Gsxr1000 K6

[Numnut]

Having just joined, I felt it would be a good time to buy a new bike....

Currently have a 790 Duke, but with the warranty nearly run out, and KTM dropping the prices of new ones, I figured it was time to get rid. It's a fun bike, but all bikes are fun, so time to move on!

New to me this coming Saturday is a K6 GSXR1000 - always fancied one and managed to get a deal I'm happy with.

It's got 24k miles and some nice extras - Brembo MC, braided lines and stomp grips, with nearly new Angel GT 2 tyres. Heard good things about those, so keen to see what they're like. It's not immaculate, there's some paint peeling on the engine covers, but they'll be covered with R&G case protectors, and a few other marks around the place - it's 14 years old so I'm not too bothered.

Should be fun, roll on Saturday!

[weeksy]

That's a mighty fine big beast of a bike... gonna be mind blowing !

[KungFooBob]

I remember riding a K5 when they first came out (I believe the K6 is the same bike, different colour options).

It was one hell of a bike, proper game changer.

[Numnut]

Yeah, it's going to be fun!

It'll probably feel really big and heavy compared to the 790, but I think that'll wear off pretty quick. Changing from a 690 to an R1 wasn't difficult, so I doubt this will be.

I'm usually fussy about brakes and always fit braided lines and have brembo/sbs pads - so having the Brembo MC is going to be nice. It's one of those things I always want to put on bikes but could never justify the cost.

I've got plenty of gt85 and acf50, so might get going on that soon after I get it home, but in all likelihood, if the dealership have done a half decent job of valeting it, I'll just leave it as is until it goes away for winter!

[Numnut]

Picked up the bike on Saturday - that was one cold trip round the M25 to get it, but didn't get rained on so not too bad.

The engine case protectors hadn't been fitted as they hadn't arrived. Apparently, R&G are having to make some as they didn't have any stock for the K6. I guess that's not surprising, it's not a new bike. They'll be sent on when they arrive.

The bike looks a lot better in real life that in the pictures, which was a nice surprise. Fairings are pretty much unmarked, wheels look nice, no nasty rusty bits either.

It didn't get much of a valet before I picked it up, just the plastics - the brake calipers are nasty - lots of brake dust and crap to clean off the pistons. I've got some new SBS pads coming so they can have a clean once they arrive. Hopefully the pistons wont be rotten underneath all that crap. The shock and linkage is pretty nasty too. Mostly it's just chain lube and road dirt stuck all over it. It'll be a fairing off job to do it properly, but I've given it a quick wipe where I can reach and bits are cleaning up nicely.

The exhaust comes without baffles - it's not too bad, just a nice burble. The standard pipe on the 790 was louder, at a standstill at least.

It's lovely to ride, exactly what I wanted - it'll take me a while to get used to being folded up on a sportsbike again though! Not sure I'll miss the 790, I got a bit bored of inspecting it for leaks all the time!

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[Supermofo]

Nice bike Mr Looks like a bit of a weapon and nice to see people still flying the sportsbike flag.

Not sure I'll miss the 790, I got a bit bored of inspecting it for leaks all the time!

Hmmmm, this isn't making me feel like I should re-consider a 790. On paper they sound perfect to me but sounds like lots of niggles.

[weeksy]

Nice bike Mr Looks like a bit of a weapon and nice to see people still flying the sportsbike flag.

Not sure I'll miss the 790, I got a bit bored of inspecting it for leaks all the time!

Hmmmm, this isn't making me feel like I should re-consider a 790. On paper they sound perfect to me but sounds like lots of niggles.

I'd buy another

[Numnut]

Nice bike Mr Looks like a bit of a weapon and nice to see people still flying the sportsbike flag.

Cheers! At the moment, it's exactly what I want. If I can keep it over a year, it'll have done better than the 3 bikes I've had... I'd like it to stay!

I'll try and post pictures of before and after as I clean things up...

The 790s aren't that bad to be honest, well mine wasn't. I had a coolant hose replaced under warranty, and the valve cover leaked a tiny bit too, so that was fixed under warranty too. I had to tighten the drain bolt on the water pump as that was seeping a tiny bit, and the same from the generator cover - just a tiny weep. I only got rid now as the Gsxr came up at the right time, at the right price. As I had the 790 on finance, KTM dropping the price of new ones was wrecking the px price, so I probably wouldn't have had any equity in the bike at the end of the finance. It cost me over a grand less to get the Gsxr than it would to keep the 790 - if I want to go back to ktm (I'd get the 890 though), I could sell the gsxr and not be that far off the 2nd hand price of a 790.

