I got to ride the new gixxer sem fiddy this morning, courtesy of Boyds...
Took the black one out - prefer that colour scheme to the traditional Suzuki blue.
Bear in mind that I currently ride a K8 600.
Sitting on the sem fiddy for the first time, it felt a little different (changes to the chassis I believe). A tad more forward and slightly higher above the screen than the K8 600 - almost a nudge towards the 675 Daytona position but no where near as extreme. Still quite comfortable. Wasn't quite the same "body suit" feel as the 600 but nice enough anyway. I could still get both feet down flat without trouble. Overall weight felt very similar to the 600 despite what the figures might say.
Start her up and putter out onto Te Rapa Road. This one had 150km on the clock so I wasn't going to push it too hard - especially since I had signed up for a $3000 excess if I stacked it...
First thing I notice is the induction noise. Loud! Makes the 600 sound like a pussycat purring.
First roundabout looms and I notice a slightly different feel in the handling as I poke it into the curve. Give it a bit of a push and it's more like what I am used to. Pays to be positive in the corners.
Out on the highway, a wee twist of the wrist (apologies to Mr Code for ripping off his title...) gets instant results. It's like a 600 on steroids. Prodigious torque down low and very available. That's the big difference between 600 and 750. No need to rev the nuts off it to get it to dig out. EDIT: And engine braking - heaps more engine braking on this one than the 600.
Up to Ngaruawahia and onto SH39 to head down to Te Kowhai through the sweepy corners. No different feelings in the handling now. It is very precise - just point and scoot. Rolls from one side to the other with sublime ease - just what I would expect from a gixxer. And squeeze that throttle and you're off. I didn't push it too high, being a new bike and all but there's heaps of pull from about 6k up and even yet more again round the 10k mark - which is where I limited it for the day. I reckon you could get into plenty of LEO trouble real quick if you wanted to - or if you were careless...
Ride was a little bumpy for me - suspension may be set up for someone with more weight than I have. I'd definitely want to tinker with that on this particular bike.
Induction noise IS very apparent even out on the highway. A little less when the revs are higher but still obvious even with earplugs in place. That's about the only thing I didn't like about it.
Idled it back to Boyds and handed back the keys.
Got back on the 600 and it felt underpowered - especially at lower revs. But that's 600's, eh...
Pity I don't have a spare $20,000 lying around...
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Originally Posted by mattian
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