What are sports bike like?

[DavidJames]

I know exactly how you are feeling. With my first bike being the GS I was also curious to know what other bikes felt like so decide to buy an old sportsbike. At the time I was doing lots of miles commuting on the GS and a second bike would help me keep the mileage down on the newer bike - well that is what I told my wife I ended up going for a tatty 1996 Fireblade. I have done quite a few miles on it and to be honest it is not that uncomfortable after you get used to it. The riding style is very different (obviuosly!!) and I find I am much faster and smoother on the GS than the Fireblade. I think that with time I would get more used to it and more confident, but it can feel quite intimidating. The steering is much more precise and you have to be very careful on your input as the slightest movement on the bars can mean a twitchy ride. You are naturally leaning forward on the bars, which is where the achey wrists come from, but you need to learn not to do this otherwise you will end up making unwanted movements to the steering when you hit a bump mid corner - this leads to the achey back
2 very different, and both very rewarding rides - I would definitly recommend giving it a go, but make sure you get a decent amount of time on the bike. If you go out for just an hour you will not get used to it and end up with the wrong impression.

What I love about having 2 bikes is getting back on one after being on the other - it reminds you why you love each of them for different reasons


The Fireblade is also going into surgery soon to make it look decent again, I have been collecting bits to make a complete set of bodywork off of Ebay along with new brake lines etc to bring it back to its original colour scheme.

 

[Phil Clarke]

Problem with sports bikes is that its all or nothing. you can't get up one morning and think "today I will bimble and check out the scenery" you've got to ride it flat out (or die in the attempt). On a GS - the choice is yours. The 600's are gutless - you need to rev the nuts of them to get them to go, at which point they take you past twice the speed limit and you'll either be banned or you'll bin it (eventually) the bigger ones have the guts but you'll end up going even faster. They are also uncomforable. People do tour on them but its not a huge amount of fun if you have to stick even approximately to speed limits. And if it falls over you can end up facing a big bill for plastics.

Worth it as a second bike for hooning (if you want to risk life and license) but if its your only bike you'll end up only riding on sunny days and on fast, smooth A roads (along with all the other power rangers). However consider either a 400 (ie zxr 400 etc.) they are even more gutless than 600's at lower revs but the handling is incredible and there is less chance of getting an instant ban. If you are really keen try for a KR1s RGV250 or prilla 250 stinkwheel - huge fun at reasonableish speeds. Even the hot 125s are fun - they are slow but you can redline them in every gear without going backwards in time.

Alternatively if you want to try a real sports bike which won't risk an imediate ban try a supermoto (single) - sub ton speeds, you can throw them down the road with out trashing them and they excell on narrow bumpy B and C roads (where there aren't any traffic cops). However they are still uncomfortable, will blow up if you thrash them on a motorway or trunk road and you need a fuel stop every 75 miles.

 

[Summer]

600's gutless well mine certainly wasnt, mind you it was brand new to me and had never been thrashed or abused, just one kind careful lady owner and once it was run it it ran like a dream, never struggled, would just go and go
Good luck Novice in what ever you decide on and just promise me if you bring it over can I have a go

 

[Gipsy]

Problem with sports bikes is that its all or nothing. you can't get up one morning and think "today I will bimble and check out the scenery" you've got to ride it flat out (or die in the attempt). On a GS - the choice is yours. The 600's are gutless - you need to rev the nuts of them to get them to go, at which point they take you past twice the speed limit and you'll either be banned or you'll bin it (eventually) the bigger ones have the guts but you'll end up going even faster. They are also uncomforable. People do tour on them but its not a huge amount of fun if you have to stick even approximately to speed limits. And if it falls over you can end up facing a big bill for plastics.

Worth it as a second bike for hooning (if you want to risk life and license) but if its your only bike you'll end up only riding on sunny days and on fast, smooth A roads (along with all the other power rangers). However consider either a 400 (ie zxr 400 etc.) they are even more gutless than 600's at lower revs but the handling is incredible and there is less chance of getting an instant ban. If you are really keen try for a KR1s RGV250 or prilla 250 stinkwheel - huge fun at reasonableish speeds. Even the hot 125s are fun - they are slow but you can redline them in every gear without going backwards in time.

Alternatively if you want to try a real sports bike which won't risk an imediate ban try a supermoto (single) - sub ton speeds, you can throw them down the road with out trashing them and they excell on narrow bumpy B and C roads (where there aren't any traffic cops). However they are still uncomfortable, will blow up if you thrash them on a motorway or trunk road and you need a fuel stop every 75 miles.

My 600 isn't gutless. Low down torque not up to much, but keep it in the right gear and she flies. Perhaps I don't get out of 2nd or 3rd as often as on the gs but what the hell.

