Discussion
I had the very first model back in '86. Moving up from a GSXR750H it was a tad more stable (!) and seriously fast (not that the 750 was slow). First bike I ever had 170+ on the clock with. It didn't have the 750's habit of standing on its back wheel at 130mph over crests, but I learned to live with it. 
I haven't tried any of the lardier later versions.
I haven't tried any of the lardier later versions.I've always heard it referred to as 'the widowmaker', such was it's reputation for miscreant handling - but then maybe it's another TLS; everyone slates it for being too lively and then, years later, proclaim 'actually it's not that bad'.
I'm still not sure i'd want to swap a ZXR750, a bike renowned for handling pretty well, for a bike that's reputation would suggest quite the opposite!
I'm still not sure i'd want to swap a ZXR750, a bike renowned for handling pretty well, for a bike that's reputation would suggest quite the opposite!
The 750 was BAD, no matter what youd did it weaved and was constantly on the edge of tankslapping. Between 110-130 mph if you so much as breathed it would break out in the wobbles. After 130 it got better, honest! After I fitted a White Power damper it was better, but still a very unstable beast. I got the bike cheap with just 600 miles on the clock, the first owner had sh*t himself the first time he wound it open and took it back to the dealers. His loss, my gain!
The 1100 in comparison came equipped with a damper as standard, and was fairly tame handling wise. It was a good idea I recall to drop the forks through the yokes to slow the steering a little. Compared to the 750 it had wheel rims you couldn't flex by hand, which seemed to help
I never had any handling issues with the 1100 - I just couldn't find any roads with enough space to use its performance.
I should point out that my other two bikes at the time were Suzuki GT750's, so I may not have had much of a base to judge from in that respect. Things have undoubtedly changed somewhat from those early days, the GSXR750 was the first real sports bike, and the 1100 more of the same. They seemed to get smaller and heavier as the years passed.
The 1100 in comparison came equipped with a damper as standard, and was fairly tame handling wise. It was a good idea I recall to drop the forks through the yokes to slow the steering a little. Compared to the 750 it had wheel rims you couldn't flex by hand, which seemed to help
I never had any handling issues with the 1100 - I just couldn't find any roads with enough space to use its performance. I should point out that my other two bikes at the time were Suzuki GT750's, so I may not have had much of a base to judge from in that respect. Things have undoubtedly changed somewhat from those early days, the GSXR750 was the first real sports bike, and the 1100 more of the same. They seemed to get smaller and heavier as the years passed.
victormeldrew said:
The 1100 in comparison came equipped with a damper as standard, and was fairly tame handling wise. It was a good idea I recall to drop the forks through the yokes to slow the steering a little. Compared to the 750 it had wheel rims you couldn't flex by hand, which seemed to help
You are thinking of the original G and H models.
The GSXR1100K proved very good at killing people, including some high profile racers. It was the first with fully adjustable suspension, front and rear, and came ready set up for 8st Japanese riders. This meant it handled like a pig on stilts for the average European pie eater/beer drinker, and the more you fiddled with the suspension settings the worse it got.
Three riders were killed at the 1989 TT on them, including the great Phil "Mez" Mellor, and this directly resulted in the banning of the unlimited class.
>> Edited by Mon Ami Mate on Monday 19th December 16:13
Mad Dave said:
to drop the forks through the yokes to slow the steering a little.
I've always thought bringing the forks up through the yokes quickened the steering?
It does. Think about it...you're confusing yourself!
Drop forks through yokes = less rake = more stability.
Raise forks through yokes = more rake = quicker steering.
>> Edited by Mon Ami Mate on Monday 19th December 16:26
Mon Ami Mate said:
to drop the forks through the yokes to slow the steering a little.
I've always thought bringing the forks up through the yokes quickened the steering?
It does. Think about it...you're confusing yourself!
Drop forks through yokes = less rake = more stability.
Raise forks through yokes = more rake = quicker steering.
