I was asked to do a write up differentiating the 2007 GS500F and the 2006 GSXR-1000.  Here we go.

The GS is carburated, and cold blooded while the GSXR isn't.  That was the biggest reason why I switched. I could just start it and go.  Although, while the engine is cold on the GSXR, it does studder slightly from a complete stop when given a lot of throttle.  That doesn't last long.  Maybe 5-10 minutes before it warms up to the point where it rides the way it should be.  The GSXR also has a gas light because it's fuel injected.  I really like that.

I noticed that the GSXR, although bigger, it feels smaller.  The foot pegs feel like they're in the same spot from the seat, but looking over the front end of the Gixxer makes it feel smaller.  I guess that's because it's closer to you then the front end on the GS500F.  Comparing that to the GS500E, I'd imagine would be a different story because it doesn't have the fairings.

The seat on the Gixxer is in two pieces while the GS has a banana seat.  I liked the old school banana seat better until the two piece seat grew on me.  Surprisingly, the girlfriend likes the two piece seat better because she could see over my shoulder better.  Under the seat, neither have that much storage space.  The Gixxer has a little bit more, but not by much.

Weight? Every day I take my bike out, I have to back it out of my shed.  There's a rail that the doors slide open on that I have to get the tires over.  I don't find too much of a difference when pulling the GSXR out.  Just a little.  It's always been a pain getting over it even with the GS.

With the GS500F, cleaning the chain was a lot easier.  Just undo a couple bolts, and get started.  But with the GSXR, it seems that Suzuki wanted people to go to the dealer to get it done or something.  It's just so weird that they put the bolts for the two piece chain guard in such weird, hard to get at places.  I don't even deal with taking the chain guard off after the first time I cleaned it on the GSXR.  I just clean the under part, and spin the back wheel more.  It's that much of a pain. lol... maybe I'm just missing something. I don't know.

Power.  Of course the GSXR is more powerful.  It has a 0-60 time that gets it in Ferrari Enzo territory. (2.95 seconds)  Where I believe the GS's 0-60 was 5 seconds... Correct me if I'm wrong.  ...Which is still faster than my car. lol.

The range on the tachometer.  The GS500F's tach read up to 11,000 RPMs before redlining, while the GSXR-1000 reads up to 13,500 before redlining.

The headlights on the GSXR are a lot more brighter.  It uses both high beam and low when in high beam while the GS had only one headlight.  I don't know if that's what made the difference, but before I did my retrofit in the GS, I felt that the headlight's output was just unsafe.  Even though the headlight on the GSXR is very good, I still want to do a retrofit on it in the near future.

Ah, the twisties...  One of the biggest things we ride for.  Well, going from the GS to the GSXR, I noticed on my way home the day I bought the bike that there's some resistance holding the GSXR up.  It's not at all that you have to fight it, but you just have to put a little more effort into it. It's kind of an extra thing that makes you think: "Do I really wanna go this low?" lol.  I guess it's a combination of the wider tire, and the stabilizer mounted up front over the front tire.  I'd imagine that's the most of it because the stabilizer sort of pushes the front wheel in whatever direction you're going.  It isn't really all that much more effort that has to be put into it, but I gotta say that really do feel a lot safer in the corners with the wider tire.

I haven't changed the oil in either bike, but I'd imagine it's easier on the GS... Especially the GS500E.  The fairings on the GS were hard enough to get off, but it seems that the GSXR's fairings are alot more difficult.

The windscreen on my old GS, even though it was the stock one, I was able to tuck almost all of my head on it while laying on the tank on the free way on my way home from work at night.  But even though I have the double bubble windscreen on the GSXR, I'm only able to tuck so much of my head under it... Which I guess it's good, seeing as though it's... black. lol.

The insurance is CRAZY on the GSXR! For the GS500F I was paying $400 a year.  But I'm paying a little over $2,000 a year for the GSXR.  Keep in mind though that I have an accident on my record.    (Off my record in march! ) Plus a ticket for running a red light.  (Not my fault... No seriously) and a couple for speeding.    But I do have my license and not my permit.  That takes it down quite a bit.

