Who owns a cross-plane crank R1? Thoughts? Any issues?

[996 sps]

Been on about it for a while now - Seriously thinking about using the 996 less and doing the odd bike meet - No more track days or trips across Europe as have had bits replaced and wheels re-sprayed etc.

But still need a toy - The cross plane crank R1 looks superb and sounds great in my opinion, but what's the handling like and are there any issues or faults I should look for?

Thanks in advance.....


Like the look of the Red and White colour scheme but haven't seen one in the flesh.....

Edited by 996 sps on Tuesday 30th September 15:37

[996 sps]

Jewelly_Boy said:

Clutch was a bd and they don't like clutch up wheelies(no st).....

Awesome fun though, sound mega.

Heres me, wking off a Polish bloke.....

And one of my "friend" practising for Elvington Wheely Record........

Ha ha!

Cheers all for the replies.

So clutch main down fall - How much roughly do you think i'll need to part with for a good one? Avoid early model?

[996 sps]

Tim85 said:

I've just recently got mine so I can't really comment on any faults yet. I also haven't ridden many of the modern 'rivals' so I can't compare it to them. From what I understand there's racier bikes and faster bikes but in my opinion I really couldn't imagine a better road engine. It initially acts like a really free revving twin. It sounds like a twin and it gives you testicular cancer by vibrating and cooking you like other twins I've ridden. It has the low down shuv of twins aswell. The was it changes is the speed in which the revs pick up and the rpm it revs to. It feels to me like I'm hurting the engine but it just wants to rev more and more. I love it.

The throttle is very sharp and benefits from a silky smooth actions. The sound is incredible. Like a Ducati but without the metallic sound. The handling feels really well sorted for my fat arse and limited skill level. Much much better than my old k6 gsxr1000 although that may just be the difference in technology from 2006 and now.

Everyone always raves about the midrange of the k5/6 gsxr's but a few times on my ride home Sunday if you pull out to over take in third at about 60/70 and wind on the front just pops up, much to my surprise and fear! The gsxr just wound speed on nicely.

Basically they're awesome. I'm sure I'd love all of the modern thousands but as a road bike the engine really is a peach.
I have heard of people not getting on with them but I think that's due to the similarities to a v twin and if your coming from a Ducati I think you'll love it.

I want one - Like the colour scheme..........

[996 sps]

Biker's Nemesis said:

I had mine for 4 years, it looks heavy but is light on its feet. (I am sure it is lighter fully fulled than a BMWS1000RR)

Rear tyres dont last long if you're using sports rubber, touring rubber does the same job.

I had 9.5 K Tech springs fitted to my forks and had the standard rear re valved by KAIS, once that was done it handled very well.

I had ackropvic cans fitted (Paul25) CRG levers and a tail tidy.

Within the first 500 miles the clutch was replaced, it burnt a plug out at 5000 miles

Overall happy with it BN and would you recommend one?

Cheers

tight5 said:

from memory -
several clutch mods
traction control
small fairing changes
slotted top yoke
colours

I think that's it .

That's useful info - Do you know if there was many teething issues with the 09 model?

Cheers

[996 sps]

tight5 said:

the only 09 problem I've heard has been the clutch .
if you buy from a dealer , there is some protection if it goes tits up .
definitely recommend one for the road .

Cheers mate - I'm off work next few days so going to have a gander at a few.......

Need one in my life:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxZcyGpEY4Q

[996 sps]

Cheers all - Purchase will be made!

[996 sps]

paul25 said:

Nothing ive ridden has made me want to sell this, its a keeper

Lovely!! Last random question - Is the frame prone to fading? I personally like the frame with white fairing......

[996 sps]

civiclegend said:

I'm sure you don't need any more persuasion now, but I had a grey 2012 model in Singapore for 18 months and absolutely loved it. It was super easy to ride around the pathetic 90 kmh roads of Sing, and then very capable once unleashed on Sepang (a dozen times in my tenure).

I would say if you plan on taking it on track, the brake fluid definitely needs changing for something more suitable, that and some more aggressive pads, as I found the stoppers were frankly a bit weak when compared to those found on an S1000 RR or Panigale. That said despite the supposed horsepower deficit I rarely got left behind on Sepangs extremely long straights - MSS bikes excepted.

Had Yoshi R77 cans on mine, which definitely filled out a little midrange torque and improved the noise immeasurably, the weight of the standard cans is actually not excessive though, being titanium.

The traction control is totally unintrusive, although in the lower settings you do feel it keeping the front wheel on the deck quite obviously, I would have it wound wide open at 130 mph in 4th gear exiting turn 3, believing myself to be some sort of a god, when I realised the little orange light was blinking at me frantically in a 'you couldnt do this without me' kind of way. ;-)

I did have my suspicions about the clutch as it felt perfect to start with, and over the next 4000 km or so, it developed a bit of a 'gritty' feel as I fed it out, and sometimes would cause a bit of a jump instead of a smooth application of torque to the back wheel. Never felt like it was going to fail outright though.

One other tip - range on the light is 57.2 km...

Some pics:

Edited by civiclegend on Wednesday 1st October 15:45

Good write up - Looks lovely!!