[Psycho1]

Well yeah, but thats the generic disclaimer for comparing any kind of bike for sporting capabilities. I wasted a gsxr 750 through a 5 mile section of twisties, but obviously if the guy knew what he was doing it would have been much closer.

Not really generic since it was basically just a matter of acceleration. Pretty much anyone can twist the throttle to the stop on a wide fairly straight road with no tight turns, so I doubt rider abilities or experience had much to do with it. If they had such a huge torque advantage, they should have been able to out accelerate the Kat, especially on an uphill grade.

[scottynoface]

If they had such a huge torque advantage

They do. What gets you going from a dead stop? Torque. What gets you moving in a roll on? Horsepower. Katana has more horsepower, 650R has more torque. The Kat's legs are just a lot longer than the 650.

[Free Coffee]

I don't know specifically which bike has a statistical advantage, and in what department- but I do know this. I rode a few days with a guy on an 08 650 R. If the 650 sports more torque it was not extremely apparent at any rpm/speed range. My stock (except for a relatively meaningless slipon) 600 pretty much outperformed it in every respect. It was the most apparent at the top end. After 100 mph there was no comparison between it and my Kat.
After riding the Ninja, I'd say this in it's favor. It's definately "torquey" at VERY low speeds (maybe 0-40) for a 2 cylinder. But not so much that it ever gave it a real world advantage over my Kat. The riding position is -very- upright. I sort of felt like I was sitting in a desk at elementary school again. You'll want to take a long hard look at making any exhaust mods to it. It's got an odd can setup, and I don't know if there are "slipon" type replacements readily available. The stock setup is WAY too quiet- to the point of being what I'd consider dangerous (in the sense that nobody is going to hear you).
For a starter bike it's got a weight advantage in its favor, and it's fuel injected which is cool- but that's about it as far as real world performance goes. Um...imho.

[Scout]

I rode an 08 with 2000 miles on it, today. It $ucked all over the road. Hands hurt, no bar end weights, crappy handling, non-existent exhaust sound, gauge cluster vibrated like crazy (sounded like a small buzzsaw), tourqe is nice from 0-25 mph then it goes to sleep, no gas guage, seat hurt my a$$, kickstand is *behind* the forward peg, hardly any room in the "storage" area under the seat...not an ideal bike.

But...for a beginner bike, it's ok. Slow enough to avoid terror inducing throttle rips, and when dropped (the owner did it within an hour of buying it) the plastics barely touch the asphault.