Susuki GSXR-750. The Hooligans weapon of choice!!! (Suzuki GSX-R750)

Member Name: RocketFuel

Product:	Suzuki GSX-R750
Date:	09/07/09 (376 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Speed, handling, reliability, snarly exhaust note.

Disadvantages: Maybe not quite as stylish looking as some other bikes.

Susuki GSXR-750. The Hooligans weapon of choice!!!

Previous to buying my Gixxer 750 three years ago I owned a 2001 Kawasaki Ninja 600. I ended up having no end of expensive problems with the Kawasaki and in the end I part-exchanged the bike for a brand new Suzuki GSXR-750 K5 model. I bought my bike as the new model was coming out so I got a hefty discount on it. You can pick one of these up for about £4000 now. Which is good considering that they are known for their bomb-proof engines so you shouldn't get any problems. Just be careful as they are a bit of a track day goers favourite so might have been trashed around race tracks.

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The Look
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I bought one of the less popular colour schemes, yellow and black. I actually really like this colour. It looks good with my black windshield. A bonus is that you will see a lot less of these about than the standard blue and white Suzuki colours. Not knocking the blue and white scheme though, it does look nice. My favourite is the black paint job but I don't want to pay more just for the paint job.

I appreciate that the newer model is a better bike. But I am not a fan of the styling. So that was another thing that helped me make my decision. The K5 has a more angular, sharp styling which I prefer. You get digital clocks which are very clear to see and look stylish.
You will want to change the number plate bracket. It is massive as on most standard bikes and it really spoils the sporty look of the bike. The wheels are black now rather than the white ones that they had in the past. So dirt does not show up so much. The white ones must have been a nightmare to keep clean.

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Engine
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Everywhere I look always seem to give different BHP figures for my bike. So it is somewhere in the range of 130-150bhp. The bike is not as loud as a similar 600cc sports motorcycle. The engine does not need to rev as hard to access the power. I used to feel like I was banging through all the gears on my 600, right at the top end of the gears, but still lacking power. The 750 is far less frantic and you'll find yourself changing gear a lot less often as the engine has more torque than a 600. There is more power lower down the rev range. The gears feel quite firm and slot into place reassuringly. I love the metallic snarl that the exhaust makes on Gixxers. It seems to egg you on saying `come on you wuss, thrash me how you know I like it!!!'. It's not screamingly loud like on a 600cc but it has a very purposeful, snarly sound to it.

You do need to be quite smooth when riding the Gixxer as it does have a powerful engine. You need to be smooth on the throttle. Also when changing down gears there is quite a lot of engine breaking and it does not have a slipper clutch as I think you get on the newer models. So if you change down through the gears too quickly the back tyre will skip and skid along if you are overly aggressive with it. But you'll get used to what you can get away with after some time on the bike.

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Handling
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The handling is great!! You have the same size chassis as on a 600cc bike but with a more powerful engine. This makes the bike very flickable around corners and very fast down the straights. I actually used a Honda CBR600RR on a track day last September at Donington Park. After riding my bike the CBR felt very lacking in power.

When I first picked up my bike from the garage I was amazed at how easy it was to ride. It had more instant power than I was used to, so I had to take it easy on the throttle. But the handling was brilliant. The standard Bridgestone BT0014 tyres are great. They handle well in the dry and the wet and seem to get up to temperature quickly. They recommend not to rev your bike above 6k revs for the first 500 miles. This is hard to do, but it does help you get more used to the bike before you thrash it.

The radial brakes do a very good job once up to temperature. It is important to get them up to temperature as I had quite a moment once when my brakes were cold. It took me what felt like a mile to stop =0(

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Suzuki Dealers
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I bought my bike from the George Whites dealership in Slough as it was the nearest one to me. Always consider where your nearest dealer is when purchasing a bike. You don't want to have to travel too far for servicing etc. I found George Whites to be reliable at servicing my bike and they also have good prices on bikes to buy.

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My Opinion
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I'm definitely a Gixxer convert. No looking back now. When I change bikes it will have to be the new Gixxer 750. Don't think that I'll bother making the jump to a 1000cc. I just think that it will be too much for the road. The 750 you can just about use to it's capabilities on the road, occasionally. On a 1000cc I don't think I would get anywhere near it's limits. I like the feeling of revving out all of the gears to the red line. I don't think a 1000cc would let me do that. Also I'd probably be slower due to worrying about putting down too much power and getting slung off the bike.

Summary: Great bike, don't know anyone who has owned one and has anything bad to say about it.

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