Yamaha R6 2008 VS Suzuki GSX-R 2008

I presently have a Yamaha R6 05 version (my first bike) while my friends ride 2007 Suzuki 600 GSXRs. I find the 07 Gixxer much lighter and easier to manoeuvre but i think it would be an unfair comparison to compare a 05 R6 with a 07 Gixxer which is why i need advice on which 08 bike I should buy. I also like the gear indicator feature being an amateur bike rider with only 3000 miles of experience, at the same time I love the look of the R6 especially from the front. The Yamaha is also a little higher so i had to get mine lowered to be able to confidently place my feet on the ground. Please advice on what bike I should go for considering that I will only use it on-road and never on the track keeping in mind my inexperience. All advice will be much appreciated.:smiley:

If it were me I would just book a test ride on each. Your own subjective opinion is probably the one that will know best.

Unfortunately, both companies have no test bike available for now. I do not mind if anyone could give their opinion on the 07 models

Hey Zoi,

There’s not much logic involved in buying a bike; they all handle very well nowadays, they’re all as fast as each other in mortal hands like ours, it is nearly entirely an emotional decision what bike you go for. One word of wisdom I would impart though regarding your question is I think it’s perhaps a little too early to be changing bikes. Changing bike won’t improve your skill level at this point, but it does raise the risks of having too much too soon, and spending too much money too soon.

Accidents do happen and they often cost money, and when you’ve shelled out a lot of cash, or made a big commitment on a new bike, it leaves a sour taste in your mouth and restricts your options for enjoying the bike. You would certainly get a hell of a lot more for your money if you spent cash on experiences, like trackdays, ride-outs, the right gear, advanced training, etc.

A little of that is from personal experience where I made big commitments early on and paid the price after mishaps. In retrospect, I could have saved a lot of money and had many more great riding experiences had I not been such a hot head and listened to my more learned friends! hehe.

Thanks Jay, I think that’s good advice. I probably should look at further training and taking more days off to ride my bike.

Would definitely agree with Jay 100%

If I was starting out again, I would have bought track bodywork or old scrappy stuff for my R6 (I had 2 2000 models) and every month taken the bike on track. Also would have booked advanced road and track based training such as Californian Superbike School or Ron Haslam’s Race School. And I would have done this all straight after I passed my test.

Talk to Shewolf on here. She’s basically come from being a rider with only about a year’s riding experience, but you’d think she’d been riding much much longer. Basically she’s done a lot of track days and ridden many many road miles.

There’s no substitute for bike seat time.

Spend as much money as you can on training…Becoming more confident on the bike is more rewarding than what any mod or new bike can bring IMO.

Also, get someone to set up your suspension for your weight. Bikes leave the factory on a compromised setting to suit many different riders and riding styles. You’d be amazed at the difference when a bike is set up for you.

Brian (B on here) is the stuff of legend when it comes to suspension. Speak to him, then go and see him.

He may even be wearing his blue wooly jumper and offer you a cup of tea.

Good luck.

Get out and ride. Its the best way of learning, and you know you want to. Yes, your friends have a new set of wheels and you want to share it, but resist THAT FEELING. In fact, I always advise new riders to avoid expensive sport bikes and go for a standard naked bike. Costs less to fix a naked and the standard is more comfortable. When the inevitable accident happens, and it most likely will (it seems we all forget ourselves at times) you’ll be glad it happened on your current ride. When your ego recovers THEN is the time to buy a new sportbike, after you’ve banged it up and learned to be a bit more cautious.No, it’s not written in stone, that you have to wreck your first bike, it is written in indelible marker though. Some one will pull out when you least expect it, or brake suddenly, or swerve into your lane. Maybe you tried to cook a corner a bit too hot. Just accept it, and worry about riding safer. You MAY be the exception. Look how many top racers, who presumably know what they are doing, and do not have to put up with idiots on the road, have stuffed it.

When you have an accident, you can either swear off the demon speed, pack it in, or back it off a couple of tenths, and keep on riding. There are OLD motorcyclists and BOLD motorcyclists but there are no OLD BOLD motorcyclists. (Just as true a comment for motorcylists, flyers or soldiers.)

If you had your bike lowered that would of affected the handling fa sure, and that would have made a noteable differance between your bike and your friends alone. I get my toes on the floor on my R1 being not so tall:cool: and I agree with the above comments its all about practice, I am very confident on my R1 real easy bike to ride and I would imagine the newer the bike the easier it is to ride and there’s nothing wrong with that as it can boost your confidence as long as you have respect for the machine you should be OK. I crashed on my track day simply due to lack of experience on track and being over eager. If you really want a new bike and your anything like me no ones ‘good’ advice will stop you getting one. For my money it has to be the R6 based on looks. absolutely the best looking bike in the world:D

+1 to all the advice on here, go with what you like the looks of. The fact that you feel your friends bike easier to turn can come down to many factors above the standard design of the bike. If you havent changed the tyres for 3,000 miles (say - I dont know if you have or not) then yours could well be squared off a bit, and that would make your bike feel slower to turn. This is just one example, there are many others.

Tighten up the loose nut in between the handlebars and the seat :wink:

Thank you for all the advice oh yeah one more question, what do you think of gear indicators on bikes? Do you reckon its a hazard or an advantage?

As long as you can count to six, then I wouldn’t bother.

(Clumsy attempt at edit/delete/edit/quote. I’ll leave it as it is)

I think gear indicators are good, wouldn’t neccesarily buy an aftermarket, but its standard on the new gixers I believe and would be usefull especially round a track. Most of the time you know what gear you’re in by engine note and feel but if you’re fairly new then it’ll probably help.