GSXR 600/750/1000 Touring: Technical & Moral Support

Thanks for posting up this thread. I like seeing this type of idea as it goes along with the rest of this site, giving this site so much variety. I don't post a lot, as I mainly use this site for the endless ideas it provides in possible destinations.

I wanted to share even though I don't have a Suzuki. I currently ride a 2006 Honda CBR. It has seen commuting, trackdays, and is now what I use for traveling. I too find the position comfortable. In my case it's due to a recurring lower back problem, though nothing as serious as it sounds like you went through. I have soft luggage as saddlebags that are supported by brackets I made. I have a tailbag and tankbag for longer distance. I have heated grips for those chilly days and a seat cover for butt comfort. I rode from West TN to Daytona before. Wasn't too much discomfort, a little bit. I still have the stock bar and rearset position, though I am considering changing this slightly. The main thing I enjoy is the large tankbag as I lay against it and take almost all pressure off my arms. Little things like that can help a lot in the comfort area. Overall, these types of motorcycles can be fun if setup properly for distance. I am starting a trip in 2-3 weeks, leaving here and heading west for 6-8 weeks. I hope to post up and share my trip along the way.

Good luck in your modifications and future travels.

If you find a cruser to hard to control then you should get some driving lessons.
Comparing a cruser to a RR just shows that you have missed the point compleatly. And maybe the reason that crusers are the cheapest bikes to insure is becouse they dont crash as much?
Guess what a cruser is buildt for?......... CRUSING!!
You and JerryH has the same narrow minds.

Where is that road? KM sugests Canada so must be BC..

Thanks for your input Sven. Your English isn't the greatest but I get the gist. On the other hand I don't speak or write Norwegian, so you are ahead of me on that point. To cover your points, I stated that I didn't feel in control, because of the poor handling of the cruisers I rode, not that I didn't know how to ride a bike.

In regards to cruisers being cheaper to insure than sport bikes, you may be right, but a number of companies such as State Farm, go by the c.c. rating, not by performances aspects. I beg to differ in regards to cruisers crashing less. Right now the baby boomers in North America are buying bikes, and they are mainly buying cruisers, and crashing more than they ever did. A guy not having ridden a bike for 20 plus years and trying to handle a 900 lb. plus bike, does not make for a good combination.

I can understand that a cruiser is designed for cruising, but it is still a motorcycle, and should handle reasonably well, otherwise what is the point of riding a motorcycle!

You can correct me if I am wrong, but my understanding is that the traffic laws in Norway are so strict when it comes to speeding, with very heavy fines and penalties, making sport bikes expensive to insure. I suspect that is why you ride a cruiser rather than a sport bike, simple economics. What's the point of riding a sport bike where everyone has to ride slow. A cruiser makes more sense.

I don't have a narrow mind, just a firm belief that cruisers are not the way to go when it comes to riding.

I've got a K6 600, and while I don't do a lot of touring I do occasionally do a trip up to the north of England to visit a mate, and did a 21hr trip once (for charity ).

Some of the best things I did to make the bike better for travel;
Fitted a Puig Double Bubble Screen (easily best money spent), Renthal Soft Compound Grips and use Kriega Luggage (US10 & US20 tailpacks + metal hook fasteners).

I've also made up lengths of garden hose packed with lead shot and taped up, which are stuffed into the clip-ons to kill the vibes through the bars. I use a ram mount in the fork stem with a waterproof bag (the name escapes me at the moment) which holds my phone (Galaxy S2) and a backup battery so its good for 8hrs using the GPS bluetoothed to my lid.

I'm on my second set of Michelin Pilot Road 2CTs, and they've been a great sport/touring tyre. I got about 8.5-9k out of the last rear and while a lot of that is commuting, I do have at least one 'spirited' ride on the weekends on mountain roads to stop them squaring off too quickly. They're fantastic in the wet as well, which we get plenty of. I'll probably try the Pilot Road 3s next.


I'm 5'10 and the bike is great for me, worst thing is the tank range (about 100miles).

I ride a ZX14 not a cruser, but my first bike was a cruser and even tough i liked it a lot, i sold it after one summer and bought a Triumph Sprint ST955i becouse i wanted somthing sportier.
In Norway and probely most of the world insurance companies base theyr prices on statistics and value of the bike/car and her in Norway Harley Davidson is the cheapest brand to insure, by far.
And yes if you get cought speeding her i Norway you will get death penalty.

Ther is no bikes that are better to cruse around with then a cruser and thats the point of them, if you drive them like a RR bike you have missed the point.
Thers nothing wrong about not likeing it, but going out and saying that theyr pointless becouse you dont like them is as narrow minded as JerryH going out and saying that RR bikes are useless to drive outside tracks.

I didn't say cruisers were pointless, but I don't see the point of a 800 lb. plus bike that doesn't handle. There could be an argument that a XZ14 in a country where "And yes if you get cought speeding her i Norway you will get death penalty" might be pointless.