The GSXR has Four-ways!

The looks I get? I'm actually not sure.  I got a lot of looks and compliments with the GS500F, as do I with the GSXR. The GSXR does sound better, but I did have the stock exhaust on my GS. With the GS, I had a lot of people complementing on it when I'd stop at gas stations and such. Same with the Gixxer.

A lot of people think that they'll accidentally pull wheelies going from a smaller bike to a bigger one.  I was.  I'm pretty sure that you still have to pop the clutch even on the 1000 because I raced my friend's STI (On a closed course with simulated traffic) twice.  First time I down shifted two gears, and let her rip.  No wheelie.  Next time I down shifted three times, and popped the clutch just a little, and my front tire left the ground only a few inches. How ever, both times we raced, we started at about 40 mph. (Smoked him by the way. haha)

All in all, yes, I do believe that the GSXR is better, but the GS is still a great bike in my opinion.  But everybody has their opinions. I have to say though.  If I ever to own another GStwin, she'll be naked.

No, GS is faster ... I wont ever agree its not. So there.
Cool.
Buddha.

QuoteNo, GS is faster ... I wont ever agree its not. So there.
Cool.
Buddha.

HAHAHAHAHAHAAHA

yeah, totally dragged a gsxr1000 the other day, after the quarter, i was wondering what that spec in my mirror was, i could have sworn it was a bike earlier....

Hahahahahaha

For oil changes, it is about 2 minutes to remove the lower fairing on the GS500F.
Pretty simple. Did a video showing how easy it is.
Upper fairing never has to come off except for something major - like you broke it.

Thanks for this comparison. I've been wondering if you'd been having trouble going from a 500 twin to a 1000 in-line 4. The biggest difference I fear would be the weight and low-speed maneuverability. Have you noticed putting around parking lots whether that's an issue?

How are the breaks different?

I found the need to do two finger breaking with R1 in comparison to full grip with the GS. 

I did notice that acutally. I forgot to put that. Until i reach about 10mph, i have to play with the clutch so it doesnt bogg or putt around.

Before my first ride on it, i thought it was gonna be difficult,  but it turned out to only take about 20 miles to get used to it.

And yea, when making sharp turns at slow speeds, i do have to counter weight more with the 1000.

I still use my full hand on the break. I like to have full grip. But im not too sure about the stopping power. Im sure though that the momentum of the bike (with it being heavier) makes it either have less stopping power or just need better oem brakes. Lol. But actually, i think the gs stopps quicker. The one night with the gs, I almost hit a deer, I think I stopped quicker than thee time that lady in front of me on the gsxr slammed on her brakes. I think I applied close to the same amount of brake pressure, and with the distance between stops I think the Gs stopped quicker.

I haven't taken the lower fairings off of the gs. Only the upper fairings. I had to take them off to swap out the headlight when I was doing the retrofit. That took about 4 hours. Maybe 5. Lol

My insurance on the GS500 is $111 per year...!!!!!!

For $2000 a year I could buy another GS500 every two years!!!

Cookie

Quote from: leprakong on September 13, 2012, 10:25:42 AM


I was asked to do a write up differentiating the 2007 GS500F and the 2006 GSXR-1000.  Here we go.

The GS is carburated, and cold blooded while the GSXR isn't.  That was the biggest reason why I switched. I could just start it and go.  Although, while the engine is cold on the GSXR, it does studder slightly from a complete stop when given a lot of throttle.  That doesn't last long.  Maybe 5-10 minutes before it warms up to the point where it rides the way it should be.  The GSXR also has a gas light because it's fuel injected.  I really like that.

I noticed that the GSXR, although bigger, it feels smaller.  The foot pegs feel like they're in the same spot from the seat, but looking over the front end of the Gixxer makes it feel smaller.  I guess that's because it's closer to you then the front end on the GS500F.  Comparing that to the GS500E, I'd imagine would be a different story because it doesn't have the fairings.

