I wanted a gsxr600 but Yam-ma-hammer has better deals on their bikes right now.

 

get a used or new R1

 

Depends on your riding experience. If you're wanting an R6, im sure its more than gas economy being even the 1000cc+ bikes get over 30mpg (rider experience, or maybe you just dont want a 1000+ bike).

Imo, get a GSX-R750. You wont want more power after 6 months, and once you get a hang of it you can ride just as fast as some of the 1000 boys. It weighs less than a GSX-R600, and shares a lot of the same design features. Gets about 35mpg, and can still pull low 10s in the 1/4 mile w/ the right rider.

Ive been rackin my brain on the same subject. My truck gets maybe 15mpg on a good day w/ a tailwind, and a bike will just flat out destroy it in every aspect. If you have the experience, by all means get a larger bike. But dont be a stupid squid and get a 1000cc bike for your first. Just lookin out for a fellow member.

 

I have seen in the bike shoot outs where they are running the r6 up against liter bikes. and they are not too far off

 

Hayabusa!

One thing to consider is that "standard" bikes may have cheaper insurance rates than the "superbike" styles.

 

My father has a GS1150 Suzuki drag "street" bike. It has an extended swing arm, big bore kit, air shift, so on and so on (and he's in his late 50's, but been riding all of his life). He had the motor built by a place called Maximum Street Performance, who is like the king of Outlaw Pro Street bike motors. They have a guy there named Keith Dennis (I'm sure you bike guys have heard of him) who rides a ZX636R (Kawasaki's 600) who calls out regular "Joes" on Hyabusa's, Jixer 1000's and many other liter bikes. In Daytona at bike week they were street racing and collecting money hand over fist! This guy won the AMA Prostar 600 championship last year. The moral of the story is, these 600's are plenty fast....and a good experienced rider has the capability of knockin' off an "average" rider on a liter bike. The thing for me tho, is once you've had a liter bike....1000, 1100, etc., you just can't see yourself on a 600. It's not really an ego thing...its just a hangup I guess. Here's a pic of Dad's 1150...it ain't no sissy!

 

Nice Bottle location Tim

I also say depending on your weight the 750 would be an excellent choice too like someone said above. They have good power to weight ratio and can hang with liter bikes as well.

 

I agree with ya on the 750's...but they are just a little too "race inspired" for me. ****, you could put a set of plates on a GSXR 750 and go racing! The short wheelbase also makes them a little wheelie prone, and I'm a bit too old to be chicken' wingin' it on a wheel anymore! I got kids I'd like to see grow up...that's why I don't have a bike right now. My fathers 1150 is for sale, with a trailer and all, but even tho I've considered it...I'm gonna have to pass on a bike for now. What did you do with the bike that you had bought and painted to match your truck??

 

i also agree that a gsx-r750 runs great a friend has one and i like it a lot much better than my sises gsx-r600. the only reason i mentioned an R1 is because of how cheep the 03's were going for. i seen them for like 3700 with like 5000 miles and never laied over. also seen some a little cheeper.

 

750s do have short wheel bases, but for the most part its a 600 frame w/ a 750cc engine (altho the 04 750s have more refined frames than the 600). The new 750s are like 10-15lbs less in dry weight to the Gixxer 600, and have about 15-20hp more.

Yes the GSX-R750 is "race inspired" because for the longest time they didnt allow 1000cc+ inline 4s in superbike or MotoGP (one of the two, cant remember which) Thats why you saw guys riding the RC-51 from Honda vs the CBR900/929/954, and the GSX-R750, ZX-7 and R-7 vs their liter bike bretheran. Although its a race inspired bike, if you're a bigger guy (i'd say around 6'0" and 200lbs) i wouldnt detur from thinking about the 750. Its just as easy to hurt yourself on a 600 as it is a Hayabusa, you just have a lil more leway on that middleweight.

A few warnings on 00-03 Gixxer 600/750s tho. They tend to be harder to control @ lower speeds (lowsiding is a problem) and their steering dampers tend to be a lil stiff. The 00 750s tend to have 2nd gear problems, but thats easily fixxed. Outside of that, i cant think of much else wrong w/ the 600s/750s.

I know guys w/ both, and can tell you the +'s/-'s all day. All in all, review your finances, see which one fits you best and enjoy the hell out of it, but RESPECT IT! It will F you up bigtime once you lose that respect, 600 or not.