2001 Suzuki GSXR600

After moving to England from Australia all I wanted was a Suzuki GSXR600 to replace the one I had left behind. As a kid, all I would do is read all the English bike magazines and dream of riding around England and Europe visiting and watching the superbikes and GPs.

I know some people might think I was stupid to leave my bike and sunny old Australia (Perth), but Perth is very small and after living there for 20 years you feel that you have out grown your stay. You wouldn’t believe it but Perth has two (2) freeway (motorways) with a total length of 100km (about 60miles) and four (4) train lines, so after a while you run out of places to go. One other thing is Western Australia has one (1) race track and it’s about 2km (about 1.2miles) long. After saying all that it is a great place to live or visit. Plus you get about 300 day of fine weather.

After a couple of years working and saving I finally brought a 2001 Suzuki GSXR 600 at the being of the year and I LOVE IT. The bike is great from its looks to its performance.

The first thing you notice when you sit on the GSXR is how comfortable the seat and the riding position are. For a race bike with light and mirrors.

With the new fuel injection on the 600 the power deliver is much smoother and the low down power has improved over the old one. With the reduction in weight it makes the bike much easier to ride faster and harder, especially through the twisty stuff. This is also helped along with the superb suspension. On standard setting the bike feel rock steady over any surface.

Once you’ve ridden the GSXR or heard a current GSXR the sound of the howl that it make is would make you want to buy one, it is unbelievable, it sounds mint.

All these things build confidence in yourself and the bike making it easier to ride, which leads you to ride to the extreme, but within your limits. I now arrive at work wet, cold and happy that I didn’t have to sit in the traffic on the M40 with a HUGE smile on my face and THAT’S WHAT ITS ALL ABOUT, enjoying motorcycles.

Unfortunately there are some minor problems with the bike, like everything it can’t all be perfect. The biggest problems are the brakes, they work well for everyday use but once you start to ride hard or the occasional track day they don’t quite live up to what they should. Nothing a pair of braided line wouldn’t fix. (Next on my list of things to buy)

The only other problem is the gearbox, which is a little annoying as Suzuki GSXR are know to have the smoothest and nicest gearboxes around. The gearbox felt as if it had been used to build sandcastle. However this problem only lasted for the first couple of thousand miles. Then the gearbox return to the traditional Suzuki GSXR gearbox, THE BEST.

With the little problem aside the Suzuki GSXR 600 is an excellent bike and I wouldn’t swap it for the world. Well that would be lie I wouldn’t mind a Honda RCV211.