SUZUKI GSX-R600 L1 REVIEW

GSX-R600 L1

A few months ago I told my wife “I’m going to buy a bike”. At first she didn’t believe me but when it became apparent that I was actually serious - and I proved to her that I already had a full bike license from many years ago, she was very supportive of the idea and this spurred me on to make my purchase.

I noted down the reasons for my wanting a bike:

1.A fair-weather weekend ‘toy’ to enjoy my local ‘A’ & ‘B’ roads on in the Chilterns.

2.Commuting to my local office (4 miles away) when I know I’ll not be going out for meetings elsewhere - typically 2 or 3 times a week.

I then noted my ‘basic’ requirements of the bike:

1.Sporty - it had to be sporty and this only because my previous bike was a sports bike and I have many great memories of fun-filled miles covered on it.

2.Relatively low seat height; at only 5ft 6in tall, I wanted both feet to touch the ground (at least mostly!)

3.Good-looking! My bike had to be something I felt compelled to turn and have one last look at as I walked away when leaving it once parked up.

Finally, I noted what I didn’t want a bike for:

1.Touring

2.City use

3.Medium to long distance commuting (my commuting in this respect is typically to visit Construction Sites and I use my Land Rover for that)

4.Off-road; again, my Land Rover takes care of my thrills off the paved track.

5.Track days; I have no intention of visiting a track.

Having then looked at many different style of bike, I settled upon two types: Streetbike and Supersport 600cc.

Of the streetbikes, the Triumph Street Triple stood out as my favourite and I looked at it with interest but felt the only let down was that, whilst good-looking, I preferred the look of the Supersports bikes. So while it ticked all of my boxes, I moved on to the Supersports knowing that my bike would come from there...

The 600cc bikes appeared to be very similar from all Manufacturers but the GSX-R600 felt the best for my height; it was just very comfortable immediately and that was the clincher for me given that I thought they all looked equally good in their own way and performance-wise they would all be close; especially for someone who never intended to wring out the very last drop of speed on a track out of it.

In terms of purchasing, I found the best deal at the time to be £8199 and 0% which I took advantage of.

I have had the bike for a few months now and it is still very much being run-in - only 166 miles covered to date so this is only the beginning of my life with the Gixxer and far too soon to provide the full story. However, I can say that thus far I am very pleased with my choice.

At first I suffered from the ‘usual’ sports bike ailments; sore wrist mainly, but all appears to be well now and and I am comfortable on every ride (admittedly short distance though).

Good points:

1. Great looking - when it is parked outside my office and literally next to my window, I find myself giving it admiring looks.

2.The engine sound is intoxicating; a powerful sound without being overly loud.

3.Brakes are very good; the Brembo calipers are definitely excellent at doing their job.

4.Agility and handling appear to be very good indeed taking in the ‘S’ bends on ‘B’ roads with ease.

5.Midrange ability - I find this to be good albeit I am aware that being a supersports 600 that is designed to run best high up the rev range, this may not be a strong point when compared to many other bikes designed for street use but to me it feels fine and, indeed, rapid.

6.Confidence-inspiring; having not ridden a bike in many years, I am pleased to find that this bike really doesn’t feel daunting at all and is altogether manageable and great fun to ride. The bike has two ECU maps, low and full power and I had imagined using the lower power map for a while; it lasted for the first 80-odd miles only...

7.Light - at only 187kg it is relatively easy to move about.

Bad points:

1.Running and insurance costs are higher than non-supersport bikes. In my case, this is paying a premium for a bike that isn’t being used as Mr Suzuki intended and ridden slower than most riders do on machines not as capable. But the key is that it is capable of very high speeds and is associated with such use and therefore more expensive to own.

2.No fuel guage; the one thing I wish the bike had is an electronic fuel guage that tells me my range etc.

All in all, I’m finding the GSX-R600 L1 a great re-introduction to motorcycling and I hope to have many more thrilling miles riding it and as I ride it more, I will add to this review.

Welcome back to biking!

Awesome looking bike, would love to have one (won't be able to for a few years though).

I'm sure you'll love it!