 

[Phil Clarke]

gutless as in compared to a GS

Its all reletive I suppose, when I first had my suzuki X7 it felt pretty torquey at low revs compared to my cb100 honda but after couple of months of ownership it felt gutless unless you were in the power band.

The CBR I rode (abt 99) needed 2 down changes to get it to go - thats gutless in my book...

 

[AlanAce1967]

I had a Thunderace YZF 1000R for 3 years, absolutely loved it, 0-60 about 3 secs, 0-100 in about 5 secs !!! They are not as uncomfortable as some people make out, you can bimble if you wish, but you will get sore wrists, but open it up and you wont care cos you will have a grin so big !!!!!

Horses for courses, GS is great and i wouldnt swap it but if i could have 2 bikes i would have a R1 too.

 

[Flipfly]

Useless off road unless you fit knobblies

 

[mike wright]

Ok its not the latest bike but it had a full high level twin race pipes, dynojetted and just about everything else that could be done to the engine.... Result: One very fast ZXR750L3.

Pros: Very Very fast off the mark, Sounded awesome, frightening power all the way to silly speeds way into the redline.

Cons; Drank petrol, very uncomfortable after a few miles riding, shredded tyres, wrist - back and leg ache. easily loose the license in seconds.Its only a matter of time before the inevitable happens I think.

Moved off this to a GS which I never regret!.....

 

[ianboydsnr]

I had a Thunderace YZF 1000R for 3 years, absolutely loved it, 0-60 about 3 secs, 0-100 in about 5 secs !!! They are not as uncomfortable as some people make out, you can bimble if you wish, but you will get sore wrists, but open it up and you wont care cos you will have a grin so big !!!!!

Horses for courses, GS is great and i wouldnt swap it but if i could have 2 bikes i would have a R1 too.

I had one of those, the problem was, that you did everywhere at 125mph, was'nt comfortable though, gets your knees, and for me, that was bad, would'nt really work below 80mph, to hard on the wrists, but they are so easy to throw into bends, newer bikes are even better, and yes a 600 lacks torque, it will catch you out, when you want to overtake, it does on my Fazer 600 and thats not as highly strung as the sports models

 

[Blackal]

600's gutless well mine certainly wasnt, mind you it was brand new to me and had never been thrashed or abused, just one kind careful lady owner and once it was run it it ran like a dream, never struggled, would just go and go
Good luck Novice in what ever you decide on and just promise me if you bring it over can I have a go

Same with my Daytona 650. Seemed to have plenty of torque, and was turbine smooth compared to the relatively agricultural boxer/gearbox.

Also - it has the advantage of being about 50Kg lighter.............. (around 4 cases of beer's worth........... )

love the sports bikes as much as the trailies................

Al

 

[Gipsy]

gutless as in compared to a GS

Its all reletive I suppose, when I first had my suzuki X7 it felt pretty torquey at low revs compared to my cb100 honda but after couple of months of ownership it felt gutless unless you were in the power band.

The CBR I rode (abt 99) needed 2 down changes to get it to go - thats gutless in my book...

Remember roadcraft IPSGA. Information, position, speed, gear, acceleration.
Always be in a responsive gear! If you needed 2 downchanges to get going, you were in the wrong gear to start with! The fact that on the Gs you can accelerate in almost any gear just by opening the throttle doesn't make a 600 sports bike gutless, merely different.
On a 600 you can get caught out trying to accelerate quickly in the the wrong gear, but if you do it is a rider error, not a fault of the bike.

 

[Gipsy]

I had one of those, the problem was, that you did everywhere at 125mph, was'nt comfortable though, gets your knees, and for me, that was bad, would'nt really work below 80mph, to hard on the wrists, but they are so easy to throw into bends, newer bikes are even better, and yes a 600 lacks torque, it will catch you out, when you want to overtake, it does on my Fazer 600 and thats not as highly strung as the sports models

Not a politician, but I would refer the honourable gentleman to the answer I have just given above.

 

[ahutcheon]

What do you want, what do you need?

I want that mind-bending acceleration, light weight, precision turn-in on smooth corners, "fingertips on the tarmac" feel when braking and turning.

I need to be able to get where I'm going without panicing over finding petrol stations, to carry more than a credit card when touring, to travel within the speed limit without crippling discomfort.

On a GS I also get to still enjoy riding when it starts to rain after 12 hours on the road, and to get a buzz out of the way it corners and just the way it goes. And to head onto gravel roads and rougher with a smile on my face.

Get a sports bike as a toy. Get a Transalp as a practical form of transport. Get a GS as (nearly) both.

 

[r12gsman]

one sports bike one corner a dangerous combinition

Mmnnn I will remember this comment in about 4 months when the greatest road races start again (North West 200 and the mighty TT) when the likes of John Mc Guinness attempts to aim his Blade around hundreds of corners at warp factor 10

If I get a chance to have a word with him in the pits I'll offer him a ride on my GS, he's bound to be able to get round the corners better.

