In my opinion...the GSX600R is a piece of ****. I've ridden quite a few and love how they ride. But as far as quality...they suck. They are cheaply put together. Every person I know that has had an 06/07 GSX-R for at least 6 months has had something break on them. The 08's are slightly better...but not much.

 

hm... interesting. i definitely wasnt considering getting one, i was just wanting to ride his so i could see what other bikes were like. i guess ill find out soon.

 

The GSXR's are definitely nice and nimble, but I just can't stand riding them... especially the newer ones. I've owned 3 2005's, a 2001, a 2000, and a '98. Both the '98 and the '00 were the fastest, but they just seem to get more and more anemic as the years go by. The '05's were the worst by a long shot... no power until the thing is screaming, YUCK!

 

Meet them in the middle! 06-07 gsxr 750 got a TON of acclaim when it debuted. Radial mounts, slipper clutch 125 hp or something. It sounds like an amazing machine. Thats the bike I'm saving up for

 

i agree ... the 600's you have to keep rev'd to the moon. the liters have a boat load of power but may be too much for some people. the 750 is imo the perfect bike.

tim

 

i agree as well, i think a 750 would be better. i would still rather have a 1k though. overall, i would take an RC8 over anything. i know if said it before, but i cant say it enough.

 

My riding buddy has a an 06 gsxr750. He loves it, but I don't know why. He's had several problems with it. He bought it brand new and the first day he had it home it was leaking oil. Dealer said it was an assembly issue from the factory and fixed it under warranty. It's been in the shop at least 3 times for the FI light. Now it won't run any time the revs drop to idle.

It's now out of warranty and he can't afford to fix it, so it just sits in his garage. In fact, it's been sitting all summer. What a waste.

 

I've got this V-twin addiction thing going. I wouldn't even consider and I-4 anytime soon. The power is just right there at the twist of the wrist whatever gear you're in. Jump on one of them 4's and see how much "work" it is to make it go fast. Seems like all you do is shift. For instance, in top gear you open it up to pass cagers (@ about 60mph). To get the 4 in the power band, how many gears do you have to down-shift? 3-4?
The RC8 is nice! But I couldn't stand to be any more leaned over than my Heli-equipped SuperHawk!

 

Modern I-4 liter bikes offer not too much less torque than the hawk's twin and over 50% more HP. You may have to drop 2 gears to get in their power band but even when you're significantly bellow it you're still making more power than a twin of the same displacement (ie the hawk)

 

I own an '06 750, and love it. Awesome bike, period. I've had zero issues. It's also very comfortable for a sport bike- narrow, short reach to the bars, low seat height, with adjustable pegs. Pretty damn good suspension and brakes out of the box. Very few idiosyncrasies, and nothing that can't be resolved through the aftermarket. I love my Superhawk as well, but for different reasons, and you can't really compare the two- apples and oranges.

 

its definitely interesting to see the different opinions about I-4's. i guess it just depends on who you are and what you like. i absolutely love my hawks v-twin qualities, but ive always wanted to ride an I-4 just to see the difference. ill definitely post about how i like it... or how i dont like it.

 

I am also super curious about how a fast I4 feels. The only I4 I have ridden is my dads FJR1300 and it was cool, but I didn't ride it hard. I really would like to check out a gxr10 or r1 just to see whats up with this "crazy power" they have up top.

 

as far as I-4's go, i would love to test out a zx-10 myself. 103 mph in first gear from what i hear. i dont know how true that is, but thats pretty ******* crazy.

 

I've been 97 mph on my buddy's '08 GSX1000R and still had about 2k more RPMs left before redline. Way too damn fast for the street.

 

I rode a friends CBR954 this summer and yes, the thing absolutely screams. It's nimble as he!! feeling like a 600 between the knees. Definitely wouldn't have one as an only bike though. Will you be able to wring it's neck or do you have to stay conservative?

 

Well... um yes and no... Yes, you get several I4 literbikes at +50% (or more)... but No, they don't make more power than the hawk when below thier powerband... Most definetly not... I have compared to a buddy's K7 GSX-R after he made similar claims... We compared on a dyno and made a specific run "out of powerband"... It did however make about the same power as the hawk, not like I though, significantly less...

So they do make about the same power in some cases, that's true... And in most cases it's enough to drop down one gear to outpower the hawk (slowly...) but drop them in their powerband and they blow the hawk out of the water... No questions asked... The straightline speed of the GSX-R is nothing short of savage...

Also on thing you should note, you as coming from an I4, are probably slightly out of the hawks powerband in some situations, the same as I would be on a I4 before I got used to it... I'm not ragging on you or trying to inflame the debate... But since neither one of us is Hayden, Rossi or Stoner, we need a bit of time to adjust between bikes... The hawk has a significantly wider powerband than an I4, but it still has a powerpeak, and if you know how to ride it and can consistantly keep it close to peak around a track it will be very fast...

