One week after the upgrade

[TarzanBoy]

As previously posted[/ur], last weekI upgraded from an '89 GS500 to a '99 YZF-R6.  I thought that I would share some of my observations for any folks looking towards a possible upgrade in the future.

My first ride on the R6 (35 min ride home)was *not* love at first sight.  I had ridden a few other bikes for short trips and never found anything that felt like the GS500... which gave me a certain bit of dislike of other motorcycles (especially for how crappily most other bikes handle at low low speeds).   However, the R6 very quickly grew on me.  I love my GS500, but I don't think that I would want to go back.

First off, riding position.   For those who dont' know... the R6 is Yamaha's 600cc crotch rocket.  The bike seat sits up a teeny bit higher, the riding position is more 'aggressive' (more weight on arms/handlebars)... and more importantly... the wheel base is *shorter* than that of the GS500.  It does take some getting used to... but after a week on the R6, riding the GS almost feels like i'm on a cruisier/tourer.  One advantage the 'standard' seating position on the GS offers is the fact that your mirrors are far enough in front of you to give you a good view of the road behind you.   All my R6 mirrors seem to excel at are showing me what my elbows look like

Power - Deceptively different.   Most people who get onto a bike they have never ridden before usually take it safe/slow... as such, at first there doesn't seem to be a very large difference in the torque/power between an R6 and GS500 except for the fact that the R6 requires a little less throttle to start off.  DO NOT BE FOOLED.  It wasn't until I put the bike on the highway and opened it up some when I realized how night and day the difference is.  The R6 redlines at 15.5k RPM... and it pulls much harder, much faster and much, much smoother than a GS500 ever will through the entire range on the tachometer.   What this translates to is the R6 accelerating so fast that your butt slides backward on the seat and that you literally have to hang on the handlebars to not let the bike fly out from under you.... it does this all the way up to redline (and will continue to do so if you shift gears and stay on the throttle).   An inline four cylinder bike... this phenomenon is more evident at 7k RPm and up.   The R6 feels so good on the highway thateven if you aren't in the habit of speeding, you will find yourself riding about 15-25 mph faster than your normal speed.  If I had started on a bike like this then I would probably have a slew of speeding tickets.   I have only ever fully opened up the R6 through 2nd gear and only a bit of the way into 3rd.... I have always let off the throttle at this speed because I am always already going much faster than anything around me.

Handling - Definitely different.  One of my problems with non GS-500 bikes has always been the force you have to exert  on the bars to keep the front wheel from wanting to turn in more in low speed turning.... I was planning on trying to find a sport bike that didn't exhibit this phenomenon, but I have my doubts as to whether one exists since it is a function of the rake angle and bike weight.  The R6 does this a little bit... but not as badly as other bikes i've been on like the Honda  SuperHawk.   The main things a GS500 rider will notice on an R6 is that it takes much more effort to flick the bike into angles around corners.  Dipping your shoulder a little bit into the turn helps a tad... but a rudimentary understanding of countersteering is key.  It will seem noticeably more difficult to get the R6 on the sides/edges of its 180 rear tire than the 130 or 140 on a GS.    I havent' taken teh R6 to the same lean angles I have taken the gs to. (just give me a bit more time )

[l3uddha]

great post Tarzanboy; good luck with your R6!

[galahs]

These posts are gold!

Hows the fuel economy compare in the real world?

[Mandres]

Pics!

edit - nvm, I see you posted a pic in your other thread.  That R6 looks hot, hope you enjoy it safely. 

[dweese]

It does take some getting used to... but after a week on the R6, riding the GS almost feels like i'm on a cruisier/tourer.

What class does the GS fall in to? Sport/tourer? I know they class the R6 as super/sport here

[galahs]

I'd say sports tourer, not sure what it is officially.

[hhgsm31]

suzuki always classified is as "sport/street" but now the classify the f models as sport - amazing how fairings can change a performance classification huh?

[TarzanBoy]

The GS500 is classified as a 'standard' street bike due to the seating poisition, lack of a fairing (on older models) and the fact that it has handlebars instead of clip-ons.

As you see, my soon-to-be-former gs500 doesn't suffer from the latter 2 items

[TarzanBoy]

These posts are gold!

Hows the fuel economy compare in the real world?

I've only checked between one gas tank so far.... seemed to get 150 miles to the tank... which is on the low end of what my GS got (when in lots of bumper-to-bumper traffic).  I'd estimate the gas mileage to be in the high 30's or very low 40's.

My roommate and my friend both have '98 superhawks which only get ~30 mpg and can only go 100 miles per tank!  Sucks

[3imo]

"DO NOT BE FOOLED" -- HAHAH

Great writeup. 
I tried the R6 on a 60 mi round trip and love the way you put it.  Too much bike for me though.
I would either die or have to sell her to pay the tickets.
I found the R6 terribly uncomfortable, but that could have just been because it wasn't my bike.
(And my GS was staring at me the whole time.....how uncomfortable. )

 

[pantablo]

thats awesome Tarzanboy. Congratulations! There is no comparision between the two bikes, for sure. once you get used to the extra effort to turn the bike (which is the same effort as for most bikes) you'll start to rail on it. And with time it will be easy to get to the edge of the 180. trust me.

[l3uddha]

i'm curious- I cant seem to hilight, copy, & paste the url u listed in ur first post on this thread. I manually typed it into my address, hit enter, & i box comes up saying that the page is disallowed. any reason for this? I just wanna see some pics of ur R6...

[leo]

sweet! good for you. 

[Mandres]

i'm curious- I cant seem to hilight, copy, & paste the url u listed in ur first post on this thread. I manually typed it into my address, hit enter, & i box comes up saying that the page is disallowed. any reason for this? I just wanna see some pics of ur R6...

http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=25049.0

That's the link, the code just got messed up in the post above.

[FearedGS500]

ya the R6 is pretty nice. a friend of mine let me ride his it was nice . (was the first time i road a sports bike . was all kinds of diffrent from  my grandfathers valkin 1500 classic ... i know it was diffrent .... but once i got my self right on it .. i went from 30 to 110 in no time i was like whoa !!! gotta have one !!! )
if insurnce would let me i'd have a CBR600RR or a CBR1000RR thats just how i am . i love my gs but it just dont have what i really want. but i'll save some money up have the head sent off to get bored and polished ( or are they selived ? )  .  then i'll just do odd and end things to it to make if faster and give it a little more pep