GSX-R 600 599cc, 103bhp, 163kg. Indicated 164mph. Light, fast, agile and powerful.
Arguably the best 600 sportsbike ever, but is it enough to see off its bigger, more powerful siblings?

This version of the baby GSX-R was introduced in 2001, replacing the popular but somewhat single minded older model. GSX-Rs have always had a reputation for being slightly bonkers and this latest version certainly carries on that noble tradition with the most power and least weight in its class, chassis geometry which wouldn't be out of place on the racetrack and razor sharp styling. Despite all these superlatives, the addition of fuel injection and a more sophisticated engine management unit means that, while you're never going to be surfing on a wave of torque, the baby Suzuki is far more rideable on a day to day basis than it's predecessor, or indeed many of it's rivals.

The bike we were given for test looks particularly fine in Movistar colours. I know some people don't like race reps, but in this case I think the GP replica look suits the frantic character of the 600 just nicely. Certainly when we arrived in Germany it immediately became the second most photographed bike on the circuit as the paintjob appears to be a UK only offering and so presented a welcome spot of novelty when compared to the hundreds of more traditionally decorated GSX-Rs present.

They say first impressions count for a lot, and in this case they are right. The 600 starts with a slightly rough sounding rasp, and ticks over fast but smoothly. As with the others, the tacho sweeps the dial and the LCD display does a quick check when you turn the ignition on. This is the point at which the speedo should say "Spank me now" because if ever a bike started asking to be thrashed from tickover this is it. Throttle response is instant and the accompanying exhaust bark is incredibly addictive.

On the move the picture just gets better and better. The eager revving engine is certainly not a torque monster, but combined with pin sharp handling and absolute stability it means that you can get on the power earlier and for longer than with just about any other sportsbike I have ridden. While this is obviously less important on the road, on the track it is essential and makes this bike one of the most forgiving around. It feels as though on a dry day there is almost no way that you could make it bite you under power short of doing something really stupid.

The downside of this easy delivery is that on the road, riding at normal pace and in a normal frame of mind, you are going to be going through the gearbox continuously as, to put it bluntly, rice puddings will taunt you in safety if you're even slightly in the wrong gear. In fact, having to roll off mid corner for a slow moving car gave me the opportunity for a small test. Even nailing it as hard as I could I still got comprehensively out-dragged by a BMW 328. Although that's not a slow car, it shouldn't be able to beat a bike. I had to drop two gears before I could do a really convincing overtake.

That's not a criticism of the bike, more a statement about it's character. It is easy to ride at 100% but anything less than that and, to be honest, I don't think you'll get the point.

2nd opinion (Adrian) Being used to large capacity bikes here at the 'Ring' I was the natural choice to get the smallest of the 3 bikes to start with, so I grabbed the keys to the Telefonica Movistar rep GSXR 600 and set off on the first lap.

The bike felt small but to my surprise the seating position was actually very comfortable and didn't seem anywhere near as radical as my R1. The windscreen is smaller than the old model but at speed still relieved a lot of the weight normally placed on your wrists that lead to fatigue, and of course compared to the tiny piece of polycarbonate that pretends to be a screen on bikes such as the R6, R1 etc it felt huge!

This bike was designed to go fast. Very, very fast indeed for a 600. A little top speed testing of my own had the possibly slightly optimistic digital speedo reading 161 mph with the engine still pulling hard in sixth at around 13,500rpm. I was very surprised indeed at how little time and distance this bike required to get to its maximum velocity.

On the handling front there seems to be nothing you can do to upset this bike. Nothing seemed to knock it off line, not mid-corner ripples or bumps, not braking 10 metres late for a corner and diving in at the last second, this bike just begs for more. "Is that all you've got?" it says. Use all of the 14,500 rpm in each gear and you will make rapid progress. It just asks to be thrashed and that's exactly what it got! OK it's short on torque and does require the nuts revving off it to actually get back up to speed out of corners and up hills but it's great fun doing it and there's that deep down smugness when you actually get a lap sorted and take on some of the big boys!

I was very impressed by this little 600. I don't think I've had as much fun on any other bike at the 'Ring, except the 400 dirt bike where you just open it up and keep it there for the full 14 ½ mile lap! But that's another story. If I had any money, I'd park one in my garage next to my 1000 for those manic moments!

