GSX-S 750

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

Your not helping

[Dodgy69]

I can't see the first ride highlights review.

[Yorick]

I can't see the first ride highlights review.

Binned it

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

I'm pleased I didn't test ride it as I don't think I'd have bought it if I had, first thoughts were it's not fantastically better than my 30 year old 63000 mile FZ750, but I'm really happy that I've bought it because it is very good.

The engine is superb, it pulls from tick over through to where ever I revved it to (about 11000) smoothly, there are no steps in the power, just smooth and very linear. The engine internals are very light, it revs faster than my FZR400 did, and when you close the throttle the revs drop like a two stroke. I'm pleased with the amount of power, but it's not pull your arms out fast like my 98 R1 was, and you can feel it's not got the top end power of the 2002 GSXR750 I had, it feels like a GSXR750 without the top end rush of power. I'm really pleased I didn't buy one of the 650/700 twins as the 30 - 40 bhp less would have been disappointing. Which brings the question, would I have been happier with a 1000, the answer is maybe.

I tried traction control modes 1 and 2, 0 is off, 3 is max, 2 was good but the bike didn't feel particularly lively on 2, switched to 1 and this was lots more fun, the engine revved quicker and there was more power all the way through the rev range, I'll be trying it with 0 when I've got a bit more used to it.

Riding position, it has a high seat, I've got 30" inside leg and my foot wasn't flat on the floor, I wouldn't want the seat any higher, foot pegs are a nice distance from the seat, and my legs weren't at all cramped and my knees didn't feel bent too tight. Handlebars were in a slightly odd position when I got it, so I've tilted them back to where they should be, there a little high for me, and I wouldn't mind trying some straights on it, but it has 28mm clamps so this may not be straight forward. The seat was fine for as long as I was on it.

Handling - first off I'm not massively keen on how the tyres feel, Pirelli Angels, the Metzeler Roadtecs on my FZ warm up quicker and feel grippier, but I had no slides, so there's nothing wrong with them, the rear shock is okay, not brilliant, just okay, the spring is a little firm for my weight, it's probably specced around carrying a pillion, and the damping does it's job, it doesn't feel quite as nice as the £300 YSS shock on the FZ, the forks are good, well damped and nicely sprung for road riding. The GSX definitely corners quicker than my FZ, straight away I'm going round corners quicker on it than the FZ I've had for 3 years, and I'm nowhere near the edge of what it can do, I've got 15mm chicken strips down both sides of the tyres on the GSX. It does react to poor road surfaces, but nothing major,and it's definitely better than the FZ.

Brakes, radial mounted 4 pots on the front, twin pot on the rear, they feel good, but not fantastically better than the 4 pot / 2 pot set up on the FZ, I think the ABS makes them feel a little odd compared with non ABS brakes, but it certainly stops well if you need it to.

Riding - not as much wind as I expected but 100mph is uncomfortable, a screen may make this better, I need to do some experimentation before buying something, expect future updates on home made abortions made from ice cream tubs and duct tape.
I don't like the Speedo / Rev counter / too much information display, the rev counter is hard to read and it's just too busy with information, do you really need to know mpg (50.2) as you're riding along, or have the option of an odometer and two trips, but estimated range left in the tank and a clock are useful, I think I will probably get used to the display.

Noise - it's pretty loud with the baffles in, certainly fruity.

The big question - am I pleased I bought, oh yes, it's staying for the foreseeable future, the only thing I'd consider changing it for us the 1000 version or the new Katana. Out of what modern bikes are available it's the right one for me, a namby pamby MT-07 would have been a disappointment.

[Yorick]

[weeksy]

Lol that's honestly not sounding like a love affair.

It sounds more like a drunken one night leg over in the alley by the kebab shop.

Shit, I was way more glowing about the 690 from the swamp than this!

[KungFooBob]

Someone ring Padgett's and see if they've got a still crated FZ at the back of the warehouse.

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

Lol that's honestly not sounding like a love affair.

It sounds more like a drunken one night leg over in the alley by the kebab shop.

Shit, I was way more glowing about the 690 from the swamp than this!

For me that's high praise, I tried to keep it realistic and informative, it's a superb motorcycle, the roads were busy and I couldn't ride it hard, but it's limits are so far beyond the 30 year old crap I'm used to I need to recalibrate my brain to ride that fast.

[Yorick]

Get it on track.

[Dodgy69]

2nd ride is always better. Interesting review.

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

Someone ring Padgett's and see if they've got a still crated FZ at the back of the warehouse.

No, for about £3K you could make an FZ handle as well as the GSX, but you could never make the FZs engine as good as the GSXs.

I think I'd be more excited if it was a GSXR750, but my body would be all aches and pains from the riding position after 20 minutes, and my license would be gone in about the same amount of time.

The GSX feels like what it is, a GSXR engine in a everyday bike chassis, in other words a modern Bandit.

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

Get it on track.

Is a good idea, I need the space to ride it properly

[Count Steer]

It's like a bike review by Eeyore.

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

Something I forgot to mention, if you accelerate hard over white lines it shakes it's head a tiny amount, nothing to scare you, just enough to let you know the front end is going a bit light.

Anyway I'm now going out to the garage to look at it for a bit.

[Yorick]

Something I forgot to mention, if you accelerate hard over white lines it shakes it's head a tiny amount, nothing to scare you, just enough to let you know the front end is going a bit light.

Anyway I'm now going out to the garage to look at it for a bit.

Mine used to shake its head exiting Chapel Curve, flat in 3rd

[KungFooBob]

Anyway I'm now going out to the garage to look at it for a bit.

Let it cool down a bit or you'll burn your cock.

[Skub]

There is something a little 'off' about the tyres fitted to some new bikes,the Dunlops on my Z were not great.

Proper tyres you know and like will give you a different picture.

It'll do ya until Suzuki bring out the thou in Wes Cooley colours.

Health to wear.

[Skub]

BTW,there's a shameful dearth of pics on this thread.

[KungFooBob]

I've never bought a 2nd hand bike that didn't feel 100% better after fitting new tyres of my own choosing.

Even if the shop fitted new ones to sell it, they always fit the cheapest they can get, rather than what an informed punter would select.

[Supermofo]

That's a review!

He likes it, oh he doesn't like it, I think he likes it, does he like it? Yes he likes it.. I think!