So for what the hawk is, it's stupid fast... The GSX-R is impossible to use to any measure of it's potential on the street... And on said track my 11y old sporttouring machine is continuing to embarass brand spanking new RR machines... And the reason pure and simple is useable power, as I'm very far from a GP rider... I'm at best a mediocre amateur...

I recently got my hands on the new 'busa as a loaner over the day as the shop swapped my tires, I guess they have faith in me as I was apparently one of very few they where brave enough to lend it too... And that machine was fast... Waaaay beyond what I had any intention of using... But what amased me the most is that the darned thing had grunt down low too!!!

It would power out of a bend in the wrong gear, the bike telling me "oh, ok then" but it did it on pure grunt... then drop it one gear and it would come alive and be quite fun... drop it two and it decided that warp speed wasn't enough and skipped straight to time travel... The word fast doesn't really cover what that bike could achive...

 

http://www.deeknow.com/dyno/index.ph...action=Dyno+It
Motorbike Dyno Charts

http://www.deeknow.com/dyno/index.ph...action=Dyno+It
Motorbike Dyno Charts

http://www.deeknow.com/dyno/index.ph...action=Dyno+It
Motorbike Dyno Charts


Scroll down to see dyno comparos

http://www.deeknow.com/dyno/index.ph...action=Dyno+It
Motorbike Dyno Charts

 

At 7000rpm the R1 sucks. We win, end of story. Will not consider any further discussion.

 

I always find these discusions funny, "is this or that faster?" kinda stuff. Is the hawk fast? Yes, is it the fastest, or does it compete with the fastest bikes? No not really, but most average riders can really only handle at max on the street about 100 hp so should you be worried the hawk won't keep up, no, and why spend the time worrying, go and practice that is the way to be faster than your friends, that and racing stickers help your bike be faster to!

 

Actually, modern I-4 literbikes make quite a few more lbs./ft. of torque than the SuperHawk. For example, the 2008 CBR1000RR makes anwhere from 76 to 79 lbs./ft. torque depending on the dyno, which is 7 to 10 more than the Hawk. They make it at a higher rpm, but they do make more.

 

Which kinda proves my point... The more powerful bikes are about the same as the hawk on the lower end of the rpm chart... Then once they hit peak power they take of for the stars... And by then we have hit the cieling on our bikes...

Now keep in mind that the dyno charts here are of the optimum... ie for a "of powerband" comparation the hawk would probably win over anything but the GSX-R that is damned powerful all through the range

 

Yeah, and the CBR is positively anemic compared to the GSX-R...

 

This comparasion should however be more interesting as it's of the GSX-R 600...

http://www.deeknow.com/dyno/index.ph...action=Dyno+It

It makes about the same power, but you need to wring it a tad more to get it...

The 750 has a bit more meat to it...

http://www.deeknow.com/dyno/index.ph...action=Dyno+It

 

No, the '08 CBR makes more torque than the GSXR. It makes less horsepower, but more torque according to a couple of tests I saw. But you're right, these bikes will smoke a SuperHawk from just about any rpm.

 

first off, any bike is gonna be good!

these are the gixxers i've had:
97 750
98 750
00 750
01 1000
05 1000

every one of those gixxers will outrun and outperform my vtr. in fact i would say that there isn't even one performance category where the vtr can come close. someone said the gixxer's are savagely fast, that is a good word to use.

but, savage isn't always the best. sometimes you can enjoy a ride more with a forgiving bike. giving your throuttle ALL your attention isn't the thing to do.

another thing that vtr's got all over the i4s is sound. there is nothing like the sound of an uncorked v twin. i still love that sound. character. it says "I'M A MOTORCYCLE!!!"

comfort. vtr is again ahead in this dept. the 05 1k's seat is like sitting on the narrow edge of a 2x4, not comfy.

different folks,
different strokes.
back to where i started, all bikes are good!

 

Oh ok... I may have gotten that backwards then... I was actually thinking more of the '07... I'm more familiar with that... But yeah... with any of those it's not even a competition... one straight and they are gone...

Although it still annoys them to no end to have an old hawk up their tailpipes in the corners...

 

Yeah, there is... going moderatly fast to fast on a curvy road and it's fairly close, no body is really able to pull away... and a less experienced rider on the VTR can keep up... For the I4 rider to drop the VTR he has to be rather good...

And again... in chorus:

All bikes are good!

 

I love it! $1100 bike smokin brand new Duc's and Gixxer whatevers on the track. That is FUN! Then those f'ers get you back in the straight and you have to pass them again in the turns. And I know they can here that twin trying to gobble them up too.

The one thing I envy about GSXR's is how they always seem to outbrake me at the track, slipping into the first turn like a hot knife through butter, while I'm about to drag my feet to slow the beast down and get it banked in. Power wise, I would rather ride my lawnmower than a 600 on the street. Absolutely no usable power unless you're speeding. Now an SV650 is a different story.

BWAAAHHHH!!!