The seat on the Gixxer is in two pieces while the GS has a banana seat.  I liked the old school banana seat better until the two piece seat grew on me.  Surprisingly, the girlfriend likes the two piece seat better because she could see over my shoulder better.  Under the seat, neither have that much storage space.  The Gixxer has a little bit more, but not by much.

Weight? Every day I take my bike out, I have to back it out of my shed.  There's a rail that the doors slide open on that I have to get the tires over.  I don't find too much of a difference when pulling the GSXR out.  Just a little.  It's always been a pain getting over it even with the GS.

With the GS500F, cleaning the chain was a lot easier.  Just undo a couple bolts, and get started.  But with the GSXR, it seems that Suzuki wanted people to go to the dealer to get it done or something.  It's just so weird that they put the bolts for the two piece chain guard in such weird, hard to get at places.  I don't even deal with taking the chain guard off after the first time I cleaned it on the GSXR.  I just clean the under part, and spin the back wheel more.  It's that much of a pain. lol... maybe I'm just missing something. I don't know.

Power.  Of course the GSXR is more powerful.  It has a 0-60 time that gets it in Ferrari Enzo territory. (2.95 seconds)  Where I believe the GS's 0-60 was 5 seconds... Correct me if I'm wrong.  ...Which is still faster than my car. lol.

The range on the tachometer.  The GS500F's tach read up to 11,000 RPMs before redlining, while the GSXR-1000 reads up to 13,500 before redlining.

The headlights on the GSXR are a lot more brighter.  It uses both high beam and low when in high beam while the GS had only one headlight.  I don't know if that's what made the difference, but before I did my retrofit in the GS, I felt that the headlight's output was just unsafe.  Even though the headlight on the GSXR is very good, I still want to do a retrofit on it in the near future.

Ah, the twisties...  One of the biggest things we ride for.  Well, going from the GS to the GSXR, I noticed on my way home the day I bought the bike that there's some resistance holding the GSXR up.  It's not at all that you have to fight it, but you just have to put a little more effort into it. It's kind of an extra thing that makes you think: "Do I really wanna go this low?" lol.  I guess it's a combination of the wider tire, and the stabilizer mounted up front over the front tire.  I'd imagine that's the most of it because the stabilizer sort of pushes the front wheel in whatever direction you're going.  It isn't really all that much more effort that has to be put into it, but I gotta say that really do feel a lot safer in the corners with the wider tire.

I haven't changed the oil in either bike, but I'd imagine it's easier on the GS... Especially the GS500E.  The fairings on the GS were hard enough to get off, but it seems that the GSXR's fairings are alot more difficult.

The windscreen on my old GS, even though it was the stock one, I was able to tuck almost all of my head on it while laying on the tank on the free way on my way home from work at night.  But even though I have the double bubble windscreen on the GSXR, I'm only able to tuck so much of my head under it... Which I guess it's good, seeing as though it's... black. lol.

The insurance is CRAZY on the GSXR! For the GS500F I was paying $400 a year.  But I'm paying a little over $2,000 a year for the GSXR.  Keep in mind though that I have an accident on my record.    (Off my record in march! ) Plus a ticket for running a red light.  (Not my fault... No seriously) and a couple for speeding.    But I do have my license and not my permit.  That takes it down quite a bit.

The GSXR has Four-ways!

The looks I get? I'm actually not sure.  I got a lot of looks and compliments with the GS500F, as do I with the GSXR. The GSXR does sound better, but I did have the stock exhaust on my GS. With the GS, I had a lot of people complementing on it when I'd stop at gas stations and such. Same with the Gixxer.

