Big sports bike advice

[Stowelly]

I expect this post comes up on here daily.... but im looking to move up from my srad 600 to something a bit bigger with a 2 grand budget, but the best i seem to be able to get for that sort of money is either 98 (ish) blade or an R1 with 12k on them, or 2002 versions with about 30k + on them, which do you think is likely to be better?, I notice a lot of the early R1's have after market steering dampeners on them, do they really wobble that much?. cheers

[clancy]

From what I know, most litre sports bikes benefit from steering dampers just to help with controlling them
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KLX 300r

[Wafer_Thin_Ham]

Most litre sportsbikes from the 98 R1 onwards would benefit from a steering damper if you're not a hero. Purely because of the big power, shallow head angle/low weight.
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My Flickr

[Copycat73]

[Fizzer Thou]

My 5JJ R1 has no steering damper and it does not need one as far as I am concerned.If the suspension is set up better than standard settings it is stable enough at *** mph.I feel that steering dampers hide other problems.

I would like one on my KTM enduro bike though.They tend to get a bit unstable at 80 mph on the gravel fire roads around a typical Welsh mountainside
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Just talk bikes.What else is there?

Always have a 'Plan B'

[G]

R1 is a chunk ahead of the fireblade.

Probably best you'll do at this time of year - in winter expect to get a tatty GSXR1000 for that if you don't mind waiting.

R1 is certainly more 'flighty' than previous sports bikes, though not as bad as the early R6s.

[Sako]

My old R1 used to love shaking it's head like an epileptic watching tennis if you were to thrash it on any road that wasn't as smooth as a snooker table.

[The Tot]

If you can pick up a 954 FireBlade for about £3k, that's what I'd recommend! I am biased however! Didn't have the glamour of the R1, nor the grunt of the gixxer, but it's refined, comfortable and uber practical. I can't say much about the electrics however!
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The Tot 2019 Z1000SX - 2007 R1
Never argue with autism

[stevo as b4]

I'd save your pennies and wait until a nice 2004 Kawasaki ZX10R pops up. It's already a legendary bike, will be the next (98 R1) and a classic nutter bike. 170kg, short wheelbase and no steering damper FTW!

[Irezumi aka Reuben]

Kawasaki ZX9R and Aprilia RSV will both be within that price range.
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Pictorgraphicalfantastical

[Stowelly]

[P.]

Not had the R1 long enough to give it much praise or hate, I have a steering damper on my 01, I've tried all of the settings and I do not really notice much change between all the settings.

I remove it but have since put it back on because I hate fiddling with things, I break things.

Effortless riding. Open the throttle and go. Basically

Handles superbly, only other bike that rode this nice was the RS125 I had. The rest felt like barges.

Mine has over 26.5k on it, seems superb currently aside from its water pipe eating itself, but it doesn't appear to be a common issue.

I'm glad I bought it, just hope it isn't a lemon as it is supposed to be doing Spain in a month.

[Stowelly]

[P.]

Loads of stories, but its about 10 posts online vs the million or so sold. Nothing seems wrong with mine.

Fuel wise, better than my CBR600RR, 150-160 miles to a tank at "legal" speeds

[Stowelly]

sounds like a better range than my 600 srad.... hmm, very tempted!

[Stowelly]

good call on the zx9r's by the way, seems its possible to get what appears to be very good low mileage examples for less than 2k...... whats wrong with them??

[Banger]

[P.]

gearboxes apparently.

[UnspeedySam]

Wasn't it the early C models that had dodgy gearboxes? I thought it was fixed in 2001 with the E. Not found anything to verify this though.

Having ridden an E1 I was impressed, but it is a fairly heavy bike and isn't quite as sharp as the 6R.

edit: Yeah just the C models: https://www.mcnninjas.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=99691.0
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Riding: BMW R1150RT `02 bought mildly crashed
Fixing: Also the BMW as I get less broken bits
Gone: ZZR600 '00, TRX850 '97, RXS100 '93, JS125-6B '07, BMW R1100RS '93, Kawasaki ZX-6R-J2 '01, Honda Bros NT400 NC25 '88

[Stowelly]

after a bit of googling it seems:
98 - 99 gearbox problems
00 cracked frame
00 - 01 carb stutter issues

[Blau Zedong]

Buy Mk1 Fireblade, get loads of sex.

The End.
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18:54:48 Rob Fzs: jews don't give away stuff for free

18:54:59 Rob Fzs: unless its their clothes/ hair/ golden teeth

[G]

ZX9R is a good choice compared to the Honda - better value and a bit better performance. Also a little less boring than the Honda, though not too much.

Not up to R1 in terms of performance - however should be at least as good as the blade.

[Stowelly]

Didnt realise the zx9 was quite well regarded. to be honest i dont NEED the power of the r1 at all, and as it will be used all year round Im not sure something that erratic would be too great in slippery conditions. still, if one came at the right price / condition id buy it without thinking!

[stevo as b4]

I'd put C model ZX9R's much higher on the list of reliability than your current SRAD GSXR600. They were the one 600 back in their day that I would never have owned, as they did have a lot of engine issue's reported compared to any of their rivals.

You should easily get a 98 Blade (lovely refined smooth version of the original) or a ZX9 C or E model, with your budget id say. The ZX9R C was a classy bike as Kawasaki reverted back to single understated colours instead of the nasty 90's ZXR/GSXR explosion in a paint factory colour schemes of earlier bikes.

Outside choices for massive amount of bike and value for your money would be the Thunderace and RF900, both great bikes, both silly cheap now for a very good one!

p.s I really can't see 2004 ZX10R's falling much in price though, everyone who wants a mint 98 R1 is the same person who will want the crazy Kwak in a few years time.

[henry hoover]

Honda cbr954rr for me,

Might not be as mad and bad as the Gixxer or the R1 but plenty fast enough and pretty legendary
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Cbr600rr 2010 Sold
Zx6r 636 2006 sold
Gsxr 750 L1 current