Just for completeness here are a couple other bikes you might want to consider:
Aprilia Tuono 1100RR
Yamaha FZ-10
Triumph Street Triple R
Sure, check those bikes out if in the market for the Supersport, but they're not direct competitors:
Aprilia - lacks a good fairing, poor dealer network
Yamaha - lacks wind protection, ugly as can be
Triumph - minimal wind protection, won't have the mid-range torque of the SS
VFR 800 - you already heard about this one
Missing from the list is the BMW R1200RS. I've ridden it and it works well, probably better than the SS if you ride a passenger most of the time, but pretty expensive and not as sporty as the SS.