this post was submitted on 15 Jan 2024
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I still think the mid 2000s GSX-R 750 is the ultimate street "sport bike" so...
Nothing exotic mainly because working on them/getting parts/maintenance all overpriced :). If all maintenance is included mine could change.
What makes the GSX-R 750 the ultimate sport bike in your mind?
Well back when I was riding a LOT and even racing (wera) it was the literal same chassis, and weight of it's little brother (GSX-R 600) but with 145hp. So a menace :)
I'm still a fairly inexperienced rider, I've put 1800 miles into my first and only motorcycle: A Suzuki GZ250 with a whopping 20hp. I test rode a 80hp Triumph Trident 660 and did some 2nd gear pulls at not even full throttle and it was the craziest acceleration I've ever felt, more so than the (admittedly smallish) rollercoasters I've ridden and the C7 Corvette that I got to floor it in. Even the Harley I test rode felt fast. I can't even imagine what 145hp is supposed to feel like.
I only ever owned 600cc sport bikes. I started on a 1997 Honda CBR 600 F3, and put 17k miles on it the first year I owned it!! Started doing track days with it also. I did ride a number of same/larger cc ones just never owned (GSX-R 750, GSX-R 1000, Ducati 748R, various Honda 600s, Kawasaki 636)
Bought a brand new 2004 GSX-R 600, and laid it down before making my first payment on it. (Sigh). I hit some gravel while going around a corner that had been washed out of a driveway. Insurance totaled it, so I bought it back and turned it into a full track bike, and bought a 2005 GSX-R 600. I got my race license with Wera and raced the 2004 for a couple seasons. Super expensive, especially if you crash :). So after that ran it's course I ended up trading my track bike with someone for a Honda CRF 450R dirt bike, and got into riding off-road. That bike was silly fast but it was not very good for riding in the woods. It was made for motocross not trails. Eventually I bought a new 2011 KTM 450 XCW which was a fantastic woods riding bike and sold the CRF.
I had the GSX-R and KTM for a while but had stopped riding regularly in the street, mostly just to work which was a bit of a pain on a sport bike. After a few years I sold the GSX-R.
That lasted for a year or so before I bought a 2006 Honda ST-1300 in 2013. Had 20k on it. I still have it and it has right at 50k on it now. I even got my "iron butt" with this bike. Road from NY, to Michigan, down to Indiana (1077 miles) in about 17h straight. Glad I did it, got all the official paperwork but would never do it again!!!
I sold my KTM just this year to a buddy I used to ride with for his son, so I'm back to just one bike (ST-1300).
That's my riding history :)
And you would be surprised what you can get used to speed/power wise !
Feels like heaven. Upgraded from a Ninja 650 to a GSXR 750 last year. Over double the hp. Can stay in 2nd gear on the FREEWAY.
I've heard of bikes that will exceed every US freeway speed limit in first. That's crazy. For comparison, here are the redline speeds in each gear on my GZ250:
That's right, I must be in top gear to keep up with traffic on my GZ250.
But your GSX-R can pull so much harder in any gear.
It feels like you can teleport from point A to B before you know you left A.