin, and after several hours in the saddle the absence of padding communicates itself directly to the 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 85mph and rendering the B-King acceptable as a motorway cruiser, a role in which many naked motorcycles fail utterly. Here you do not get the alarming sensation of your hands being wrenched from the handlebars by wind-blast until you are travelling 30mph above Britain's maximum speed limit.

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 could not push the B-King to its red line. Friends who have ridden it on racetracks confess they did not 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. 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.

The look is certainly not subtle. It screams "look at me," with a confidence 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 performance alone, the legendary GSX-R1000 will beat this new sibling across any stretch of tarmac. The B-King is about potency and image; it is a rocket ship for the road.

Suzuki are masters of technology, and this colossal machine is testament to the skill of a superb design team. But at £9,000 for early adopters and £9,200 from November I wonder how well it will sell.

The competition at this level in the market is from charismatic muscle-missiles such as the BMW K1200R and Triumph Speed Triple. The B-King can hold its head up in such company, but Suzuki is bidding for a new market segment.

Specifications

Engine: 1340cc, water-cooled, inline four cylinder, four stroke
Max power: 181.5 bhp
Transmission: six speed gearbox, chain final drive
Brakes: front twin 3100mm discs, rear single 260mm disc
Seat height: 805 mm
Weight: 235 kg
Fuel capacity: 16.5 litres
Price: from £9,000

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