The standards for testing a reality bike depend so much on whose version of reality you're trusting. With that in mind I gathered up a diverse group of riders for the test, which brings us to what sounds like a joke: A mercurial Asian, a female novice racer and a wise-cracking Jew walk into this California bar and meet a big-nosed Canadian who has four bikes to ride from SoCal to Monterey and back. How can you tell which person chose what bike as their personal favorite? Keep reading!

Woefully underdressed for the cold weather that would attack us during the freeway stint that began our trek, we scrapped it out in the parking lot over the quarter-faired FZ6. I'd rather not reveal who won the battle, but it will suffice to say she was lucky. The Yamaha was soon dubbed The Couch because of its upright seating position and protection from the elements, and the FZ was always the first choice of the weariest of the road-weary.

"Its nice windscreen and fairing, large, supportive seat, high bars and low pegs contribute to making this bike feel like a mini-Goldwing compared to the other bikes in the test," says Gabe, the funniest road-racing, bike-selling non-practicing lawyer we know. "You could just sit happily on this thing all day long. It would make a great commuter or light tourer."

Most un-Gold-Wing-like is the FZ's dearth of punch at normal engine operating speeds. The higher-strung Yamaha motor lags significantly behind the others through the low end and midrange, and it's only past 10,000 rpm that the fuel-injected mill is able to stretch its legs and assert its top-end dominance with 90.0 horsepower at 12,000 rpm. That's either an inconvenience or an invitation to exercise your toe-tapping talents, depending on your mood.

"The R6-based motor disappoints a little," Gabe criticizes. "Its midrange is weak compared to the 599 and the SV, but it still lacks the top end hit of an R6. Why change it from a stock R6 at all? It's hard to ride smoothly with the mid-range flat spot; opening the throttle at under 7K gives you a whole lot of nothing."

Still, even Gabe admits that if it's kept properly spinning, the Fizzer can show a wheel to anything in the class. "It still feels plenty fast," he allowed in a rare soft moment, "and it pulls ripper wheelies!" And it also clicked of a best quarter-mile pass of 11.37 seconds at 120.4 mph, the quickest of the group. With only as much wind protection as offered by a large-diameter round headlamp, it's not surprising the 599 and SV aren't the best mounts for touring. We enjoyed the 599's wide, supportive seat on the freeway drones, although the knees of taller riders will be bent more on the Honda than the others, a by-product of the lowest seat height, part of what makes the 599 perhaps the most newbie-friendly of the quartet. Gabe noted that he could feel the typical inline-Four buzz through the handlebar, especially on the right side, but it otherwise makes a fairly comfortable mount up to about 80 mph.

It seems as if Honda is as big a fan of the SV as we are: Not only is the riding position of the 599 nearly identical to the Suzuki, the power from its engine feels almost Twin-like. Providing the 599's oomph is a softer-tuned version of the CBR600F3 motor. Although it pumps out competitive peak power (83.4 hp at 11,700 rpm), Honda engineers have filed off its rough edges to the point where it feels half-neutered. The dyno trace shows an extraordinarily linear rise in power until a short-lived hit around 9500 rpm. But before things get too exciting, power tails off abruptly before plateau-ing all the way until its 14,000-rpm rev limit. Our testers noted that the 599's powerband is near perfect for newbies, but it comes off as feeling boring to them. But it's only past 10,000 rpm that the Yamaha is able to produce more power and the 599's top speed is within a gust of wind of the fastest bikes in this class, going 142.1 mph to the FZ's 142.8 and the Speed Four's 143.1.

The Suzuki, as compared to the 599, has a bit more room between its seat and slightly rear-set pegs that proves to be more accommodating for larger riders. Leaned forward just slightly, an SV rider has a pleasant minimalist motorcycle experience, sporty yet comfortable," according to Gabe. "Just about perfect for me."