>> Edited by Mon Ami Mate on Monday 19th December 16:26
I did notice the difference, but i've often heard the term 'dropping through the yokes' used to describe raising the forks through the yokes. Plus, on all the bike's i've seen, the tops of the fork tubes sit flush with the top yoke - so how would it be possible to drop the forks through without compromising safety(the amount of forktube being gripped by the yoke)? I think I rather arrogantly assumed VictorM had got his lingo confused
Or maybe i'm just being a bit 'fick' I do agree with the theory - we recently raised the forks through the yokes on my old Bandit to see if we could get the old girl to go around corners. We managed it, but I was hanging off like a loon and the pegs were scraping
>> Edited by Mad Dave on Monday 19th December 18:37
Mad Dave said:
to drop the forks through the yokes to slow the steering a little.
I've always thought bringing the forks up through the yokes quickened the steering?
It does. Think about it...you're confusing yourself!
Drop forks through yokes = less rake = more stability.
Raise forks through yokes = more rake = quicker steering.
>> Edited by Mon Ami Mate on Monday 19th December 16:26
I did notice the difference, but i've often heard the term 'dropping through the yokes' used to describe raising the forks through the yokes. Plus, on all the bike's i've seen, the tops of the fork tubes sit flush with the top yoke - so how would it be possible to drop the forks through without compromising safety(the amount of forktube being gripped by the yoke)? I think I rather arrogantly assumed VictorM had got his lingo confused
I do agree with the theory - we recently raised the forks through the yokes on my old Bandit to see if we could get the old girl to go around corners. We managed it, but I was hanging off like a loon and the pegs were scraping
>> Edited by Mad Dave on Monday 19th December 18:37
Remind me to demonstrate my top yoke next time we hit the road...
I think the stock 1100G had the forks about 1/4 inch proud of the yokes, and I dropped them to 1/4 inch below the tops of the yokes. But my memory may well be playing tricks on me! There's a pic of an almost complete restoration of a GSXR1100G on Sportriders.com - this was pretty much the bike I had:
victormeldrew said:
Christ, I loved that bike. Sold it to pay for some new carpets What a good move!
The original G and H models were stunning bikes and completely shifted the goalposts of performance when they arrived. Grabbed motorcycling by the throat and launched it forward 20 years. Guaranteed future classic.
Mon Ami Mate said:
to drop the forks through the yokes to slow the steering a little.
I've always thought bringing the forks up through the yokes quickened the steering?
It does. Think about it...you're confusing yourself!
Drop forks through yokes = less rake = more stability.
Raise forks through yokes = more rake = quicker steering.
>> Edited by Mon Ami Mate on Monday 19th December 16:26
I did notice the difference, but i've often heard the term 'dropping through the yokes' used to describe raising the forks through the yokes. Plus, on all the bike's i've seen, the tops of the fork tubes sit flush with the top yoke - so how would it be possible to drop the forks through without compromising safety(the amount of forktube being gripped by the yoke)? I think I rather arrogantly assumed VictorM had got his lingo confused
I do agree with the theory - we recently raised the forks through the yokes on my old Bandit to see if we could get the old girl to go around corners. We managed it, but I was hanging off like a loon and the pegs were scraping
>> Edited by Mad Dave on Monday 19th December 18:37
Remind me to demonstrate my top yoke next time we hit the road...
Ah, I bet you say that to all the girls
Was talking about you to a mate the other day actually, saying he has to join us for an A350 run when the weather improves
Mon Ami Mate said:That makes me feel better.
Christ, I loved that bike. Sold it to pay for some new carpets
The original G and H models were stunning bikes and completely shifted the goalposts of performance when they arrived. Grabbed motorcycling by the throat and launched it forward 20 years. Guaranteed future classic.
Dead right though. I remember when I got the GSXR750G it was the first production bike with a full fairing; it would wheelie on the throttle alone, and it could do stoppies. These things are commonplace these days, but totally unheard of back then. I took it along to a PWYB drag meet at York raceway, totally bog standard. I was lining up against GSX1100's with lengthened swing arms, 7" wide rims, gods knows what done the the motors - and wiping the floor with them. An absolute hoot. The 1100 was setting production land speed records when it was released.
Classics indeed. A step change in bike design of the same order of magnitude as the CB750K.
