What 'upgrade bike' to get (in addition to the VFR)

[banoffee]

http://suzukicycles.org/All-Suzuki/all_ ... odels.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; is worth a look if you are thinking of the different GSXRs over the years but not sure of all the models.

Also, for older ones, checkout http://oldskoolsuzuki.info" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[badbannedbiker]

Hey fellow old skooler. I post under stuntmonkee in oilcooled

[banoffee]

hello

[Ma77]

"peg scraping is not for the road" I dont understand that.. using even half the power of a 1L bike isnt for the road thats for a track, however "peg scraping" ... dont need to be speeding so perfect for the road.

sorry just can't see your logic there but keep the vfr what ever

[Neosophist]

Ah!



Problem solved

[Lope]

Ma77: well if you're peg scraping on the road, you're pushing it kind of far, and most parts of the road if you come off there isn't a whole lot of friendly sliding space if you come off like at the track.
And you need to know the road surface really well. You might come around a corner one day and theres some oil, sand or grass on it. I've heard of many guys falling on their regular route because something expected was on the road surface.
So either you need a really good view of the corner from a decent distance, or you need to do a warmup lap wherever you're riding... either way it doesn't seem practical to me to push corner speeds on the road.

I've never ridden a litre bike, but on the 900 blade I used full throttle breifly a few times on the road. It was bloody marvellous :)
One time I was at highish speeds then went full throttle for about 3 seconds haha, I got tunnel vision, everything around got blurry for a moment or two. It was awesome.
Another time I did a power wheelie in 2nd gear without even expecting it.
And semi/full throttle a couple of times to overtake.
Its amazing how quickly you finish overtaking on a bike bike. It seems that by the time you decide to over take, its already done.
The GSXR1000 is probably a lot quicker than a 900 blade, but I'm sure the power is usable for a moment or two occasionally.

Ofcourse its not usable in terms of 'using the power for a significant fraction of time riding' then you'd have to be on a smaller bike or on the track. So I agree with you Ma77, the litre is not 'usable' on the road. If the litre bike at full power is salt you'd sprinkle a bit of it on your food :)

Its a very different feeling yeah, riding a bike to its maximum potential gives an extreme kind of feeling at saner speeds. Whereas on a litre bike, the bike is almost always more extreme than you, and you have to exercise discipline most of the time.
Thats why I'd always keep a small bike. No question about it.

VFR is still a mean beast at times.
The temptation to get a big bike is to do a couple of wheelies, and have that raw power available more of the time.
At times on the VFR you go full throttle and you just kind of wait. Its probably a very good thing, because it makes me improve my gear selection (and changing skills) so I'm in the power band more often, and getting more experience gradually. (It takes about 3x longer to do something stupid on a small bike.)


banoffee: I must say the old gixxers don't attract me at all. In fact most old bikes don't. I'd be reluctant to go for a 90's bike. I'm most keen on 2001 upwards.

My experience with my VFR taught me that when you buy an old bike, don't be surprised if everything is f*kd. You have to give it so much TLC to get it in top shape again that unless u have a decent garage, tools, time and skills its not worth it.
I suppose the more skills and experience you get the better you get at checking out a potential bike... and you might get lucky and buy a bike that has been well looked after.
I'd still prefer 2001 upwards.

[Lope]

This might be fun, selling for R29k here. about 2000 quid.