We’ve had this bike on test for the best part of three weeks now, and it’s opened my eyes to the reality of litre bike ownership. I’m going to do something a little different here. I’m going to lead with the conclusions of the test and then justify them. Why? Because it feels the right thing to do. And because that’s the over-riding impression that remains after an enthusiastic ride on a GSX-R1000. The sensation of arriving at the end of your journey just a little before you actually left.
The GSX-R 1000 is an incredibly capable road bike. It is comfortable and usable with decent mirrors, excellent lights and plenty of points to strap your luggage on. It handles wonderfully, managing to be stable while not being too much hard work to get turning. And it goes quite well too. Acceleration is positively brutal. Overtakes take no more than a brief thought and a slight twist and they are clear and done. When we had the chance to test top speed it turned out to be simply ridiculous. And yet the whole thing is as happy bimbling along at the national speed limit as it is at warp factor 21. In a nutshell, I really liked this bike and didn’t want to give it back.
Of course, every silver lining has a cloud. And though it is difficult to find any real criticism to level at the GSX-R 1000, the test period wasn’t entirely without trauma. First of all, there’s something about having a bike that is king of the production racing scene that will be familiar to anyone who ever owned a Yamaha LC. Racers are, on the whole, pretty decent people. But some of the folk around racing aren’t. If you have a GSX-R 1000 then get a 
decent alarm, a decent lock and a decent garage to keep it in. Because even parking ours in front of a CCTV camera and illuminated by spotlights didn’t stop it from going walkies. We only got it back because the opportunist toe-rags who nicked it didn’t have the brains to figure out how to get it rolling and didn’t have a van with them to take it away. They left it hidden in some bushes a few hundred yards from the hotel. I found it, took it back in and left it in the corridor outside my room for the rest of the night. But you might not be so lucky, so take lots of precautions.
The other thing you will need to be careful of is yourself. This bike is very fast. I think I may have mentioned that before. And overtakes are very easy. I probably mentioned that as well. Add the two together and you soon find yourself doing devastatingly effective overtakes on cars that are already exceeding the national speed limit by some way. And that makes you very vulnerable when it comes to losing your licence and, possibly, your liberty as well.
But enough waffle. During the time we had this bike it was used in town, in the countryside and on motorways, A roads and back roads. It was used in the rain, in the dry, at night and… well, you get the picture I’m sure. We did everything with this bike that we possibly could. And what did we find? We found that it was far better than we are at everything we asked it to do, of course.
Let’s start with practicality. Not normally the strong suit of a supersports 1000, and perhaps a pointer that the GSX-R has gone a bit soft. Except, of course, that it was always practical. Luggage hooks on the rear pegs and moulded in either side of the number plate mean that you can actually strap a bag on the back and be reasonably sure that it will stay put. Especially if you use the pillion seat instead of the cover – not an option we had but it would have made a good thing even better. Add to that a seat that actually offers some real comfort, a screen and fairing that are reasonably protective and an engine that finds sensible cruising speeds so easy that fuel consumption becomes laughable and suddenly you consider going a whole lot further that you normally would on a sports bike and wondering why the hell anyone would buy one of the lardy sports tourers when this does such a good job.
Then you need to do a decisive overtake. Maybe you need to get past before some white lines or a bend, maybe you’ve misjudged the closing speed of that truck coming the other way or maybe the subject of your overtake just needs to be shown what you and your bike can do. None of these are good reasons but they all happen. Or maybe you’re just being cautious and spending the least possible time on the wrong side of the road, officer. Either way, you close on your target and take a decent fistful of throttle. And Jeez – you know why people go for lardy tourers. If someone had been on the back the wheelie you just pulled would have been a little more exciting than you needed. And if you’d had luggage on elastics then it would be catching you up and smacking you in the back just about…now.
(related from www.motorbikestoday.com)
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