I haven't even bought a bike yet but from my understanding the difference is in how much throttle comes from the same amount of "twist." On a little Ninja you twist the throttle a certain distance and you jump 500 rpm. Make the same hand movement on an R1 or Gixxer and watch the revs skyrocket 4,000 rpm. Now, under perfect riding conditions, a new rider may be able to handle the more sensitive throttle if he's got a brain, but say this new rider, who is still getting acquainted with riding on the streets, doesn't see a pot hole. He nails it, and gets jerked around a bit on the bike. Because he has a death grip on the throttle because he's a bit stressed out to be riding in traffic still, he gives the throttle a nice jerk when this happens. On the little Ninja the bike makes a bit more noise and speeds up a little bit. On the R1 the front wheel is off the ground, and if he's not super careful and lucky maybe he can save it, but there's a good chance his protective gear is gonna start doing it's duty soon.
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