I don't ride my GSXR1000 in Canada where I live (it's a bit pointless), and haven't done so for a few years. The bike is too fast for our speed laws, making it too easy to exceed the speed limits and thereby suffering high fines, plus increased bike insurance. I use it in the U.S. where the roads are twistier and I don't ride it as fast. My daily ride is a VFR which is a good touring bike, has plenty of power but is not manic like a GSXR1000.

Your ZX14 is a heavy big bike. But, it has great handling and brakes, as opposed to a big heavy cruiser which has lousy handling. There is the difference!

So your saying that crusers are not pointless?

And agein, your comparing appels and oranges.
Of course the brakes are better on a sports bike and thats becouse it requires better breaks to get the bike from 180++mph to zero fast.
The Honda VF700 Magna i tired had awfull breaks compeard to my Yamaha Dragstar1100, but then agein a lot, if not all sports bikes from the 80`s hade shity breaks.
I never feelt that the breaks on my dragstar1100 wher not enough and i didnt feel it on the Warrior or the VTX1800 i have tested.
But if i go from my ZX14 and straight back to my old Star, id probebly feel that the breaks wher week, but thats just a mind adjustment thats required. If your coming from a sports bike to a cruser you have to reset your driving habits. To treat a cruser as a sportsbike is just plain stupid.

But we will never come to an agrement and we are way way offtopic now.

Of course we can't come to an agreement, but I think that is because you are somewhat narrow minded in your thinking.

Remember: Just because you think you are right, doesn't make me wrong.

Oh I want to add some fuel to this fire

Tom-Nor. Why did you abandon cruisers if they are so wonderful?



To each their own, here is my take.

Cruisers do not handle or maneuver as well as sport bikes. I am pretty comfortable in making that BOLD statement. They are also uncomfortable for ME to ride. Furthermore, for real world riding, sport bikes aren't as easy to maneuver as standards.

I loved my GSXR 1000 but the seating position was murder on my wrists. I put on tubular bars and as far as I am concerned it was the best handling bike I ever owned. Not as comfortable or as flickable as my SuperDuke, but overall better.

That's my vote, Mr ZX14 rider.

These are from the state of NSW in Australia. I am from Sydney :)

Great post !!

I wanted to get a RAM mount for my upcoming trip but Im short on time before I leave so I'll just rely on good old paper maps . Great ideas on the grips and vibration reduction though.

Also I think the arguements of cruiser vs sports needs to be cut back.

I think this thread has great potential for tips and ideas to be shared on how we can tour on our SUPERSPORTS

Oh and....before I had a nasty crash on track (same bike) this is what my (now) tourer used to do.....KICK R1 ASS




Have any of you guys looked into sump/header protection like the adventure bikes have?? We really don't have much in the way of ground clearance :/

The size of your chicken strips, you might as well be on a cruiser

Cool

700 miles on a stock 750.... I want to see SIN in action; and/or follow him for a day!

What kind of crazy girl tours on a Hypermotard?? She must be some kind of psycho... hey, wait a minute....... she looks kinda familiar..... ...

Are you and SIN coming to Fortuna in June? If so, I'll get my canoe :

Thank you, kind sir

I really get sick of the narrow mindedness on here sometimes. My pal Ray has Wee strom, and I have gone everywhere he has on either a 05 cbr600rr, or Gsxr 750. Was it amazingly comfortable? No. Did I get there and back? Yes. And had a blast on the great roads we traveled to.
We rode to the campsite near Elkins W.Virginia in 2009, we rode 15 miles of dirt roads on the way home, we rode 30-40 miles of cinder roads in Canada, and I am still in one piece.
I would love to own a nice adventure bike as well, for comfort, something to pile on loads of crap, but it is NOT necessary.
Going camping? You need a tent and sleeping bag, all else is unnecessary bullshit-the chairs, inflatable mattress, laptop, gps, cell phone, I have none of it and have had "adventures"
And for the record, the Gsxr 750 is a great bike, and feels like a couch with more power after the 05-06 cbr600rr, which was a bit of a torture device, but still fun as hell. Many sportbikes are much more uncomfortable.
Aloha girl, have fun on whatever bike you got!

I'm with you, highways suck

standing by

Yes, we tried to mount the Apex clip-on risers yesterday and discovered I ordered the wrong posts... I ordered 4" rise instead of 3".

So, I called Apex Manufacturing, and "Ted" the owner/designer/aluminum billet guru answered the phone; he was AT DAYTONA at the races!! :huh
What a great guy. He said to send the 4" back and he would send me the 3".

I can't believe he answered the phone and was so cool, handling a minor customer service issue, whilst working in the AMA pits....

I am now a huge Apex fan, y'all, go order some Apex stuff, Ted rocks.

4 days is a good representative sample; I'm thinking if can do 4, you can do 40 easy (I'm not a statistician, but, I play one on the ADVforum ).

Ooooo, I like that Kriega luggage.... so many good luggage choices out there . Has anyone seen my credit card? Oh, I think my husband stuck it in the middle of a pickle jar (with juice) and put it in the freezer.... please hold while I defrost.....

Thanks What's going on down in Ensenada?

Excellent tip!! We are going to look into this.