BEEJ SUZUKI GSX-R1000R
THIS MONTH I HAVE MOSTLY BEEN…
It’s been a terrific month with the big Suzook alright, including the first summer gloves commute of the year, and finally getting some bits and pieces stuck on that have been patiently waiting their turn.
First though, we’ve now had the recall for the bike, though I’m still awaiting our slot, which should see a brand new ECU being fitted. Apparently it’s not the down-blipper at issue, it’s changing up from first to second-gear, where it can possibly go into a false neutral (or is that back into neutral?), the worst case scenario being the chain could come off and the engine will rev its tits off.
Now, I’ve had few to no issues with the shifter, either way, unless my boot has been lingering near the lever. However on the way home, the day I got the recall notice, it happened! Shifted into second, popped out, revved momentarily like mad until I let off the gasser, but the chain didn’t come off, phew! But that day I was wearing a pair of older boots which are larger than those I normally use. So I found a quiet deserted road, and did some experimenting.
What I learned, was that if I didn’t fully remove my boot from the bottom of the lever quick enough, it would go into that neutral, and I made it happen a few times to be sure. If I moved it quick enough, which I normally do day to day, there’s no problem. Yes, the gear change can often be as clunky as it is smooth and sharp on the Gixer, but the ‘fault’ it’s being recalled for, as far as I’ve experienced, has come from a wee bit of user error, ergo, me…
So it’ll be interesting to see what happens when it’s been swapped out, and if it changes anything, yet I totally get why they need to act on this anyway even if a lot of it could possibly be our lazy feet having a hand in the problem.
There is another thing that keeps cropping up too, which is that the ABS light sometimes doesn’t go off, which I assumed means the ABS isn’t working. Now, some fine soul over on our YouTube channel pointed out that in the manual it says this can happen if you lift the bike up too quickly off its side-stand. Okay, got that, could possibly be it, but then I’ve had it where I’ve needed to turn the ignition on/off three or fours times (often while I’m already moving), before the light goes out. I’ll ask Suzuki and see what they say.
Speaking of Suzuki, I have fitted a couple of bits from their official range, namely a new clear double-bubble screen and a fuel-cap protector. I do also have a lovely carbon front mudguard, but couldn’t find the right paddock stand as you need to take the wheel out to fit it, so it’ll wait. With the screen change, couple of tips – firstly, remove the bolts from the top down and make sure you have thin needle nose pliers to grab the lower rubber thread-grommets, it’ll make your life easier. As will being careful when removing nuts/bolts from the mirrors – god forbid you drop one in the voluminous fairing and have to spend half an hour digging the bastard out, bloody thing! The upper/lower grommets need sticking in the new screen, then carefully refit – but don’t tighten the screen screws too much. They’re made of cheese, as I discovered by rounding one off!
Lastly, I got the Rapid Bike fuelling unit fitted ready to be mapped. Young William at JHS helped fit it, which is good as there’s so little room for it on the bike, we’ve stuck it to the inside of the right-hand fairing. Aside from having to extend a throttle-position-sensor wire so it fitted, it didn’t take as long as some do, the Gixer’s guts being nice and accessible, even if fitting the RB ECU inside the fairing is hardly ideal.
We’ll map it soon and see how she does. In the meantime, with the winter having been in full swing I’ve not scorched thousands of miles, but she still gets used every single day no matter the weather, and is holding up well corrosion wise despite me being a little shy on the cleaning duties! Lots more next month!