I am lucky enough to own a so called rice rocket as well and it will beat the pants off my GS around the 47.75 mile bumpy twisty TT course with time to stop for a coffee heh heh.

It really makes me smile when I read sport bike bashing threads. All bikes are good imho even Harleys well almost

 

[r12gsman]

I was thinking Califonia Superbike school .. now just need to save the pennies

Probably the best you can get

 

[r12gsman]

Problem with sports bikes is that its all or nothing. you can't get up one morning and think "today I will bimble and check out the scenery" you've got to ride it flat out (or die in the attempt). On a GS - the choice is yours.

I;m sorry mate but you are so wide of the mark. A real generalisation.

Just to give you an idea of what I'm talking about, I am a member of a m/c club and the members own every kind of bike you can imagine. The club organises trips long and short all over the UK and Europe.

We do thousands of miles some on the likes of Gs's Tigers etc but most are on various kinds of sport bike. They manage perfectly well bimbbling around villages and through the country side even without getting points on there licenses.

Depending on my mood I often tour on a Hayabusa with is perfectly happy and very easy to ride within the speed limits. And we also have members who only own GS's that have points on thier licenses.

There are some sport bikes that really do have a full on riding position and yes they will not be so comfortable but the likes of say a Blackbird, Hayabusa , ZX1400, ZX9R, Triumph ST even the GSR 1000all make excellent tourers. The only thing these bikes won't do intentially is go off road. As one of the members here quite correctly summised, is that it's all in the right wrist and your head.

I must have a different mind set to some others here cos I am also quite happy to race around on the GS like a man possessed when the mood takes me and I'm quite capable of getting points while riding any of my bikes.

My two cents worth and now I will wind my neck back in

 

[Blackal]

Get a sports bike as a toy. Get a Transalp as a practical form of transport. Get a GS as (nearly) both.

.......... probably sums it up

If you only could justify one bike only - then the GS is a hard bike to beat.

But if you can justify a sports bike as well (err - that's justify it to yourself....... cos you don't need to justify it to any other fecker, that's for sure) - go get one.

I can't understand some Trailie riders' condemnation of them, the owners, or their clothing.................

Al

 

[Ming]

Sportsbikes are great fun and if you want one that will do everything (one tarmac) look at an early Honda fireblade

CBR900 rrs/rrt they are the last of the carburated blades quite old now but totally brilliant

Easy to ride fast smoother than a smooth thing smothered in smooth stuff and with no offence intended somone of your stature will find it very comfy

2k will get you a good one and it has honda build quality to boot .

I have had two and have a lot of mates that have had them and always say it was the best bike they ever owned .

 

[Deleted Member I]

What about Sport Tourers? Better off with a GS?

 

[JoeC gs1150se]

rgsman, bang on the button

At last a balanced knowledgable opinion on this subject..

Some background,, i'm new to this site and to the "GS" world in general. This is my first post on the board.. I've recently bought an '06 GSA1150se from a person who is both a very good friend, and a member of this site,,as is his Son. His Daughter is also a fan and owner of a GS. I presently also own and enjoy a Suzuki Hyabusa, as does rgsman, coincidenty I'm also a Manxman. Prior to this I owned a Kawasaki ZZR1100 for seven years.
To blame these bikes for loss of licences ,points, death ,destruction and all things short of castration is far short of the mark.. If you dont wind the right hand back it wont do anything . The responsibilty rests with the nut on the end of the bars,lol.. Agreed both of the above machines will do over the legal limit in first gear - but only if you tell it to. They and many like them are more than capable of "bimbling" around and can be very docile.. I have toured a fair bit on both of these and never had any of the problems. In fact we all went to Brno CZ together with GSA's GS Dakar,Blades, GSXR1000's etc, a group of around 8 bikes. Everyone managed to get there and back without any of the above problems. In fact the only casualty< gsxr1000> occurred at less than walikng speed inside a camp site courtesy of a very drunk German guy. Granted the larger bikes are a bit of a handful in confined spaces ,,but so is the GSA . IMHO if you ride your GS in a sensible manner then youll ride a sports bike in much the same way..
In the meantime I'm thoroughly enjoying my GSA, love it to bits.. Slowly getting the hang of it . Yes its very different beast , but a beast neverthe less, lol. Different ,,at least that,lol.. Cant wait to get going , struggling right now ,being one of the "short arse" brigade.. How cruel nature can be,lol..
Liking the site very much too. lots of good info and nice folks . Very helpful to a newbie like myself, and i look forwards to many hours in here, and getting going on the social side /trips/meets etc.
My only points came from driving a HGV class 1. hmmmmm.