Gsx-hurrah
Mesozoic-era GSX R roars before its extinction from Smallman’s shed
USED BIKE OF THE YEAR in the October issue was Suzuki’s GSX-R1000 K1, a 17-year-old bike that’s bloody good and very affordable. For £2300 I bought a scruffy track-only K1 three years ago and, after recently welcoming home a much-missed Honda VTR1000 SP2, the Suzuki had to go. A last hurrah at Portimao in Portugal underlined what a fantastic bike the Gixxer remains. At the circuit I’m on a machine giving away 40-50bhp to the sparkling herd of S1000RRS, RSVS and Panigales. It has no traction control and enjoys the old-school aerodynamics of a cannon thrown off a cliff. Ahead lie 17 turns over almost three miles, including a blind crest taken as fast as you dare and an off-camber squeaky-bum 100-mph-plus right-hander exiting on to a 160mph straight. My rough-but-ready K1 – Sigma slipper clutch, Mct-tuned front forks, much-needed Öhlins steering damper, and 520 chain conversion – is eager to explode forward on the quick-action throttle but I’m failing to fathom the blind corners and vertiginous drops. two and it’s coming together. Rossi is on final practice at Misano on the cafe’s TV and data shows his throttle either fully open or shut, nothing in-between. There’s a raft of lessons in that fact alone. My mantra five times a lap is, ‘could’ve gone 20mph faster round that corner.’ But, ye gods, I’m loving the handlebars flapping over the pellmell blind crest and luge-like plunge into the fast left-hander named after the late Craig Jones, Supersport World Championship rider. The bike comes back to the UK and I ask for, and get, £1800. Buyer and GSX-R fan Chris Miles trailers her away. What a bike.