GSXR1000 Test Ride
Discussion
I'm interested to see others views on the crop of 1000s out there.
I took one for a test ride the other week and found it to be almost over powered, which is something I never thought I'd hear myself say (or type). Obviously, I was redlining it so I was making it work, but at that rate, my pillion was having to work seriously hard to hang on and I was always struggling to keep the front wheel on the deck. I mean wheelying off the throttle in 3rd gear at umm, 1.26 kleptons is nuts. Great for the track, but I can't imagine ragging it on the road like I do the 600. I did try riding it like the 600 on a back road, but most of the time it was wheelying out of corners. Good fun, but much harder work than my 600 and also it kept on going to license damaging speeds extremely quickly. I can't help thinking that buying and riding this would be a lesson in self discipline, which would be dull so I'm not going to do it.
So, if you've got a superbike 1000, you must have massive self restraint or you're going to prison for speeding very shortly.
I took one for a test ride the other week and found it to be almost over powered, which is something I never thought I'd hear myself say (or type). Obviously, I was redlining it so I was making it work, but at that rate, my pillion was having to work seriously hard to hang on and I was always struggling to keep the front wheel on the deck. I mean wheelying off the throttle in 3rd gear at umm, 1.26 kleptons is nuts. Great for the track, but I can't imagine ragging it on the road like I do the 600. I did try riding it like the 600 on a back road, but most of the time it was wheelying out of corners. Good fun, but much harder work than my 600 and also it kept on going to license damaging speeds extremely quickly. I can't help thinking that buying and riding this would be a lesson in self discipline, which would be dull so I'm not going to do it.
So, if you've got a superbike 1000, you must have massive self restraint or you're going to prison for speeding very shortly.
Not sure if it's an option, but perhaps without the pillion the tendancy to loft the front would reduce? Either that or perhaps a gixer 750 bight offer more poke and as much involvement as the 600? I can't comment from personal experience, being captain slow and a long way off riding the wheels off such a missile, but good luck with it, whatever you decide.
Steve.
Steve.
When I bought my R1 and opened it up there was a lot of 'Holy $hit' shouted in my crash helmet. And the ability to short shift to third, give it some and still have the front lifting is a bit of a novelty.
It is completely too fast for me but it is fun.
With 600s I just felt I was ragging them and they never FELT fast any more. I wouldn't pretend that I was the master of a 600 (by a long chalk) but they couldn't give that feeling of accelleration any more.
My Aprilia had way more stomp than the 600s but it ran out of breath at 10,000rpm. The Yam just pulls like a jet turbine. It was also surprisingly comfortable and even economical when I did 1800 miles through France on it, last month.
It is completely too fast for me but it is fun.
With 600s I just felt I was ragging them and they never FELT fast any more. I wouldn't pretend that I was the master of a 600 (by a long chalk) but they couldn't give that feeling of accelleration any more.
My Aprilia had way more stomp than the 600s but it ran out of breath at 10,000rpm. The Yam just pulls like a jet turbine. It was also surprisingly comfortable and even economical when I did 1800 miles through France on it, last month.
bennyboysvuk said:
I'm interested to see others views on the crop of 1000s out there.
I took one for a test ride the other week and found it to be almost over powered, which is something I never thought I'd hear myself say (or type). Obviously, I was redlining it so I was making it work, but at that rate, my pillion was having to work seriously hard to hang on and I was always struggling to keep the front wheel on the deck. I mean wheelying off the throttle in 3rd gear at umm, 1.26 kleptons is nuts. Great for the track, but I can't imagine ragging it on the road like I do the 600. I did try riding it like the 600 on a back road, but most of the time it was wheelying out of corners. Good fun, but much harder work than my 600 and also it kept on going to license damaging speeds extremely quickly. I can't help thinking that buying and riding this would be a lesson in self discipline, which would be dull so I'm not going to do it.
So, if you've got a superbike 1000, you must have massive self restraint or you're going to prison for speeding very shortly.
I took one for a test ride the other week and found it to be almost over powered, which is something I never thought I'd hear myself say (or type). Obviously, I was redlining it so I was making it work, but at that rate, my pillion was having to work seriously hard to hang on and I was always struggling to keep the front wheel on the deck. I mean wheelying off the throttle in 3rd gear at umm, 1.26 kleptons is nuts. Great for the track, but I can't imagine ragging it on the road like I do the 600. I did try riding it like the 600 on a back road, but most of the time it was wheelying out of corners. Good fun, but much harder work than my 600 and also it kept on going to license damaging speeds extremely quickly. I can't help thinking that buying and riding this would be a lesson in self discipline, which would be dull so I'm not going to do it.
