Recommend me a bike...

Earlier this year I got word that a good friend of mine was selling his 2001 Suzuki Tiller. I had some pretty fond memories on that bike from over the years as we would trade off every now and again. So I jumped on the offer and its been in my stable since may. I have to admit I only rode it about 10 times this season, since the GSA is pretty much my go to bike.

So, the few times i've been on it since I took ownership of it, I'm finding myself scratching my head and changing my underwear. I remember it being a different handling bike, compared to your average sportbike, but nothing outlandish. But it didn't recall it being possibly the worst handling bike...possibly ever. Maybe back then since it wasn't my bike, I didn't feel like flogging it, but now that i can.... Thanks to the horrible rear end rotary damper/spring on a stick setup and the numb low travel forks. Taking a corner on this bike is taking your life in your hands every time. You pray the rear end will not get too crazy and the torque the bike puts out will not cause a traction issue.

So, cutting to the chase here, I'm not sold on the bike. There are options for the TLR, but supposedly it will only result in a less than horrible handling bike. Which is an option yet, but only as a last resort.

So im looking to trade it or sell it for something like a used trackable bike. Probably something Jap for reliability and cheaper parts. I never have done a proper trackday at all in the past 10 years i've been riding. Im damn near 30 now and im like, shit...i gotta get on that.

So, i guess in a nutshell, a bike that has damn good handling out of the box and can do trackdays in stock trim. But also have the bike to tool around on the street when I'm not on the beemer.

Ive been so out of touch with the production/affordable sportbike world other than skimming a sport rider mag every now and again. So, im open to suggestions. I've been thinking Gix600 or CBR600?

ummmm.. r6?

Ha....

As much I would like to consider one, I just don't want to. I dunno if it just having two R6's over the year that makes me want something differnt. Or that I wasn't crazy of the way my 06 handled. I don't know why, I had it dialed in too. I might consider an 05 R6. I was never on one. I had a first gen 01 and a 3rd gen 06. In my year range and price range, I didnt like my 06 that much. No balls fown low. I heard the 07+s are better in the area, but the newer ones with the new cam are even better than that. But that brings it out of my price range.

I guess im looking for a 04-07 kind of bike. Something new enough, where it wont need anything. But old enough to be in the price range or maybe 4 to 6k.

For a trackday bike, stick with an R6 or GSXR. You can find other suitable bikes in your price range (Ducati Monster, KTM Duke, etc) but those aren't really track-able.

I think anything is trackable, i guess. I've seen pics and vids of people tracking GS's. Its do able, but thats like bringing a range rover to a Scca event.

Also not to mention, im trying to keep away from expensive euro bikes. One in the garage is bad enough.

I thought about a Duc Monster, but I ruled that out a week ago. I love em, but for the price range id be looking at older ones that might need a thing or two and if a track day goes bad, ughhh...i dont wanna even think about the repair bill.

I've been reading up on a few older 600 shootouts and its a mixed bag. It seems the R6 is always in the middle between love and hate. But the Gixxers and CBR's always seem to be the leaders. I would consider a 2nd gen R6, back when they had some midrange balls. The gixxer's seem to be a solid choice no matter what year. The CBR RR's seemed to be unimportant until 2007 when they revamped it.

I also heard good things about the Trumpet 675, but Im not sure. Its still a euro bike, but i heard its awesome. My friend has a 675R and he seemed to like it before he endo/low sided it back in july. Now, it's sitting in his garage all banged up and id love to try it out.

I did me some looking and i think i have it down to a few bikes. 2005 R6 first year with inverted modern forks. 2006 GSXR 600. or 2007 CBR 600RR. 2006 being the first year for the modern gixxer and 2007 being the first year the RR was worth getting.

Maybe a Gix750 since im 6 feet tall and could care to lose 20 lbs.

I thought about a litre bike, but im not too sure of the idea. On the street no problem there, been there done that. But for a first time track rider I feel a liter bike might be too much to actually ride all out? Or am i thinking too much into it? Better off to have something smaller and flog the shit out of it versus being paranoid of the power going around the track? Thoughts?

I dunno why it took me this long to actually start thinking about track days. I guess im special.....

a street triple might br worth considering
perfect for the street and would be great on the track too

I loved my 04 and 06 R6's the most. Maybe that's just because I crashed them, rebuilt them, and rode the balls off them. Best handling sexiest bikes I've ever owned.

05 R6

bigger throttle bodies, inverted forks.

interchangeable parts from 03 to now since R6S still around..(I think). It's a good set up, throw a damper on it and it's practically perfect (if you have the suspension dialed in.)

Yeah, i have it down to a 05 R6 as well. The 03/04's have the standard forks, while the 05 was the first year for the inverted forks. I never rode a 2nd get, so i was kind of curious about the power? Anyone? Are they relatively torquey like the 1st gens or was it peaky like the 06s?

I remember my 01 was pretty good in terms of power and torque, but i remember my 06 being dead below 8 grand. I had a full akra system on it, PCIII with custom map and a BMC filter too. So it would of been a great track bike, but just moping around the streets it was a pain. Always shifting. It would of been fine if i kept it in a lower gear, but that full akra was loud as hell. Maybe back then i had more of a conscience and I felt bad if i was leaving my house in the the morning and i brought it past 5k.

I didnt like the way my 06 handled that much, but i think back then it was from lack of dialing it properly. I rode it on the stock settings for the first few weeks, then started changing things around, but my suspension foo was weak back then. I only had the 06 R6 50TH for 2 year before I went to the Duc side. Plus the stock dunlops sucked balls and i never had them changed.


I thought about Triumphs too. The Street triple would be nice or a 675, but im not on the up and up with part costs for them being a Euro bike.

I was poking around ebay the other day and found a 05 in PA for 3500.
Yamaha : YZF-R | eBay