QuoteI guess you don't watch too much World Super Bike. The Duc twins have won every race against the GSXR1000's.

Might want to check your stats on that one.  Here are some great websites to help you with your searches.

World Superbike
http://www.motorsportsetc.com/champs/wsbk.htm

AMA Superbike
http://www.motorsportsetc.com/champs/ama_sbk.htm

Looks like that pesky Maladin kid on his GSXR1000 four cylinder is a pretty decent rider.  But to give credit to Ducati they did have enough parts stay on to win in 1994 and 1993, congrats to them.

I follow WSB pretty closely. The Duc's have won every WSB race this year, and the majority of them since at least '97. The Honda v-twin won a fair number. They had to run 750 4 cylinders against the 1000 twins until this year.

Ducati does not have factory support in AMA, against factory Suzukis so it really isn't representative. AMA is a step or three down from WSB.

http://www.worldsbk.com/

Edit: Series statistics in WSB- 295 wins for twins, 87 for 4 cylinders.

I bought a Triumph TT600 last year in November.  I fell in love with the TT600 after taking one on a demo ride at the Honda Hoot in 2001.  
But not because I need more hp, or need to go faster, or do wheelies, etc.  The handling was/is awesome (not like the mediocre stock GS suspension) and the bodywork (and the racing yellow paint job of the demo bike) had me mesmerized, as well as it being a Triumph, not you're everyday run-of-the-mill Japanese 600 inline 4.

But you know what?  I still have my GS500.  Why?  Because the TT seat height is just a tad too tall for me to feel completely secure riding it when I have to stop at traffic lights, stop signs, and in slow traffic when I have to put my feet down.  Also because if the TT should break down & need parts or have to go to a dealer to be serviced, I can still ride.  The closest Triumph dealerships are all 2-2 1/2 hours from me.

QuoteDucati does not have factory support in AMA, against factory Suzukis so it really isn't representative. AMA is a step or three down from WSB.

Oh so since Ducati isn't supporting it's riders in the U.S. it's a step down, got it.  That Maladin kid isn't really talented anyway.  Based on sheer number of people who ride ducatis in WSB they had better win.  There are more people on Ducatis than all other brands combined.  Don't get me wrong I think Ducati makes a great bike, a tad over priced, but nice nonetheless.  There is a reason V-Twins are on the way out except for shitty Harleys and they can keep them.  Next year both Honda and Kawasaki are coming out with new 4 cylinder open class bikes to replace their current ones, and there is a reason they are going 4 versus 2 cylinders.

WSB mandates intake restrictors for the inline four cylinder bikes and open for the twins.  The rules are clearly in favor of the Ducati in WSB.  The AMA has had bad experiences in the past with restrictors so they did not mandate them.

World Superbike looks to be on its way out.  They had to back track on proposed rule changes just to keep the Japanese manufacturers in the series for next year.  Then they came out with Pirelli as the spec tire for the series.  We will find out next year if they have damaged the series beyond repair.

Richard

AMA racing is a step or three down from WSB because of the rider talent and depth of the field. The AMA riders all hope to move up to a WSB or MotoGP ride, like Ben Bostrom did, and didn't make it. This year WSB is predominately Ducati, but that certainly has not been true in the past.

The WSB bikes and riders are definitely of a higher caliber than the AMA SB. Did you watch the Laguna Seca WSB race with the AMA wild card riders?

The Honda twin RC51 has won in AMA SB also, for that matter. I believe they were 1, 2 and 3 at the high-speed, stupid, Daytona track this year against the 4 cylinder bikes.

My point was that your statement that  "as soon as an inline 4 gets going the V-Twin is going to lose everytime" is obviously incorrect. 4 cylinder engines have twice as many power strokes per revolution, so that gives them a slight advantage in high rpm hp. On the street, a twin is a much better bike, IMHO.

Edit: National series in anything are typically a notch below the world series. All the national SB series are stepping stones to the WSB level, including the Japanese and British SB. They generally win at their home tracks though.

As long as the national SB series prosper, there will be a WSB series. The riders need somehwere to move up to, and the manufacturer's like to have their "street" bikes competing. I agree it needs some rule modification right now. It used to be some of the best racing.

Well we'll have to agree to disagree on the WSB versus AMA quality of racing thing for now.  I personally will still pick the inline 4 over a V-Twin even for the street but to each their own.  If I had to pick between the SV and a GS as my first ever bike I would pick the GS.  If I had previous experience with dirt track bikes then I would take the SV.  I unfortunately did not catch the Laguna Secca race you mentioned but I'll take your word for it.  

You yourself however mention the difference in power between the 4 cylinder and VTwin engines concerning power strokes.  In sheer speed tests the 4 cylinder bikes are faster in a straight line (squid territory).

Proficiant Motorcycling is a must-read for new street riders as well. TotR II covers turning technique primarily but Proficiant Motorcycling will cover how to spot danger and traction issues before they get you in trouble.

This is my 2nd summer on my GS and was in simmilar shoes to you when I got it. Dirt and trail bike experiance primarily. Every time I think I want a quicker bike I realize how rarely I actually push the GS. How often can you really use the over-the-top performance of the modern motorcycle and still actually be legal? I don't think I've found an on-ramp yet that I can't be at least 10 mph over the speed limit by the time I hit the highway, and I have yet to scrape a peg so I know I could be taking the corners even faster.

Until I'm to the point where I'm getting a knee down to avoid scraping my case guards I'm not even going to think about getting a more powerful bike. Dirt experiance is nice, but street riding has a lot of skills involved that never come up on the dirt.

I looked at the SV, and even a used Buell, but I wen't with the GS and don't regret it. Early on riding my GS there were at least 3 instances I can remember where I hit the throttle just a little too hard and had to lean through corners more than I was comfortable with and even kicked out the rear tire. Had I been on a more powerful bike I would have slid right into the retaining wall of the bridge and most likely been thrown to the highway 30 feet below.

So, I'm biased. Go for the GS