So, if you've got a superbike 1000, you must have massive self restraint or you're going to prison for speeding very shortly.
I think you summed it up quite nicely, a 600 sports bike is more than enough to get you in trouble when thrashed on the road let alone a 1000cc. I can certainly do so on mine!
I'd still love a 1000 though once the insurance company like me enough to make it sensible per year! I think its the case you own one because you can. lol
i would say not having the pillion would improve things, you cant really get a realistic feel for a bike with a pillion passanger as it affects so many things about how the bike rides, my Fireblade is the more lively geared 2006 model and it wheelies easily but its also very easy to prevent it doing so its also very well planted out of corners and just fires out of them and gives you a lot of confidence-it basiclly feels like a 600RR with another 60BHP and its a very well set up road bike-take one for a test ride and see what you think,if they dont take your fancy what about an 1000cc twin?.
Benny first of all buy mine 
I agree with you sought of. Ive only ridden mine twice this year and both times ive though jesus there is just no need
But! when you get used to it you will find you can thrash it just as much as a 600 although obviously you are going to be going a little faster( but you can still lose your licence on a 600 they are not that mcuh slower).
I used to love thrashing the 750 but when I bought this I thought id made a misstake. That was mainly due to teh extra tourque. once Id got used to that there was no stopping me. Then again being a fat bastard means I can keep the front wheel down better than most.
ps. the 750 was addictive after about 5 miles I couldnt help but turn into some kind of rv hungry nutter red lining in every gear.
This bike I can quite happily stay in a higher gear and waft around on the tourque. I quite enjoy riding slower these day but I can always turn it up when I want. Its like 2 bikes in one for me.
except on an empty motorway at 6am where I usualy think shit Im going to lose my licence Id better slow down to a more sensible 1.40 kleptons
I agree with you sought of. Ive only ridden mine twice this year and both times ive though jesus there is just no need
But! when you get used to it you will find you can thrash it just as much as a 600 although obviously you are going to be going a little faster( but you can still lose your licence on a 600 they are not that mcuh slower).
I used to love thrashing the 750 but when I bought this I thought id made a misstake. That was mainly due to teh extra tourque. once Id got used to that there was no stopping me. Then again being a fat bastard means I can keep the front wheel down better than most.
ps. the 750 was addictive after about 5 miles I couldnt help but turn into some kind of rv hungry nutter red lining in every gear.
This bike I can quite happily stay in a higher gear and waft around on the tourque. I quite enjoy riding slower these day but I can always turn it up when I want. Its like 2 bikes in one for me.
except on an empty motorway at 6am where I usualy think shit Im going to lose my licence Id better slow down to a more sensible 1.40 kleptons
Edited by pesty on Tuesday 1st August 00:33
Totally agree, there were times when I first got mine (GSXR1000) that i thought i'd never ever ever be able to use it all on the road. And to be honest, if it wasn't for the fact that it's a lot easier to ride long distances on than a 600, I'd probably not have got one.
However..... (practical boring grown-up part over)
There's still a part of me that I hope I never ever grow out of that wants the fastest coolest toys, and I know full well that if i'd got a 600, I'd want a thousand. So now I have one and even if i can't rag it quite as mercilessly as i could my 99 R1 or my old GSXR600, I would NEVER be without it.
However..... (practical boring grown-up part over)
There's still a part of me that I hope I never ever grow out of that wants the fastest coolest toys, and I know full well that if i'd got a 600, I'd want a thousand. So now I have one and even if i can't rag it quite as mercilessly as i could my 99 R1 or my old GSXR600, I would NEVER be without it.
Before I bought the Aprilia I used to have an R6 and was looking around for my next bike. My local Yam dealer was good enough to lend me a 2002 R1 for the day so I took it for a blast up to Stratford Upon Avon. What I found was that I was always going about 20mph faster than I expected. I was rushing up behind vehicles and my 'flow' went to pot. I couldn't get over how fast it felt - too fast!
As Pesty says, you need do aclimitize. And the effortless torque does make distance very easy.
As Pesty says, you need do aclimitize. And the effortless torque does make distance very easy.
Edited by rsvmilly on Tuesday 1st August 09:58
bennyboysvuk said:
So, if you've got a superbike 1000, you must have massive self restraint or you're going to prison for speeding very shortly.
This is exactly why I don’t have one of the current crop of 1000cc superbikes. They are all superb machines that go, stop, handle etc. with pin-point accuracy and offer phenomenal performance at an incredible price but …..