A lot of people think that they'll accidentally pull wheelies going from a smaller bike to a bigger one.  I was.  I'm pretty sure that you still have to pop the clutch even on the 1000 because I raced my friend's STI (On a closed course with simulated traffic) twice.  First time I down shifted two gears, and let her rip.  No wheelie.  Next time I down shifted three times, and popped the clutch just a little, and my front tire left the ground only a few inches. How ever, both times we raced, we started at about 40 mph. (Smoked him by the way. haha)

All in all, yes, I do believe that the GSXR is better, but the GS is still a great bike in my opinion.  But everybody has their opinions. I have to say though.  If I ever to own another GStwin, she'll be naked.

I realise you're in a different country and insurance is different as a result, but my GS500 is $241 insured fully comprehensive with agreed value plus $2,000 of running gear.  My Bandit GSF1200s is only $100 more for the same coverage.  Okay no tickets, no accidents etc, but that is a huge difference in premiums.  I'd be shopping around at that rate.

Haha. State farm wanted almost $5,000 a year. Right now, im going through the shay agency. They find the best rates, and put me with them. I was told that with my driving record, my age being under 25 (22) me having 4 points on my license, and the size of my bike, I wont find any good rates untill all the babd stuff leaves my record and I reach 25.... wait... I really am a bad driver.

Should do a compassion for my new bike great write up.

Thanks.

Quote from: slipperymongoose on September 13, 2012, 08:01:29 PM
Should do a compassion for my new bike great write up.

no please dont

i enjoyed reading this. I myself have an 04' gs500 and an 06' gsx-r 750.

I kinda feel like they're in two different worlds. Both are awesome bikes with pros and cons on each side. I'm surprised you didn't mention gas mileage. Not that its a big priority for me when I ride but it would have been interesting to throw in. I've never had the opportunity to ride a gsx-r 1000.

the best I've gotten out of my 750 was about 52-53mpg cruising on the highway between 75-80mph.  With the gs500, I've been able to get on average about 60mpg and some days closer to 70mpg without riding it hard. I didn't buy either bike for fuel economy.

I have my insurance through rider insurance. I have full coverage on both of my bikes, I'm 26 with a clean driving record in Ohio and its $108 for the gs500 and $342 for the 750 for 12 months. I had progressive and found out about riders insurance. so much cheaper.

on a side note, gsxr 1000s seem to cost more to insure. I ran a quote under myself for a 2012 gsxr 1000 for full coverage and it was about $1300 for a year. I ran a quote for a 2012 BMW S1000RR and it was only $350. same coverage on both. this was on riders insurance website.

Holy crap.  that's a huge difference between the BMW and the Suzuki.    Still though, $1,300 is a lot cheaper than what I'm paying now. I find it funny that you're paying less for your GSXR-750 than what I was paying for my GS500F.

I am technically paying less than $1,500 because when I put it away for the winter, I'm able to call Progressive, cancel the insurance for the winter months, and get a couple months refunded back to me.  I just have to pay the full amount at the beginning of the year.

I looked it up.  I guess I'm getting an average of 40mpg highway stock. Better than my car by 7 miles per gallon. lol.

btw.  I really like the body styles on the K5 600s and 750s.

Great write up sir.  I really like reading comparisons to the gs, so thanks for doing it!

I have Liberty Mutual insurance ('Responsibility...what's your policy?' tagline).  $17 a month for full coverage.  Was $11 a month, but 2 fender benders and a door ding in the supermarket parking lot on a new BMW by my 3 year old mean that I pay more.  I'm 36, so I get the cheaper rates cause I'm older, married, and have a kid.

Wait, how can anybody make a comparison between two bikes that different!!! we are talking about the double of engine... wait.. you shold never get the GS up to 125 mph (stock)... I should bet you get 160 miles per hour in the 1000... or may be you don't know how to drive a bike like this one or may be you don't know what was this bike built for... of course the breaking is going to be proportionally different... the suspension the same... the acceleration... evertything; may be if you use to use a MP5 (9mm) in order to kill a bug, you could say that ridding a GS500F is almost the same than a GSXR 1000 or even make a comparisson... this is like compare a honda civic 1998 (stock) against a nissan GTR...

You failed to mention the never ending conga line of tickets from owning the 1000