Ah, the Japanese school of design...you can see "faces" in many of their cars and motorcycles.
The R1, with its wide projector beam headlamps and flared ram air snorkels emulates a predatory bird's beak and nostrils, like a hawk or a falcon. Suzuki's own Hayabusa has a different look, but still has a "bird" shape, and not coincidentally, the name "Hayabusa" is the Japanese name for a Peregrine Falcon, one of the fastest predatory birds on Earth. I was amused but not surprised that the front of my Mitsubishi 3000GT VR4 was styled after a famous Japanese samurai warrior's mask, worn by "Benkei"... a mythylogical hero often seen in Japanese Kabuki theatrical performances. Pretty cool, huh?