2 Days With a K8 GSXR 750
The 600 needed its 24,000 km service so I organised to grab a K8 750 as a courtesy bike.
Well, Colemans handed me a brand new 750 to take for a couple of days. Stock Standard.
Taking it home yesterday in the horrible pissy weather, it was a bit hard to get an idea of the bike in the standard Monday commuter traffic, and having brand new tyres, playing around in the wet was not a good idea.
First impressions were that it held lines beautifully, and that the motor was really torquey and the power delivery very linear. Aesthetically, I love the new front light, colour scheme was blue white and black (not my favourite) and the side exhaust is rather ugly. Rider position is pretty similar to any other year gsxr, fairly aggresive.
Well, woke up this morning and the lovely wifey said 'why not take it out for a few hours now' which was all the prompting I needed (I was reluctant due to the weather).
So headed out this morning in the patchy drizzle, went out through Clevedon, Bombay and onto SH 22 down to Raglan, then back up to Bombay and through the hills back to Clevedon and then through to Howcik. With a few extra runs thrown in through the twisty stuff when I felt like it. All up, 500kms.
So how did I find it?
Absolutely amazing.
Handling, the bike sits so incredibly stably through corners that it gives the rider such a huge sense of confidence. The bike turns in quickly (feels a lot more nimble that many 600's do) holds the line perfectly, shrugging off small and large bumps...some potholes etc with incredibly ease. Going through a few *fast* sweepers, had the rear hit a patch of stones, and had absolutely no trouble controlling it. Didn't even get the "oh shit" feeling. The front feels very solid and gives brilliant feedback. The factory fitted battleaxe tyres seem to suit the factory suspension set up perfectly for me (I am 92 kgs) and I would not adjust a thing for road riding, track - I might stiffen the front up just a tad. Rear end - had is sliding into a few corners and a bit of wheel spin out of a few, and again...so easily controlled, the bike tells you what it is doing. Even on wet roads, it inspired me to ride faster than I would feel comfortable on the K4 600.
Engine - Well beign a new bike with only 50kms on it, it hadn't really even started to be run in, so for the first hundred or some kms, I kept it below 10,000rpm but loosened up a bit by the end of the ride, taking it a bit higher in the revs. Didn't really need to rev it much anyway, because the torque range is vast and very strong. I was choosing to chage gears at about 11000rpm as this was where the greatest punch felt to be. The induction sound from the airbox was awesome. I would put an aftermarket pipe on the bike for sure though. I like to hear the growl.
Brakes - were excellent.
Overall I was very very impressed with the K8 GSXR 750. My first impressions were that I would not pay an extra $9.5K over what the K4 600 would sell for, and that I would probably keep my bike. Aftrer taking it onto the road and letting it work its magic, I have to say that I am sold on it. It will probably be the next bike I own. I had initially shortlisted the KTM690 SM but this has now knocked it from the list.
I dont beleive that there will be many K8 750 owners who are not impressed with their machines.
Good one Suzuki!!
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Originally Posted by PrincessBandit
Are you a VIP at Colemans!? I wanted to get my k4 600 serviced at Colemans but they would only give me a 250 courtesy bike and at my expense 
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