Hi all, new to the forum here. I realize I’m on a CBR forum, but need to ask a question. Not trying to start a flaming war. I’m looking for opinions from some of the mature guys here who do a good deal of street riding and maybe some 30 minute commutes. I’ve done Google searches already. I’m subscribed to all the 4 major cycle magazines and have been reading the reviews all year. I’m coming off of a 2004 Honda 599/Hornet/CB600 (naked I-4 F3 engine). I’m looking at getting a full faired bike now and can’t decide between the 2005-6 CBR600rr or 2006 GSXR 600. I can’t afford an 07 CBRrr (where Honda has apparently raised the bars by about 10mm, so if I go HondaI'm stuck with the older RR, 2005-2006. I've sat on the new ZX6r and the Yam R6...both of these feel horrible to me. So, I'm down to the 2005-2006RR and the newer 2006 GSXR. I'm quite concerned about the reliability of the gixxer. Everyone on the gixxer forum says the relieability is there...but I don't expect them to admit to an inferior product if it is in fact inferior. Keep in mind that if I were to go with the GSXR it would be the newer 2006+ design.

I’m 5’9”. I’ve sat on the GSXR and it’s small cockpit actually feels pretty good to me ergonomically. The CBRrr feels like I’m stretched a bit and feels like the seat is a bit higher so I feel like I’ve got a bit more weight on my wrists…but the bars are a bit wider and not swept back as much as the GSXR and I like this about the CBR.

I love my naked 599 and love the Honda reliability. At the same time, the GSXR just feels a bit better to me in the cockpit. Can you guys offer any suggestions?? This is a comfort thing to me since I”ll be doing some commutes and a good bit of street riding. I’m not a stunter, racer, etc. Just looking to upgrade a bit as I’ve been riding my naked 599 for several years and am in need of something new. I’m 31 years old …so maybe I’m going through mid-life crisis a bit early.

Can any of you guys offer any opinions here as far as seating position, cockpit comfort, etc? I’m not looking for “what’s the fastest” yada yada. I’m old enough and been riding long enough to know performance is pretty much the same across the board if your not a GP rider. So, any opinions here would really help me make my purchase. I’ve posed the same question on the Gixxer board. They were “Honda sucks” type of responses. Being a current Honda owner, I know Honda riders are more mature than that. Can you guys help me out?

Thanks in advance.

 

I don't have a Gixxer. I have not read about any serious reliability problems with any of their models, though. The only one of the big 4 that I hear complaints about is Yamaha.

Too bad you can't afford the '07 RR. I hear people are getting them for ridiculous prices now. Like 8 thousand out the door. If you can find a way to get your hands on one, that will be your bike.

The GSX-R will be a good bike. Have no worries.

 

I'm 5'10. i agree about the stretched out feel. a big improvement is install Stompgrips to the tank sides. this almost demands that your lower body supports your upperbody and makes getting weight off your wrists. however the seat is not that comfortable. you can buy a replacement seat from Corbin that improves it making it more saddle like and making the crotch area not so wide, which is where a lot of the discomfort stems from. the 2007 has this feature and i've not seen anyone buy a corbin seat because of long ride discomfort. as for the grips, you can buy heli bar clip-ons that bring the bars up some, but they're expensive.

with all the mods i've described here, you could probably afford a used 2007. i don't commute 30 minutes (15 at the most) but i do a bunch of 45 mile one way trips between towns and i've feel very comfortable. it's a different kind of ride, it's not designed to be comfortable. with anything supersport, it's all about performance. everything else gets a compromise.

 

Gotcha. You know, the other thing I've considered is an F4i, which I find to be SUPER comfortable and with a very street and commute friendly riding position. The only thing that has held me back is that I have read so much about the supposed inferior fuel injection system in the F4i's. My Honda 599 is carb'd and carb'd very well. Throttle response is slick as butter.

Ergonomically speaking though...I very well may end up picking up a used F4i.

I REALLY like the way the gixxer feels, narrow seat, small seating compartment...makes me feel kind of like the bike is an extension of me. The one hang up I have is that I'm really afraid it won't have the reliability I have come to love from my Honda automobiles and my Honda 599. Maybe, just maybe I'll end up getting an 06 F4i, do a seat conversion and throw on an HR1 slip on exhaust and call it a day.

Whatcha think? Hhhmm..maybe I should be posting this in the F4i forum instead of the RR forum...

 

no no, you're in the right spot. You should really ride the three to get a better understanding of how you're going to like it. i like my RR, just not for long trips. and F4 would probably feel better, and i have not heard anything about an infearior FI system... the GSXR is a fine ride. will it do 100k miles? probably not often. the trouble with the GSXR is that if you so much as tip it back or over, or crash, the whole thing shatters. everything breaks, it's so brittle. it's light, and gets power down, but no better than a RR at the top. the midrange and bottom end is where the RR is going to be superior to the GSXR.

ride em. then make your decision. i don't think i would rather have any other bike than my CBR600RR. that's not biased, that's my preference. others, as well as yours, will vary.

