At the Motorcycle Show in Atlanta yesterday they had three demo Gixxer 1k's on display for all to slobber on. These were the first ones I've seen in person so I had to climb on and check 'em out. I thought I'd post my impressions of it...
First of all, I think they actually look worse in person than they do in pics... especially the tail section. I actually kind of dig the lowers and front end, and I actually even liked the mirror mount signals in person. Also, in all honesty the new shape can wasn't even as bad as it looked in pics. It's when you get to that hideous tail section styling that you have to fight to keep your lunch down. It's so bad that I just can't get past it. It's not like a part of the bike that could have been better... It's an absolute flop. Again though, I could really dig this bike if they hadn't blown the tail that bad... Ok, that covers looks...
As for feel, I've got to say that it was not bad at all. It felt a little wide (in the tank, not the seat), and a bit top heavy compared to the 10 but not really a bad feel, just different. Seat height was about right for me but it doesn't have the "sittin' in the bike instead of on top of it" feel that the 10 has. Overall, the Gixxer 1k came in third for me in feel out of all the bikes I sat on at the show.
I didn't sit on a 10R there because that would be like sleepin' with your own wife at a whorehouse, but I sat on all of the other big four Japanese sportbikes, both litres and 600's... as well as Zuk's Gixxer 750. My top three non-10R picks out of everything available for '05 is as follows:
#1- Yamaha R6- Believe it or not, the best feeling bike I sat on at the show was a sweet little '05 solid black Yamaha R6. That little thing felt so similar to the 10 that it was almost freaky. The pegs felt like they might have been a bit closer to the seat and just slightly more forward lean to reach the bars, but honestly so close that it was freaky. I went to the show expecting to fall in love with the sweet new ZX-636 but left a LOT more impressed with the feel of the R6... I'd love to take an R6 through the twisties and see how they handle. I hear those things slice and dice in the mountains and on the track. A little black R6 would make for a cool second/track bike, huh?
#2- Yamaha R1- This was no surprise though. I sat on those when I was shopping for a litre bike. Besides having a bit more agressive riding position and the feeling of sitting a bit higher on the bike the R1 was second in comfort/feel for me behind the 10. The '05 sat just like the '04 R1's I checked out when shopping. If the 10 were included in this list the R1 would slide to third behind the #2 R6 now. It's still my close second choice in litre bikes. I also still love that undertail exhaust...
#3- '05 GSXR-1000- Aside from feeling a bit wider in the tank area (really more of a psychological issue than a comfort issue I guess) and feeling a bit top heavy compared to the R1 and R6 (and the 10 of course), the new Gixxer felt pretty good comfort wise. It wasn't uncomfortable but it didn't feel "natural" for me like the R6 and the 10R both do. I'd love to give one a run through the twisties and see how it runs and handles. It's definitely an improvement in feel for me compared to the previous Gixxer design.
After all the write-ups I've seen that talked about how much the 6R was patterned after the 10R I really, REALLY expected to be more impressed with them. I expected more of the same "Sittin' in instead of on" feel of the 10R. The '05 felt like an improvement over the previous 6R/RR design, but I definitely wasn't feelin' the 10R influence when I sat on them. The 636/6RR actually looked and felt longer than the 10 does. I'd think they would be more compact, but I didn't get that impression sittin' on them and lookin' at them at the show. I haven't looked at wheelbase specs but surely the 636 wouldn't be longer than a litre bike chassis...
Anyway, that's how things stacked up for me. I guess after the #3 Gixxer 1k the Honda 1000RR and 600 RR would be my next choice. They felt kind of neutral to me. Not good, not bad... Fairly comfortable with no one aspect of the bike sticking out in my head as I sat on 'em and moved them around... Overall just a neutral bike.
Enjoyed the show. Wish I could afford several bikes!
First of all, I think they actually look worse in person than they do in pics... especially the tail section. I actually kind of dig the lowers and front end, and I actually even liked the mirror mount signals in person. Also, in all honesty the new shape can wasn't even as bad as it looked in pics. It's when you get to that hideous tail section styling that you have to fight to keep your lunch down. It's so bad that I just can't get past it. It's not like a part of the bike that could have been better... It's an absolute flop. Again though, I could really dig this bike if they hadn't blown the tail that bad... Ok, that covers looks...
As for feel, I've got to say that it was not bad at all. It felt a little wide (in the tank, not the seat), and a bit top heavy compared to the 10 but not really a bad feel, just different. Seat height was about right for me but it doesn't have the "sittin' in the bike instead of on top of it" feel that the 10 has. Overall, the Gixxer 1k came in third for me in feel out of all the bikes I sat on at the show.
I didn't sit on a 10R there because that would be like sleepin' with your own wife at a whorehouse, but I sat on all of the other big four Japanese sportbikes, both litres and 600's... as well as Zuk's Gixxer 750. My top three non-10R picks out of everything available for '05 is as follows:
#1- Yamaha R6- Believe it or not, the best feeling bike I sat on at the show was a sweet little '05 solid black Yamaha R6. That little thing felt so similar to the 10 that it was almost freaky. The pegs felt like they might have been a bit closer to the seat and just slightly more forward lean to reach the bars, but honestly so close that it was freaky. I went to the show expecting to fall in love with the sweet new ZX-636 but left a LOT more impressed with the feel of the R6... I'd love to take an R6 through the twisties and see how they handle. I hear those things slice and dice in the mountains and on the track. A little black R6 would make for a cool second/track bike, huh?
#2- Yamaha R1- This was no surprise though. I sat on those when I was shopping for a litre bike. Besides having a bit more agressive riding position and the feeling of sitting a bit higher on the bike the R1 was second in comfort/feel for me behind the 10. The '05 sat just like the '04 R1's I checked out when shopping. If the 10 were included in this list the R1 would slide to third behind the #2 R6 now. It's still my close second choice in litre bikes. I also still love that undertail exhaust...
#3- '05 GSXR-1000- Aside from feeling a bit wider in the tank area (really more of a psychological issue than a comfort issue I guess) and feeling a bit top heavy compared to the R1 and R6 (and the 10 of course), the new Gixxer felt pretty good comfort wise. It wasn't uncomfortable but it didn't feel "natural" for me like the R6 and the 10R both do. I'd love to give one a run through the twisties and see how it runs and handles. It's definitely an improvement in feel for me compared to the previous Gixxer design.
After all the write-ups I've seen that talked about how much the 6R was patterned after the 10R I really, REALLY expected to be more impressed with them. I expected more of the same "Sittin' in instead of on" feel of the 10R. The '05 felt like an improvement over the previous 6R/RR design, but I definitely wasn't feelin' the 10R influence when I sat on them. The 636/6RR actually looked and felt longer than the 10 does. I'd think they would be more compact, but I didn't get that impression sittin' on them and lookin' at them at the show. I haven't looked at wheelbase specs but surely the 636 wouldn't be longer than a litre bike chassis...
Anyway, that's how things stacked up for me. I guess after the #3 Gixxer 1k the Honda 1000RR and 600 RR would be my next choice. They felt kind of neutral to me. Not good, not bad... Fairly comfortable with no one aspect of the bike sticking out in my head as I sat on 'em and moved them around... Overall just a neutral bike.
Enjoyed the show. Wish I could afford several bikes!
