Is 600CC enough?

My question; is a 600cc bike going to be plenty for freeway commuting?

I recently sold my 1994 FZR1000. Great bike. A bit of a tank but plenty of power and stability for my freeway commuting.

I鈥檓 shopping for a new bike and I鈥檓 seeing a lot of 600. I especially like the ZX6rr made by Kawi.

One of the things I like about a liter bike was having unlimited speed/power even though I rarely needed it.

Am I going to notice a HUGE difference?

zx6rr - 136HP

1994 FZR1000 145 HP

I can't help but think a 13 year newer, lighter bikes is going to be able to give up 11hp and still feel faster. Also my VFR only has 125HP and I'm never bummed that it doesn't have enough power. Any of these bikes break the speed limit in first gear and there are five more.....

Yes, even thought the current 600's are faster than your old Fizzer, they are like to rev high. You will definately notice the lack of torque.

You may want to look into getting a v-twin like an RC51 or TL1000S.

I did about 1000 miles of highway on a yamaha 750 is a weekend and I didn't have any trouble. I heard the 250's will be pretty much winding out at 65. So a 600 sounds ideal for a short to moderate commute. You will definately notice a difference beteween the 600 and 1000. It will probably feel like the engine is winding higher at a highway speed, and your on ramp accelleration will feel sluggish.

600cc is plenty for the highway. I have a Bandit 650 ( 656cc) and it will double the Cdn. speed limit ( 200 km/h or 125 mph ) quite easily ( I estimate its top speed to be around 210 km/h but I've only brought it up to 200 once ).

a new 600 sport will have plenty of power for the highways, however, you won't get it untill much later in the tach, so you'll have to get used to bombing a gear a little longer than a thousand.

I'd spend the extra $1000 and go for a liter, but it's up to you, 600's have their advantages as well, and there's always the 750 for a good in-between.

600 will be just fine. I commute 20 miles each way on the highway daily on my R6 with no problems. Yes it is true that bigger bikes have more power, torque and top end speed but your cummute requires none of that. Any 600 surely has enough power to go whatever speed you choose and accelerate at any rate you choose. A 750 or 1000 will just do so faster. That faster part is great to get around a track faster, not commute.