[Skub]

Suzuki make great gixxer thous. I don't think there has been a bad one right from the start. I've owned a K3 which I loved and had a few runs on a K5/6. Stonking engines and grunt from anywhere on the tacho.

Your health to enjoy man.

[Bigyin]

The Angel GT2 are excellent tyres and spot on for the upcoming months as they grip well in wet and warm up quickly in low temps but bear in mind they are sports touring tyres and when it warms up a bit in a few months, depending on how you ride of course, you might want something more sports bike related

I love the Angel GT and GT2 and have been my preferred tyre for the past few years and about 55000 miles on the 2 Multistradas

[Numnut]

Cheers - in 100 or so motorway miles, and 30 miles I managed round north essex the tyres seem pretty good. I caught in some pretty heavy (bouncing off the road) rain, and felt absolutely fine.

I usually do fine with sports touring tyres, though I did find pilot power 2cts pretty good when it got cold and wet last year and I was commuting on an R1. I'll probably keep them on until they need changing - I won't be doing any riding they can't cope with!

[Numnut]

Still enjoying the bike, managing to get some miles in before it gets too filthy out.

I've cleaned the front calipers and stuck a set of SBS street excel in there. Those calipers were nasty, just loads of brake dust stuck everywhere. It's almost like it had been covered with varnish, it was so hard to get off. Did a fairly decent job, but they'll be off for another go over winter. Brakes feel much nicer now.

I thought the bike had a black chain, like previous Ktms I've owned. It doesn't. It has a silver chain... I managed to get this a bit nicer, but it's going to need a few more goes I reckon. It needed a good clean, there were a few stuck links.

I'm finding a lot of the grease/dirt etc is really baked on, normally wd40/gt85/brake cleaner just eats through it, but this stuff isn't moving. All the scum on the fairing just wont come off. Anyone got anything they can recommend to make it all shiny?

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[weeksy]

SDOC100, Citrus degreaser, or just GT-85 a bit more.

[Beancounter]

I'm finding a lot of the grease/dirt etc is really baked on, normally wd40/gt85/brake cleaner just eats through it, but this stuff isn't moving. All the scum on the fairing just wont come off. Anyone got anything they can recommend to make it all shiny?

grease-min.jpeg

Paraffin might help and is cheaper than WD40/GT85, though I'm not sure I'd be using it on fairings with decals.

[Numnut]

Cheers, I've got a little bit of sdoc - I was going to give that a go later. I reckon paraffin is a good shout for the chain and other metal bits though.

The fairings are all really nice, so nope, won't be putting any paraffin near them!

The bike is a bit confusing really - it's clearly been looked after, as the fairings are all good, there's no scratches on the tank etc, and most of the bolts are new or nearly new, and it's got a lithium battery etc. But the disks, calipers, chain etc look like they've never been cleaned at all!

You can't see in that photo just how scummy the shock actually is!

[Yorick]

If the chain has right spots then replace it. All the other links are on their way as well.

[Beancounter]

You can't see in that photo just how scummy the shock actually is!

It looks like over-zealous use of chain wax which has then been flung all over the bike and allowed to collect road shite and brake dust unchecked.

[Supermofo]

The bike is a bit confusing really - it's clearly been looked after, as the fairings are all good, there's no scratches on the tank etc, and most of the bolts are new or nearly new, and it's got a lithium battery etc. But the disks, calipers, chain etc look like they've never been cleaned at all!

I think some people clean the shiney bits and leave the rest.

[Mr. Dazzle]

My old company did a study once, they looked at identical aircraft parts fitted to commercial airliners and to military transports. The military stuff is stripped and cleaned on a regular basis, the airline stuff is left in situ untouched until it breaks or until they're legally obliged to service it.

Guess which had fewer failures?

[Numnut]

If the chain has right spots then replace it. All the other links are on their way as well.

Yeah, that did cross my mind. Optimistically, I'm going to try and get all the crap off and give it a check, if it's still sticking in places, it'll get a new one over winter. I haven't dared to look at the front sprocket yet...