Sparks fly in our Gixxer shootout. We knew there would be some scraped footpegs in this GSX-R showdown.
What can we say about the
Suzuki GSX-R1000 that hasn't already been said? Since the day it hit the market in 2001, it has dominated magazine shootouts and racing like no other machine before it. It hasn't lost an AMA Superbike race in several years, and has the last six championships under its belt at the hands of Mat Mladin and Ben Spies. Plus add to that the last few AMA Superstock championships, a couple World Superstock championships, a few dozen World and British Superbike wins, etc. When it comes to racing, it's not wise to bet against the Giggy-1K.
The reason for this success? A strong base platform to start from. And that's exactly what the GSX-R1K is - very strong! This strength was brutally thrown in all three of our faces at 180 mph the first time we threw a leg over the monster. Insanely fast Willow Springs Raceway was day one of the test and the winds were howling, making for a wheelie-filled first day of madness. Nonetheless, no one seemed to mind.
Hensley:
"It does what you ask, when you ask - just make sure you got your balls in check when you ask it! The power is very eye-opening. Before this test I had never ridden a 1000 on the track, and only one time on the street - and, honestly, it scared the crap out of me. For this reason, I was a bit apprehensive before I rode it, but I actually quite liked it - it wasn't as intimidating as I thought it was going to be. That's not to say it's not insanely fast though.
"You can actually be lazy about where you are in the rpm coming out of the corners. Just stand the bike up and twist the throttle, and regardless of if you are in the right gear, it gets up and it hauls ass. And the added weight, in the wind at Willow Springs, was actually really comforting. At the same time, while the huge power was one of my favorite attributes, it was also one of my least favorite. It's a double-edged sword - cool because for how gnarly it is, but also just plain gnarly. On the street, though, it was great. Not as good as the 750 for me, but right up there with it."
Miss the perfect line? You can make up for small mistakes on the 1K thanks to its prodigious power.
"The 1000 has my name all over it: It's got so much power than no matter what rpm or gear you're in, within a second or two you can be causing trouble - the acceleration is that instantaneous. All that power does come at a price. The 1000 definitely requires more muscle to get it to change direction, it's just a physically much larger machine than the other two. And the brakes don't feel quite as sharp as the 600 or 750 due to the higher velocities you attain with the ripping engine.
"At the same time, riding the bike is a total sensory experience like no other, and if you can come close to getting it right, it's really rewarding. It's tough, especially with all that power at a track as fast as Willow Springs, but when it's good, it's really good. And while the 750 may be close on the track, there's nothing even close to it on the street!"
Without rival in the AMA Superbike championship, the GSX-R1000 is synonymous with winning thanks to Mr. Mladin and Spies.
"Hopping on the 1K for the first time the first day at Willow Springs was an eye-opener. I hadn't been on a literbike in months, and to get on it there, with the wind howling, was like getting hit by a bus. It wheelies out of Turn 9 onto the front straightaway at 120 mph in third gear, which isn't for the faint of heart; though once my brain got around the speed, I started to have quite a bit of fun. It's a great bike - quick, stable, good handling - it really doesn't do anything wrong.
"At Streets of Willow the 1000 was a bit more of a handful than the 600 and 750, as the tight and twisty layout really rewards the lighter weight of its younger siblings. It was still within a second of the others in terms of lap times, but those times were much harder to achieve.
"Overall, it's a good track bike, one I wouldn't mind having in my garage, but I would also have to have a 600 or 750 sitting beside it. On the other hand, for the street, the other two don't hold a candle to the 1K - it's wheelie-tastic!"
