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Suzuki's GSX1300 B-King

THERE are icy patches on the roads, the temperature is hovering around freezing and I'm riding a £9,000 motorcycle with 180bhp.

Yes, you read that right - 180bhp, which is probably more than your car.

It gets worse. The brand-new Suzuki B-King I'm straddling has only covered 11 miles when I pick it up, so its factory-fresh tyres are about as grippy as a bar of wet soap. And then it starts to snow. Great.

Perversely, if I have to be on a motorcycle in these conditions, I can't think of many I'd rather be on than the B-King.

Suzuki's latest flagship "naked" (i.e. unfaired) model may have nearly the power output of Valentino Rossi's Moto GP bike, but its fuel injection and throttle set-up are so precise that you can almost meter out each individual bhp - especially at lower revs.

Below about 6,000rpm, the B-King is a teddy bear, rolling around smoothly on its torque with hardly ever needing to change down from sixth (top) gear. Wind the Hayabusa-derived motor up more and scenery starts going into reverse very quickly but, even then, not in too scary a fashion.

Given the engine's controllability, Suzuki's latest gimmick, the A/B mode button on the tank - which lets the chicken-hearted switch to a lower power setting - is completely redundant and I wasn't once tempted to use it, even with snow on the ground.

I have to admit, though, given the road conditions (this test was arranged in the previous month's balmy sunshine), I didn't give the B-King a full throttle thrashing, but take it as read that there's all the performance you're ever going to want without a fairing to shield you from high-speed windblasts.

Spec check

Suzuki GSX1300 B-King Price: £9,000 Max speed: 165mph (estimated) Engine size: 1,340cc Max power: 182bhp Features: A/B power modes, trip comp-uter, gear indicator

Come to that, I've yet to see a B-King roadtest that quotes a tested top speed - probably because nobody has been stupid/brave/strong enough to hang on up to the BK's terminal velocity.

Give it a curvy A-road and the Suzuki is surprisingly at home. It may look enormous, with its coffee-table-width tank and bulky plastics, but this is mainly an illusion.

From manoeuvring around the car park to flicking through a fast S-bend, the BK never feels unmanageable.

At 235kg without fluids, it's not the Kylie of the biking world, but the twin-spar aluminium frame and sophisticated suspension gives the King near-sportsbike handling qualities, while the wide handlebars and "Eddie Lawson replica" riding position let you hustle it around with surprising ease.

As for its looks, it is certainly imposing. The only jarring feature is those ridiculous cartoon Cornetto exhausts poking out from under the seat.

A pair of aftermarket shotgun cans would make it look much cooler and let you hear that glorious engine in full effect.

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