My 600-class bike was a 675 Triumph, so I don't have much comparison on difficulty to turn in compared to the more popular 600's. That said:
IMO, the stock (even resprung) suspension mostly sucks, at least once I got my race bike set up. Completely different machines (this coming from "a girl" so upper body strength is a struggle compared to the guys). This year, since my budget is - well, non existent - I have been putting the race suspension on my street bike, and even set up for track pace, it made a world of difference in the ease of handling on the street, especially noticeable in the more technical roads. Rattles all my fillings loose on a bumpy road, but the bike does what I want.
Took me way to long to get the bike handling the way I wanted (partially because I couldn't articulate what I was needing out of it), but it's there now, and the effort required is nothing compared to the stock stuff. Braking is still an upper body workout "at pace" but that would be true of any bike.
I know lots and lots of guys who ride these bikes very quickly with the stock stuff and just muscle it around and don't notice any issues with it - as "a girl" I didn't find it that easy to do - and found out after way too much trial and error, and working with the same suspension guy who figured me and my riding, that the bike can and will do what I want, it's just a little different ask than most of the guys are looking for.
IMO, the stock (even resprung) suspension mostly sucks, at least once I got my race bike set up. Completely different machines (this coming from "a girl" so upper body strength is a struggle compared to the guys). This year, since my budget is - well, non existent - I have been putting the race suspension on my street bike, and even set up for track pace, it made a world of difference in the ease of handling on the street, especially noticeable in the more technical roads. Rattles all my fillings loose on a bumpy road, but the bike does what I want.
Took me way to long to get the bike handling the way I wanted (partially because I couldn't articulate what I was needing out of it), but it's there now, and the effort required is nothing compared to the stock stuff. Braking is still an upper body workout "at pace" but that would be true of any bike.
I know lots and lots of guys who ride these bikes very quickly with the stock stuff and just muscle it around and don't notice any issues with it - as "a girl" I didn't find it that easy to do - and found out after way too much trial and error, and working with the same suspension guy who figured me and my riding, that the bike can and will do what I want, it's just a little different ask than most of the guys are looking for.