Yet more (Stuart) The 600 feels lighter, and a whole lot easier to ride than its bigger brothers. The brakes and handling are there performing effortlessly, dare I say invisibly, in the background leaving the major impression to be made by the engine. I can't help but compare it to my own Triumph TT600, (yes, I'm the one who bought one) and wonder if Suzuki would notice a quick engine change before we give it back. Sadly the next person to ride it would notice the difference, as the injection on the Suzuki performs faultlessly at all revs while the Triumph.well, enough has been said about that elsewhere. This engine just loves to rev, and then rev a bit more. If ever a motorcycle came with a big sticker on the tacho saying 'cane me', then it's this one.

The colour scheme looks superb, and gets a lot of attention from the other bikers in the car park, at least 50% of whom appear to be Brits. I feel perched on top of this, rather than sat in it like the 1000. I've no idea why this is, as the dimensions of all three bikes are near identical. It is purely a personal thing, and down to the distinct 'feel' of each one. It all adds to the fun feeling that seems to be part of the package with this bike, though.

GSX-R 750 749cc, 139bhp, 166kg. Indicated 172mph.
The latest incarnation of the Daddy of all race replicas. And the best 750 available by a long way, but does it really offer the best of both worlds?

Let loose on a stunned world way back in 1985, the GSX-R 750 has steadily evolved through the years, starting off as the baddest, nastiest bike you could reasonably buy before adding half decent handling to the package. Mid way through the evolution of the beast things went a little awry as weight piled on and power tailed off, but by the late 90's everything was back on course as the pressure of making a competitive superbike racer resulted in an extremely good road bike as well. Then the 2000 model came along and rewrote the book with sophisticated new fuel injection, more power and even less weight than before. It was also arguably the best looking bike ever to come out of Japan and had performance at least equal to any other top line sportsbike available at the time, including those benefiting from significantly more cubes. To put it simply, it rocked. To the extent that 2001 changes were purely cosmetic. Now, in 2002, the injection has been tweaked to incorporate some of the lessons learned with its siblings and the swingarm pivot has been made adjustable for homologation in World Superbikes. The result is a throttle response even better than before and the capacity to completely screw up the handling even more than on the last model.

Mechanically, Suzuki's very clever fuel injection gives a response as clean as well set up carburettors and the power delivery is very flexible and smooth, with reasonable low down grunt allied with an addictive top end rush, all accompanied by a particularly aggressive set of induction and exhaust noises, even with a standard end can.

Our test bike is a 2000 model, simply because we weren't able to get a 2002 one. Now I guess I should come clean here and admit that the bike we tested is actually mine. It's not entirely standard, but the changes should make it more like the 2002 bike anyway. The suspension has been adjusted to suit me, dropping the forks a little to improve turn-in and the steering damper has been replaced with an adjustable item. Braided hoses and an uprated front master cylinder complete the picture.

It's hardly surprising that the initial feeling is very much like the 600 as there is only a few kg difference and throttle response is very much the same at low speed, albeit with rather more pull on the 750. As speed starts to increase, though, the picture changes slightly with the increased power allowing a slightly more relaxed approach to riding fast and the opportunity to take corners maybe one gear higher and still have the drive out on the exit. A more aggressive approach simply saw all the speeds increasing with comparatively little extra workload. On the road this translates to a more comfortable ride when less than 100% committed and more margin when the pace hots up.

Handling is sublime on the standard bike, although perhaps slightly marred by the overly cautious standard steering damper. The slight (and easily done) modifications to the test bike transformed it, making the steering far quicker while remaining stable. The end result is a bike on which I was able to lap far quicker than anything else and yet was nowhere near as physically tiring as the others.

Overall, the GSX-R 750 has all the advantages of the 600 with none of the disadvantages. It's light, agile and non threatening but it has enough power and torque to reduce the effort needed to sustain a decent pace without shredding tyres or threatening a highside at the slightest provocation.