 

That would be the problem. I can't ride them. At most I can sit on them all day. I'm relatively new to the city I live in and don't really know anyone that rides around here. There is no way to ride one at a dealership...at least not around here. So, I'm just kind of stuck sitting on them all.

The thing is that since I do plan on doing some longer trips (especially commuting back and forth to work which is a 30 minute ride one way) and one of the most important factors to me is comfort, I think I may go the F4i route. I'm coming off a Honda 599. I will not be using this as a track bike. The more I think about it sitting here browsing the forum, the more I realize I doubt I could ever even use the F4i to half of it's actual potential...which would make it sort of pointless to go the RR or GSXR route.

I would desperately love to stay with Honda as they are so well known for reliability. I am on a budget; the wife and chid must come first. So, maybe the F4i is the middle ground for me in terms of pleasing aesthetics, rideability, sportiness, and just all around fun. Maybe a silver 05 F4i. I'd love to have an 06, but since apparently the F4i's didn't do any changes other than the seat, the silver 05 would be the most pleasing to my eyes...and I get to stay with Honda.

 

The Suzuki will last you the hundred thousand miles. A Honda would do that and then some. Go for the Suzuki if it's comfortable. You won't be dissappointed. I think slugger is going to far with the 'you hit it with a spoon and it shatters like peanut brittle' stuff. The bottom line is they are not as bulletproof as Hondas, but they are pretty solid.

I rode an '06 600RR with a corbin seat. The seat itself was very comfortable. What I did not like was that it had a bucket feel to it. Comfortable on the bunns, but it locked you into a certain riding position. Sit too far forward and it would pinch your thighs. So you would have to sit a certain distance back, which owuld mean your arms would have to take so much, etc. With my '07 RR stock seat things were very narrow up front, and the tank was contoured so my legs could help keep me up like slugger is saying with the stompgrips (though I did not need stompgrips....the bike just came that way). But when my crotch got tired I could scoot back on the seat, where it was wider, and put the weight on my buns and arms. And if my arms got tired, I could use my legs to hold up or go into a tuck and let my back/neck take some of the strain for a while. Then after doing that shuffle a while, I could go back to sitting on the front of the seat with my weight on my crotch in a mostly upright position.

All that was pretty much impossible on the '06 with the Corbin seat. You sit in the nice seat until your arms get tired then that's about it. Try to get yourself a used '07 RR. Then after that, it's your call. I'd probably go with the new Suzuki before the '06 600RR. I sat on one at the dealership and I think the ergos were pretty good. And I am comfortable with Suzuki's quality.

 

Since I had the same dilemma last year before buying my bike, here's my humble opinion: Go with the 05-07 CBR if at all possible. you can get them used at very reasonable prices even used 07's if you look around. the F4i is a great bike too but i would go with the RR seeing that you already have some riding experience. I've ridden both 05-07RR's and 06/07GSXR600and 750's. but i highly recommend the CBR. if you do go with Suzuki, the 750 is your best bet.

 

i didn't say hit it with a spoon, i said lay it down, crash it, or drop it. BIG DIFFERENCE jon. i JUST got done looking at a GSX750R that went backwards at 30 and the whole tail section needs replacement, subframe and all. rearsets SNAPPED at the mounting point, front was in a hundred peices... ALLL fuked up. just exploded into pieces. i understand that's one instance, but it was at 30 mph... i've seen many a honda fair better than that at higher speeds... never have i seen a zuk do the same. TMR, it's always shards of plastic everywhere in every zuk SVI crash vid i've ever seen.

 

Don't worry about it, slugger. I was just making a point with my wording. I'm not maintaining that you actually think the whole thing will shatter into pieces when you touch it with a tuning fork. Just trying to get the point across that I think they are a little tougher than the impression you were giving. I am not saying your experience with the 750 was a fluke, but I would like to have gotten the youtube on that accident to take a discriminating look at it. Each accident is unique. For me, I don't even ride with any Gixxer owners. But I've watched a fair number of AMA races and I have seen Suzukis take a pounding and do fine. Right now I recall Matt Mladin in a real nasty accident not too long ago on an GSX-R1000 and they just put the race on hold, walked the bike back to the pit, jiggered with the throttle some and replaced the fairings and he was back in business. And I have not read anything about Gixxers being unusually fragile. Perhaps the 750 was older?

This brings me back to my point. Newer is better. Frames get stronger with newer tech. I do know the '07 600RR has a stiffer frame and is overall tougher than the '06. I don't know the particulars of the redesigns of the Suzukis, but I would say that as a general rule, the newer bikes would be tougher, and a gixxer of a later year would be a better choice than an older Honda.