Hi My first bike after my DAS was a 1991 blue and white GSXR1100M with a 1216 JE kit....135bhp...86 ft/ilbs at the back wheel. It was a fabulous machine with magnificant torque..really brutal with a wonderful mild steel micron 4-1. No other machine makes you feel as `bad`. I have another which i will never sell. ever..ever
Ooh a Widowmaker thread
Biker Tale
My mate bought his 1100G new November 87'. Remember it well cos I had my first ride on my birthday as he lent me the bike for a few days while he went on hoiday. This was in teh dayz of Rider Policies so you could hop on whatever you had in your possesion. I jumnped on, remember clocking the mileage which was at 155 miles
so she was still running in. I went straight to Hayling Island on the A3 not the m-way, and was there in one hour from Heathrow, on a sunny but very coooold day. When I got there I went down to Sandy Point and had a coffee on the sea front in some bar there, but between a brief walk down the front and the coffee I managed to lose the bloody key (no fob) and got stuck there. My mate who owned the bike was on holiday (no mobiles then), but I remember he bought it from Collin Collins in Watford so I rang them. Mark, who owned the shop then, managed to get hold of a spare and rode all the way down on his 1100 to give to me the key. This was service beyond comparison as I have never had anything close to that since. I bunged him a tenner and he was happy. Going home was something else though, and I had asked him to slow the pace as I was not at all used to the bike - actually I told him it was cos it was still being run in
Cos the road was frozen in places caution saved the day but I could have easily seen the day ended in tears if the weather had been blazing hot. This bike had a very tight power band when its 'having it' but there is also a nice line of torque which tries to suggest Suzi gave you a choice of Jekyl & Hyde, but if you could find enough straight road, going through the box on the line was brilliant. Everyone can relate to the cheesy grin when you come back with that stoopid grin stuck all over your face and you cant speak properly when you first go on a proper bike .. well thats the 1100 all over plus you get a nagging in your head that you shouldnt have got back at all.
There is something defintately 'not quite right' about it everytime you ride it, not that it was particularly hard bike to ride. Can honestly say its the scariest bike I have ever ridden, and thought that everytime I used it mainly due to the deluded handling which doesn't instill confidence at all, but the way the power is delivered you just don't care.
It is a piece of bike history, and in my opinion was the next slot since the fabled Kwaka Z900 (another widowmaker story).
Would love one now, as u can see from my profile, my bike tastes are in need of a proper fix lol. Sadly after losing two special friends to the love of two wheels I stay away for as long as possible before my next fix.
Biker Tale
My mate bought his 1100G new November 87'. Remember it well cos I had my first ride on my birthday as he lent me the bike for a few days while he went on hoiday. This was in teh dayz of Rider Policies so you could hop on whatever you had in your possesion. I jumnped on, remember clocking the mileage which was at 155 miles
so she was still running in. I went straight to Hayling Island on the A3 not the m-way, and was there in one hour from Heathrow, on a sunny but very coooold day. When I got there I went down to Sandy Point and had a coffee on the sea front in some bar there, but between a brief walk down the front and the coffee I managed to lose the bloody key (no fob) and got stuck there. My mate who owned the bike was on holiday (no mobiles then), but I remember he bought it from Collin Collins in Watford so I rang them. Mark, who owned the shop then, managed to get hold of a spare and rode all the way down on his 1100 to give to me the key. This was service beyond comparison as I have never had anything close to that since. I bunged him a tenner and he was happy. Going home was something else though, and I had asked him to slow the pace as I was not at all used to the bike - actually I told him it was cos it was still being run in
Cos the road was frozen in places caution saved the day but I could have easily seen the day ended in tears if the weather had been blazing hot. This bike had a very tight power band when its 'having it' but there is also a nice line of torque which tries to suggest Suzi gave you a choice of Jekyl & Hyde, but if you could find enough straight road, going through the box on the line was brilliant. Everyone can relate to the cheesy grin when you come back with that stoopid grin stuck all over your face and you cant speak properly when you first go on a proper bike .. well thats the 1100 all over plus you get a nagging in your head that you shouldnt have got back at all. There is something defintately 'not quite right' about it everytime you ride it, not that it was particularly hard bike to ride. Can honestly say its the scariest bike I have ever ridden, and thought that everytime I used it mainly due to the deluded handling which doesn't instill confidence at all, but the way the power is delivered you just don't care.
It is a piece of bike history, and in my opinion was the next slot since the fabled Kwaka Z900 (another widowmaker story).
Would love one now, as u can see from my profile, my bike tastes are in need of a proper fix lol. Sadly after losing two special friends to the love of two wheels I stay away for as long as possible before my next fix.
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