GSX-R600 L1

A few months ago I told my wife “I’m going to buy a bike”. At first she didn’t believe me but when it became apparent that I was actually serious - and I proved to her that I already had a full bike license from many years ago, she was very supportive of the idea and this spurred me on to make my purchase.

I noted down the reasons for my wanting a bike:

1.A fair-weather weekend ‘toy’ to enjoy my local ‘A’ & ‘B’ roads on in the Chilterns.

2.Commuting to my local office (4 miles away) when I know I’ll not be going out for meetings elsewhere - typically 2 or 3 times a week.

I then noted my ‘basic’ requirements of the bike:

1.Sporty - it had to be sporty and this only because my previous bike was a sports bike and I have many great memories of fun-filled miles covered on it.

2.Relatively low seat height; at only 5ft 6in tall, I wanted both feet to touch the ground (at least mostly!)

3.Good-looking! My bike had to be something I felt compelled to turn and have one last look at as I walked away when leaving it once parked up.

Finally, I noted what I didn’t want a bike for:

1.Touring

2.City use

3.Medium to long distance commuting (my commuting in this respect is typically to visit Construction Sites and I use my Land Rover for that)

4.Off-road; again, my Land Rover takes care of my thrills off the paved track.

5.Track days; I have no intention of visiting a track.

Having then looked at many different style of bike, I settled upon two types: Streetbike and Supersport 600cc.

Of the streetbikes, the Triumph Street Triple stood out as my favourite and I looked at it with interest but felt the only let down was that, whilst good-looking, I preferred the look of the Supersports bikes. So while it ticked all of my boxes, I moved on to the Supersports knowing that my bike would come from there...

The 600cc bikes appeared to be very similar from all Manufacturers but the GSX-R600 felt the best for my height; it was just very comfortable immediately and that was the clincher for me given that I thought they all looked equally good in their own way and performance-wise they would all be close; especially for someone who never intended to wring out the very last drop of speed on a track out of it.

In terms of purchasing, I found the best deal at the time to be £8199 and 0% which I took advantage of.

I have had the bike for a few months now and it is still very much being run-in - only 166 miles covered to date so this is only the beginning of my life with the Gixxer and far too soon to provide the full story. However, I can say that thus far I am very pleased with my choice.

At first I suffered from the ‘usual’ sports bike ailments; sore wrist mainly, but all appears to be well now and and I am comfortable on every ride (admittedly short distance though).

Good points:

1. Great looking - when it is parked outside my office and literally next to my window, I find myself giving it admiring looks.

2.The engine sound is intoxicating; a powerful sound without being overly loud.

3.Brakes are very good; the Brembo calipers are definitely excellent at doing their job.

4.Agility and handling appear to be very good indeed taking in the ‘S’ bends on ‘B’ roads with ease.

5.Midrange ability - I find this to be good albeit I am aware that being a supersports 600 that is designed to run best high up the rev range, this may not be a strong point when compared to many other bikes designed for street use but to me it feels fine and, indeed, rapid.

6.Confidence-inspiring; having not ridden a bike in many years, I am pleased to find that this bike really doesn’t feel daunting at all and is altogether manageable and great fun to ride. The bike has two ECU maps, low and full power and I had imagined using the lower power map for a while; it lasted for the first 80-odd miles only...

7.Light - at only 187kg it is relatively easy to move about.

Bad points:

1.Running and insurance costs are higher than non-supersport bikes. In my case, this is paying a premium for a bike that isn’t being used as Mr Suzuki intended and ridden slower than most riders do on machines not as capable. But the key is that it is capable of very high speeds and is associated with such use and therefore more expensive to own.

2.No fuel guage; the one thing I wish the bike had is an electronic fuel guage that tells me my range etc.

All in all, I’m finding the GSX-R600 L1 a great re-introduction to motorcycling and I hope to have many more thrilling miles riding it and as I ride it more, I will add to this review.

Nice review and a beautiful looking bike.

Did you find the low power map made much difference?

Nice bike this is what im after qhen i get my license that, good review.

This a bit of a necro post. I was just curious as to how you've got on since last posting?

Clocked many more miles? Any interesting tales to tell?

This a bit of a necro post. I was just curious as to how you've got on since last posting?

Clocked many more miles? Any interesting tales to tell?

he's not been on the forum for over 2 years. why not send him a message?