SUZUKI GSX-R1000R
THIS MONTH I HAVE MOSTLY BEEN… “Enjoying the Gixer more than ever...”
Finally I’ve been able to get the big girl out on a track day – woo! Not a whole day, mind you, but I’ve managed to get two quick sessions in at Castle Combe on two separate days, just to see how the bike behaves after all the changes. As a quick recap, that would be the Goodridge braking hoses and the Rotobox carbon-fibre wheels, plus the extra-long gearing with the two-teeth smaller rear sprocket which in turn meant a much longer wheelbase than stock – all quite significant mods.
As you may remember from last month, these had changed the bike quite a bit on several fronts, including the overall feeling. So I was super curious to see how these changes translated on track. First up, a huge thanks to Castle Combe for letting me dip in and out of two of their terrific bike track days, thanks guys! Next is that, much as I found on the road, I really quite like it how it is now on track too, enough that I may keep it this way.
The longer gearing means I’m not jumping up and down the gearbox as much. I did in fact ride a stock Gixer recently and mine now makes that feel like a bit of a hectic yappy dog! The increased braking power, plus the longer wheelbase which makes it a lot more stable, I also like a great deal. I’m no spring chicken any more, even if I can still cut a bit of a rug when I’m in the mood, but making the Gixer a little more user friendly has definitely made it a tad more in line with what passes for my own ever-fading talent.
It could even be that I’m actually a little quicker, or more confident, rather, than I would be on a stocker. The changes have given me more time to process while on track, and this even though Combe is one of those places that I love, but that often scares me a little. It’s a proper beast of a circuit when you start getting a move on, – it’s got the better of me for sure, as has the Gixer if I’m really honest because it’s such a superb, accomplished beast that can take more punishment than I’m able to mete out. And, even with the longer legs, it is still silly quick under hard acceleration.
The only drawback from the changes is on swift switches of direction, like in the final fiddly chicane at Combe. It still steers into a bend as quick as I’d like, which is the wheels at work there offsetting the longer wheelbase, I’d venture. But two quick changes in succession has of course meant more effort is now needed to do the same job. Once I twigged how to adjust to it, I did, so not a huge problem at all really, but worth noting.
I was very impressed with my braking setup given that they’re still not quite up to many bikes’ standards. They don’t fade to nothing any more, which is a result of the combination of the Brembo pads, uprated brake fluid and aforementioned braided lines. All in all, it was a successful time on track for me and the bike – happy days.
In other news, I’ve had the rear Goodridge lines fitted now, and the replacement Rapid Bike fuelling unit works as it should, no voltage issues, which points towards a faulty unit – mass production, it happens sometimes! So I will get around to having the bike mapped at JHS Racing soon, and then we can get back on the power trail with a full system and other little tweaks.
Do I really need more power? No, not really, but it’ll be interesting to see what we can find. For the rest of the time the bike is bang on for me, we’ve enjoyed a few lovely rides hither and thither while the sun has remained out. Just need another couple of long rides to properly nail down how much better it now is on the touring/travel front, so let’s see what I can come up with…