Great fun, but a bit on the plastic side (Suzuki GSX-R600)

Member Name: Jonny_L

Product:	Suzuki GSX-R600
Date:	13/06/08 (78 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fast but usable, handles well, reliable, looks great and it's pretty comfy for a sportsbike.

Disadvantages: Feels built to a price, no easy luggage options

The bike I'm reviewing is a K6 (2006) model.
We live in an age now where the only real difference between supersport bikes is the make and the fairing. Gone are the days of the road biased comfy, everyday sports bike, such as the likes of the CBR600F, in favour of sky high redlines and whopping horsepower at the cost of torque.

However, there is still hope in the shape of the Suzuki GSX-R600. This bike is as you'd expect, mind-bogglingly fast, as agile as you'd ever want a bike to be for the road, and a serious track tool at the same time. But there's a bit more to it than that. The K6 engine is very usable, it has ample pickup from the bottom revs, and although you'll want to be sure that you're in the right gear, this has a nice wide powerband.

Comfort-wise, I found it better than I had expected. The seat is large and there's a fair amount of room for your legs. There is a bit of weight on your arms, but not too much, after a good hour's hard riding I found I could still feel all my ligaments and my wrists and backside weren't too bad off.

The bike isn't the best quality, the rear panels did feel a bit flimsy and creaky, but the front was ok. You'd want to get some crash bobbins though as that fairing would break at the slightest impact.

Luggage carrying capacity isn't brilliant obvously, though I really think you'd even struggle to get a set of throwover panniers on there. The tank is mainly plastic, so you'd need to be creative to fit a tank bag.

But then that's not what this bike is all about I suppose. It's really more than you'd need for a road bike, with the capability to break every national speed limit in 1st gear, but still enough real life usability. You don't get much in the way of information, a rev meter, a digital speedo, trip and possibly a fuel light, plus the now obligatory shift light, which is a pretty bright white. Switch gear is as you'd expect, but I'd want to keep it under cover as suzuki bolts have a tendancy to rust a bit.

You'll notice I've not mentioned the engine yet. It is a great engine, but you don't get much of a feeling of character from it. It's hard to explain as it sounds good, goes well, but there's a degree of clinical engineering to it. But you can't complain, it's smooth as double cream, as is the gearbox, quick and reliable.

Overall the quality isn't that great, but this is one bargain motorcycle. You can pick these up new for around £6000, and used you can get a good one for as little as £3000. That's a lot of bike for your dosh. Of course, the CBR600RR is worth a second look too.

Summary: Fast, usable bike, but it's not perfect.

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