Owner Report – Suzuki GSXR600

Paul Southwell asked me to put a few words together about Bron and Dave's new addition to the family, the GSXR 600K6.

After selling our K4 a few months back to help pay for the overseas trip I was already thinking what I would replace it with. The K4 was a great bike to ride and, considering that it was stock, it was amazing how hard you could ride it. I had been thinking of maybe getting a 1000cc sports bike as it has been approximately six years since the last time I owned one, therefore adding a new challenge to my riding.

The list of possible bikes I came up with were as follows: Honda CBR1000/600, Kawasaki ZX10/636, Suzuki GSXR600, and Yamaha R6. I have never owned a Honda road bike other than my first bike, an H100 two stroke!!

I will write a little about each of the bikes to give you an understanding of how I reached my decision.

Honda:  I have ridden both the 600 and 1000 on the track and the road and find them enjoyable to ride. The 600 has one of the best front ends I have ever used: it steers with no effort at all and screams it's head off all the way to redline. The 1000 has a lot more power, and is a little slower in the steering, otherwise it is great also. The only problems I found with the 600 was that I was cramped a little with my foot slipping off the pegs every now and then, putting me off .

Kawasaki: I have been lucky to have both Danny Hawker and Darryn Webster owning each of the bikes I have been looking at. Danny's ZX10 is an animal to ride, but in a fun kind of way. I loved the look of the 10 when it first came out but do not like the look of the current model. There is heaps of power on tap though is not smooth at all! Brakes are not bad but not fantastic either. Danny has spent a lot of time on setting his up and it shows. I was concerned about the amount of money needed to get the thing handling right if I bought one. Darryn's ZX636 is a fun bike to ride, after he got the suspension sorted. It is now a Supersport weapon. At a track day at Broadford a few months ago I got the chance to ride both bikes back to back. With member Marty Thompson on my ass pushing me, I was three seconds a lap quicker. Can you guess which bike?

Yamaha: The new R6 is a sweet looking sports bike and member Eric Makin has one. At a day up Reefton he kindly gave me a ride. There is more than enough power. It handles very nicely and stops on a dime. The only issue I had was the seating position and the amount of moving around the bike to get comfortable.

Suzuki:  The GSXR 600 K6 This bike is all new: engine, frame and of course, the looks. I have had lots of fun over the years with the GSXRs. I have owned two `98 models, an 04 K4 and now the K6. Each one has been a massive improvement over the previous. The new bike has a slipper clutch and adjustable footpegs which is a real bonus. It looks pretty good too.

With new models around the corner for both the Kwaka and Honda I decided to give them a miss due to purchase price and resale value down the track. It was now getting hard to decide which of the 1000 or the 600 to buy.

On a weekend up to Bright with Ian Payne he offered me a ride on the Blade over the Tawonga Gap. The bike was great to ride and I had fun on it. People may say that the Honda is the least powerful engine on the market but for the real world it is damn fast. After handing his bike back to him I had just made up my mind to stick with a 600. The 1000s are fun to ride, no doubt about it, and the horsepower is very addictive, but for me, I find them a little boring. Those who know me, know I enjoy working the bike up and down the gear box, high corner speed and, of course, the thrill of the chase. When I rode Ian's bike I found I was braking more and finding it very hard to hang on while getting on the gas. You need a clear head at all times!

Bron was very happy with the news as she was not keen on the idea of a 1000 and with the new Suzuki having a lower seat height, all systems were go for the new bike in the garage.

Mick Hone was the dealer of choice as he had leftover K6s in stock. $13,500 on road for a K6 or $14,250 for the new K7. There is no difference at all between the 6 or 7 other than a two month build date gap and one new colour. A $750 dollar saving covers a service and suspension tune.  K6 for me.

I picked up the bike on a Wednesday and took it out for its first ride with the boys on Saturday up in the hills with Darryn Webster, Paul Southwell and Dave Moore.

First impression is that the bike is very different to the old one. I took the revs up to 8500 after a couple of hundred kilometres. 480 kms for the day.

Sunday’s ride to Eildon should finish the rest of the running in I thought, but got a call from work informing me of a sick person so I called it quits after Marysville. I got home with just over 700 kays on the clock. Steve, my mechanic, still carried out it's first service. Everything fine.

The bike now has a 1000 kays on it and I will start giving it heaps. 16,000rpm redline here we come! By the time you read this, the bike will have been to Kroozetune to get the suspension serviced.  Dave does all my bikes and I will let you know what improvements he makes. By the time the Xmas Camp comes, sticky tires will be put on and then watch out boys up Mt Hotham!

There is a trend in the Touring Club of riders having above 900cc as their preferred choice. It is a shame there are not more 600's out there. Next time you’re on a ride with yours truly, ask me for a spin. You never know, you might get a surprise how good they are.

Dave Ward