2nd opinion (Adrian) The GSX-R 750 has a claimed power output of 139bhp, so its power to weight ratio is right in the same ballpark as my Yamaha R1. The 750 has the reputation as a rev-hungry bike for committed riders, and only when ridden hard will it stay in touch with its litre rivals, despite the power to match their acceleration and speed. So it was with anticipation that I got on the 750 and started out on my first lap.

I was somewhat taken aback with the first few laps and really thought I was back on the 600. It handled, it braked, went very fast indeed and had some torque to boot! Yes I liked this bike (a lot). At no time did I feel the threats that just oozed from the 1000 at every corner, nor the having to work hard just to keep up feeling you got with the 600. The 750 just came up to corners at a very respectable rate, braked with full confidence and powered out at its earliest convenience without any fuss or bother at all. It all felt a little like this bike was taking you out for a spin in the country! To say I was impressed could be taken as an understatement, I was truly enlightened as to the benefits of this 750 at the Nürburgring!

More (Stuart) This feels like a marginally less powerful version of the 1000, and there's a very good reason for this. It's because it's a marginally less powerful version of the 1000. The same feeling of being sat in the bike rather than on it, as I said before, curious in view of their near identical dimensions. The owner of this particular bike had personalised it with a few subtle adjustments, dropping the forks through the yokes and re-valving the front forks. The result was that it turned more quickly and more precisely than the bigger bike, and felt more stable and controllable leaned over, and easier to turn at speed. Good for the 'ring, then.

GSX-R 1000 998cc, 152bhp, 170kg, 186mph (limited)
It goes as well as the numbers read, and has
trounced all the opposition in magazine tests around the globe. But is sheer power enough in a test like this?

There is little to say about this bike that hasn't been said already. Back in the eighties, when the GSX-R 750
was king of the race reps, the GSX-R 1100 was king of king of the bad bikes. Weighing only a little more than
the 750, with the same puny brakes and wheels that you could bend by hand (really) but putting out about 25% more power, the 1100 was single handedly responsible for scaring the living daylights out of more inexperienced riders than anything else before or since. As the years passed, the 1100 became flabbier, softer and a bit like the old bloke in the pub who used "run with the Krays" - just trading on his hard man image but in reality way past his best. When Suzuki killed it off in '96, nobody really mourned its passing, especially as its spirit lived on in the Bandit and in a million drag bikes and streetfighters all over the world. But that's history. In 2001 the King returned. Like before, styling was almost identical to the 750, weight was close, the chassis was the same, in this case a good thing, and power was around 25% increased. The only difference really was that the engine was smaller at a mere 1000cc. The result was dynamite.

We may as well get the numbers out of the way now. Around 140 rear wheel horsepower in a bike weighing just 170kg gives an artificially limited top speed of 186 mph and acceleration that will quite literally take your breath away. Being based on the 750, with the added refinement of nitrided forks
(which look very cool, by the way) and a slightly wider rear tyre, the handling is pretty good and the extra two pistons on each front caliper take care of stopping far better than the stock 750. The standard bike retains the family look, with only the gold forks and calipers giving the game away. However, due to some spectacularly ham fisted "tweaks" by the test team on another magazine the bike Suzuki were due to loan us went u/s at the last minute and we were only saved by the kind assistance of Premier Suzuki in West Wickham, who lent us their demonstrator at almost no notice at all. The BSB paintjob looks the absolute business, I think, and the 1000 went straight to the top of the list as the most photographed bike at the Nürburgring over the weekend. Other than a smart titanium Yoshimura end can and the paint job, the bike was entirely stock.

But all the numbers do is give the facts. They don't really tell the story, which is simple enough in itself. This is without a doubt the most intense motorcycling experience I have ever had. Despite my experience, despite my supposed ability and despite the fact that I have raced bigger, faster and more powerful bikes than this, I found the 1000 a pretty intimidating prospect. Which was probably, in hindsight, the best way to approach it. Even after quite a few laps, when I felt that we had got the measure of each other and were working pretty well together, I still felt that if I allowed that healthy level of respect to drop a little the bike would know and it would slap me for it. And that showed in lots of places. On the track, I was never able to get on the power as early or as I would on the 750 because either the front would lift or the back would slide. Or, as happened on one particularly entertaining occasion, both. The only way to get around smoothly was to stay one gear higher than usual. With all that grunt available that wasn't a problem except for the fact that I was now arriving everywhere rather quicker than usual. Allied to the slower steering than the 750 (due I suspect to the larger tyre and the standard suspension setup), doing quick laps became extremely physical and although I enjoyed it immensely, after three or four quick laps I was pretty well exhausted.