Having ridden a few of these bikes I have found that even though I am generally pretty good at exercising restraint, it’s just too easy to find yourself travelling not just in ‘loose your licence’ territory, but well into the ‘get locked up’ range. For me, the bikes seem to encourage going faster and pushing hard and actually ‘thrive’ on being thrashed. Personal safety aside, I need my license in order to get to work, thus I just can’t afford to risk loosing it for quite a long time.
This is why I choose to ride a V twin. Because of the good mid range, the bike tends not to encourage ‘revving the nuts off it” thus I can make good fast progress while still keeping the speeds at a level where I feel my license is a little less threatened. The more relaxed power delivery lends itself to a more relaxed ride which allows me to focus on what’s going on around me. The only down side is having to live with the 1000cc sportsbikes coming past me with total ease on the straights on track days.
Well personally I find that 600s lack midrange torque - i've ridden friend's ZX6Rs and they just feel gutless. They're fast, granted, but they just lack that shove that you get from a 750. I can USE all the horses of the 750 on the road but think i'd be forever trying to restrain myself on a thou' - hence I haven't given into temptation and bought a ZX10R.
Ben,
The Blade is slightly different in that it is a bitch to wheelie as all the weight is low down and far forward and the swingarm is mahoosive. Even after re-gearing the front takes a little proking to view the clouds. Turn-in is slower than something like the Gixer but the low/med/high speed stability in any bend rough or smooth at full lean is something to write a novel on!! The power is nice and linear so you find yourself mooching behind 600's and 750's after short shifting to 5th or 6th (down the A272 par example) and just riding the torque, this allows you more time to think about what the bike is doing in the bends. Then when it gets really twisty, all it takes to get it steering as quick as a 600 is some active counter steering. The diablos fitted as standard were noticeably slower to turn, the Pilot Power 2ct's are much better with a more rounded profile. On standard gearing, the bike is pants, I can see why the media called it boring. £12 for a 15T front sprocket from B&C sorted the fun aspect right out. You can really take the p*ss with it on the track too. Redgate in 3rd gear with a slight push wide on the exit towards Hollywood gave so much confidence. The only thing I noticed was that it was a little soft at the front on hard braking (I weigh 11st). Nothing serious that couldn't be dialled out. I have just come back from a 5 day tour of France and the Pyrenees and I wouldn't have chosen any other bike! Spent the whole time riding on the back wheel or on the labels of the tyres. Awesome, and comfortable.
As for losing the license; well, let's just say that it is possible on anything bigger than a CB500. You won't use all the power of a 1k superbike on the road, however, it isn't all about power now is it? (Think Torque)
If you are still doing the Alton runs, we can hook up and you can have a blat if you fancy? You still on your GSXR6?
The Blade is slightly different in that it is a bitch to wheelie as all the weight is low down and far forward and the swingarm is mahoosive. Even after re-gearing the front takes a little proking to view the clouds. Turn-in is slower than something like the Gixer but the low/med/high speed stability in any bend rough or smooth at full lean is something to write a novel on!! The power is nice and linear so you find yourself mooching behind 600's and 750's after short shifting to 5th or 6th (down the A272 par example) and just riding the torque, this allows you more time to think about what the bike is doing in the bends. Then when it gets really twisty, all it takes to get it steering as quick as a 600 is some active counter steering. The diablos fitted as standard were noticeably slower to turn, the Pilot Power 2ct's are much better with a more rounded profile. On standard gearing, the bike is pants, I can see why the media called it boring. £12 for a 15T front sprocket from B&C sorted the fun aspect right out. You can really take the p*ss with it on the track too. Redgate in 3rd gear with a slight push wide on the exit towards Hollywood gave so much confidence. The only thing I noticed was that it was a little soft at the front on hard braking (I weigh 11st). Nothing serious that couldn't be dialled out. I have just come back from a 5 day tour of France and the Pyrenees and I wouldn't have chosen any other bike! Spent the whole time riding on the back wheel or on the labels of the tyres. Awesome, and comfortable.
As for losing the license; well, let's just say that it is possible on anything bigger than a CB500. You won't use all the power of a 1k superbike on the road, however, it isn't all about power now is it? (Think Torque)
If you are still doing the Alton runs, we can hook up and you can have a blat if you fancy? You still on your GSXR6?
veetwin said:
If you are still doing the Alton runs, we can hook up and you can have a blat if you fancy? You still on your GSXR6?
Hello mate, yep, I'm still riding around in the South East, generally trying to take in roads between Guildford and Bury Hill, but keeping it to B-roads where I can. I probably ought to buy a Super Motard, but it's more fun trying to stay on a sportsbike on bumpy roads. I'm still on the gixer and I'd be well up for a rideout at some point. Anyone else in the vicinity that fancies it?Gassing Station | Biker Banter | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff