Suzuki GSXR 1000

I reviewed my k4 and k7 here on this thread (as davygravy but a new email address has locked me out) Now onto my L2 (2012)

I've had loads of gsxr's since the late 1980's (yes I am now old and fat... but I don't let that stop me bouncing off the rev limiter during 2nd gear wheelies)

No.1 The BMW s1000r (design based on the gsxr1000 k5) is the best sports bike at the moment it took the title from the gsxr when it arrived however !!!!

The GSXR has evolved it is changing into a more practical road bike rather than track tool... it took a while for me to adjust to my k7 because I loved the "POWER EVERYWHERE" philosophy of previous gsxr's and the k5/k6 had the handling as well (which is probably why the BMW is so good). Suzuki do not give out all the electrical gizmos like abs, anti wheelie and traction control... and if you want them then you probably don't want the kind of fun in the raw form that suzuki offers. The L2 is like a k5 in handling terms but with the k7 engine BUT with a boost in the midrange. top gear at 50 and open the throttle and it pulls fast it has 2 surges with the 2nd starting around 120mph this thing flies ! it still feels absolutely planted on long very fast sweepers but it also flicks through fast corners and it's nimbleness is only held back by my fat struggling to get from one side of the seat to the other ;-) It has a solid exhaust from the headers to the end can which UNFORTUNATELY means the WHOLE exhaust needs to be changed to dump the cat... but ! the midrange is almost as good as my de-catted k7 now, so probably not necessary and it would cost £1200. The bike's looks are great I haven't even bothered with an end can ( it offers no improvement just a different sound) or a tail tidy because of how good it already looks. Suzuki quote nearly 55 to the gallon !! it is probably achievable if you ride it like a scooter but who's going to do that ? That said EVEN I am getting 42 to 46 mpg and I like to spank the beast. the 4000 mile service only cost £106 and although retail is quoted over £11,000 you can haggle down to under £10,000 by pointing out adverts from heavily discounted dealers and by asking if your local shop will still service it when you buy elsewhere :-) Reliabilty is brilliant this is aided by not having an alarm (which seems to cause FI problems to every GSXR I've owned) My k7 survived being hit from behind on the autobahn at 90 mph. And this one seems just as tough. The layout is great and the biggest selling point for me (apart from the GSXR logo) is the fact that the footpegs have lowering settings and that makes the difference between a 200 mile painful fide and a 300 plus mile slightly troubled ride. It's not a track oriented BMW beater BUT it is £3000 less to buy, more practical, less painful to ride, wheelies to 130mph, hits over 180mph and still has good fuel economy when being abused. BUY ONE

I have owned many gixers my last being a 2003 1000, excellent bike, very stable, good looks, bags of midrange, buy one and get sliding. Most come with a free burberry hat.

I sold my 94 zx9r to buy this blue and white missile ! It feels like I'd imagine a fa18 to feel like in acceleration ! I didn't believe that in eight years bikes couldn't improved dramatically compared the the old Kawasaki! The zx9r was an awesome machine too , but in another league entirely! The zx9r kicked you in the pants at 8-9000 rpm and gee it kicked hard! Through the rest of the revs it was quite tame though. I Dont know if it's the efi or the cam differences or just the age difference but the gsxr1000 k2 does the same thing from only 2-3000 rpm ! It is an incredible feeling !!! I rode a 2011 model gsxr1000 and it's not that much better at all if any than my nine year old one ! Mine has only got 30000ks on it and is like new! Scorpion titanium can, tinted screen is about the only mods ! I could in NO WAY justify the $10000 change over figure to ride away on a 2011 model . It wasn't $10000 more of a bike ! I love it ! As the meatmen said in their song "War of the superbikes" , "as it came out of the s bend it sounded like some strange mutated insect, shot right out of gods slingshot !!!!" Cool eh? It's about a gsx1100 from the eighties ! My first bike was a 81gsx750 and it was cool too ! To sum up the 02 Gsxr 1000 is a beast which demands respect or she will bite back !!!

The K2 GSXR 1000 is a beautiful motorbike . Whilst I also own a TRX 850 (also beautiful) , the difference is as chalk is to cheese.To date I havn't ridden anyhing to compare it to. With the yoshi pipe , power commander , modded rear tail peice with a hugger , inset indicators , it got the looks and the get up and go. There's rarely a time I go out on the thing and not go over 200 > 260 kph. And she's still got plenty to go.

One thing I like about the K2 is that the fairing has this wide ledge near the knee . I tend to plonk my knee on it ,tuck my elbows in and rip that throttle open in the corner. It feels so together in the way it handles. With new diablo supercorsas SC2 tires I'm expecting it to get even better.

I often look at alternatives such as the new beemer RR ,fireblade ,and the Aprillia , but will it be any better in relation to my riding talents ? And does the huge costs of these bikes make the ride any better ? I can say without question that the TRX Yamaha is still a great ride despite being 15 years old and being only 80 hp, the Gixer K2 is no different.It delivers in it's own way and is an absolute joy to ride .To the point I might add ,that rather than save for a new bike in the future ,I really question the option of modding it further with lighter wheels ,porting etc etc.Rarely do I get left behind ,even against the newer hyperbikes and I'm no Agostini.

It has never let me down and it is truly a great bike to ride to date.I would say that unless you've been privilaged to ride some of the elite bikes of this world and really KNOW how to ride them , your not missing on a thing. To date I've done about 6,000 kms and for the price , it's a gem . A hard bike to fault,and it's got that ledge on the fairing you rest the knee on when cornering and that gel seat.

Gorgeous machine that needs a few tweaks to sing. Anyone who has one or will be purchasing one needs to do two cheap, but priceless mods.

1st: remove the SET valve to get rid of sticky mechanisms and open up the exhaust

2nd: Get a throttle retard elminator to cure low RPM jerkiness and let the engine breathe.

Once these 2 mods are done, the K3 1000 floats like a feather and stings like a bee. The engine is the heart of this bike, with so much torque available throughout the rev range. The chassis loves to drop down in corners, and is rock solid through them.

The only caveats are the tall gearing and relatively large size compared to more modern liter bikes.

Highly reccomended.

Mods: Goodridge brake lines, EBC floating wave rotors, Dano's TRE, SET removal, CW fender eliminator

fast smooth excellent low down torque,especially in my case(can't get mrs off back).fitted arrows can,power commander 3 gipro digi gear/retard eliminater.just having brembo 19/20 front brake master cylinder and goodridge hoses.perfect,i love it when i'm riding it and i hate it when i'm not

It does not matter street or strip gsxr is top dog period.Got mine last year and I felt aprt of the bike not riding on top of itIt has great power and handling,and the spare parts for this bike are endless.

Just swapped my GSXR K3 600 for the K1 1000, great bike as the spare parts are all compatible, fitted with TRS Yoshi Titanium Can and Pyramid UnderTray, looks are amazing, performance incredible and sounds like it looks.

Great bike, Great Fun.

If you compare this bike with any other bike in its class you are splitting hairs unless you are a pro rider and at this point all sportsbikes have their pros and cons. The GSXR has a very reputable track record that speaks for itself. You can always look on the good ol world wide web to look up these stats. I am not taking anything away from any other bikes out there but this is pound for pound my favorite and I have been on a vast selection of bikes. I AM NOT A PRO RIDER THOUGH! It also falls back to pride of ownership in allot of cases though. Some people are going to follow the masses and some are influenced by what others say while others form their own oppinion. I strongly suggest that you form your own. My heart is with my 2006 GSXR 1000.

Stable handling, smooth power, nice ergos. Fun Fun Fun!

Bikes don't seem to have come as far as I thought they have after riding a demo zx10r 2009 model. The zx10r 2009 is definitely a better bike than the k3 in all ways, except I still wouldn't upgrade to one just for that reason.

Suzuki GSXR 1000 is an awesome bike! Had it for 3 years (bought it mid 2006), and still loving it.