On the road, of course, it's a different story. This is a bike which would be very easy indeed to ride at, say, 60%. You'd make progress at a startling rate and you'd look good. The handling and brakes would probably keep you out of trouble and the ample power means that if you were feeling lazy then you could just leave it in any gear you like and still have plenty of oomph for overtaking. However, I can't help feeling that beneath the Dr Jekyll exterior there is a Mr Hyde just waiting for an opportunity to come out and give the unwary or reckless rider a spell of hospital food.

Overall, I felt the GSX-R 1000 to be an incredibly potent bike for either road or track use. On the road the easy power makes it a fairly relaxed ride, albeit one with the ability to dump you on your ear at the slightest provocation. On the track, unless you're extremely skilled or extremely careful its just too much. Plus, of course, you'll have the downside of having the fastest bike there - what are you going to use as an excuse when that bloke on the 750 comes past?

2nd opinion (Adrian) Outwardly, the 1000 looks and feels almost identical to the 600 in every way, but open the throttle and that's where the difference really shows!!

This bike greets you with G forces previously reserved for fighter pilots and NASA astronauts. It devours huge stretches of road at an alarming rate and seems to have more of everything everywhere, except at the very bottom of the RPM range. The huge 6 pot brakes haul you up from ludicrous speeds, and boy do you need them at times! For the first few laps I found myself coming up to corners at much higher speeds than I really should have, but after a while I got used to the real difference between this bike and the 600.

The 600 handles and takes everything you can throw at it, but the 1000 is an animal and needs to be tamed! It doesn't turn in as quick, you can't get the power down as quickly without the ever present threat of Mr Highside paying you a visit, and it shakes it's head or goes skyward at the slightest ripple or bump you encounter. Remember the Nürburgring is a 14½ mile hilly road circuit and is very representative of general day to day open country roads. On the GSX-R 1000 I felt somewhat vulnerable to the effects of its huge power, massive torque and a bike that really has a mind of it's own.

I'm not saying that the 1000 is a bad bike, it's just that personally I believe it is way too much for the 'Ring and probably 99% of riders to cope with, and can have a tendency to bite back very hard indeed! The new GSX-R 1000 satisfies every craving anyone could ever have for speed, speed and more speed, and it's a great bike and will take something very special to take its crown away from it, but strange as it may sound I enjoyed the 600 more.

More (Stuart) Simon hands me the key to the 1000 and tells me that I have been democratically elected in a completely fair and open process from a short list comprising of me alone to ride it first. With the Rizla colour scheme, it is the best looking bike I have seen for a long time. The Yoshi can adds a lovely growl to the exhaust, and the whole package looks the absolute business, attracting a lot of attention in the car park at the start/ finish. Shame we can't have some of John Reynolds' riding skill with the paint job, but there we are. I am left alone in the earplugs and helmet not quite silence to ponder on the coming new (for me) experience of riding a 150 horsepower motorcycle. I can remember being gobsmacked at Barry Sheene's RG500 putting out 100 horsepower, surely not all that long ago?

After the first two laps, I come in for a break, and the one word in the notebook says it all. But I can't use that word here. Just like everyone says, this thing makes so much power everywhere, in any gear, it's just so easy to ride, and so easy to go fast. On the 'ring, it changes the way you ride, the main difficulty was keeping the front wheel from going light, which it seemed to do everywhere. Add to this the fact that you arrive everywhere that much faster than before, and it all takes a lot of getting used to. Even on a 'gentle' lap with the other two bikes for the photographer, Adrian remarks on the black lines from the rear tyre. Crikey.

Of course, the frame and brakes are on a par with the power. Power is nothing without control, I think the tyre advert says, and they're right. It speaks volumes for the brakes and handling when the overall impression of the bike is dominated by the enormous engine- they just do their job, faultlessly, quietly and efficiently, full stop.

Next part... Conclusions