Jon's Suzuki GSX-R1000 K7

December 11th
Mileage is up to 7,836, I thought it would be more by now, I use it nearly everyday for transport after all. But she's standing up to the weather pretty well, so far. recent modifications are some Micron cans and a cat replacement pipe, plus some Michelin Pilot Road 2 tyres.

I've been trying to keep the Gixxer as clean and healthy-looking as I have been all year. I always 'use' my bikes, so they get a reasonably hard life, but that doesn't mean they don't get cleaned and pampered. Trying to keep that level of care up is hard when all you want to do is get inside on a dark night, eat your dinner and sit by the fire.
So far the worst signs of weather attacking the bike is on the chain. It doesn't matter how well I look after it the damn thing rusts within 30 seconds of a wet journey, which seems to stand out a mile when it's parked up. Other than that the doses of Scottoiler's FS365 and Adams Aviation's ACF50 sprayed on seem to be beating corrosion.

Oddly enough I've been enjoying riding the bike as much as I was in the height of summer. Partly because it's rained nearly all year so I'm well versed with the K7's wet handling but a pair of Michelin Pilot Road 2 tyres are breeding confidence. They're far from an obvious choice for a litre sports bike but they're great at giving me loads of feel whatever the road surface is up to.

The first stretch of my journey is where I'm most confident and happy on the Pilot Road 2s. Puddles, horse shit, rain-wash gravel patches and fallen trees greet me each morning on fresh cold tyres but I'm wheelying, jumping off a little crest here and braking deep into cold morning corners like I just don't care – well, so long as there's no ice about. It's a tough test which the Road 2s are passing with distinction and helping keep the GSX-R full of life deep into winter.

The cat replacement is a brilliant idea which I'm slightly ashamed I didn't cotton on too earlier in the year. Using the standard down pipes you remove the catalyst box (along with close to 4kg) and slot the hydro-formed bit of steel in place. It costs £149.99 and if you add in the MotoGP-style, road legal silencers for a further £449.98 you have significant weight savings and a noticeably better handling bike.

November 7th
This update has been a long time coming so apologies. There's been a lot going on but that's no excuse. So, the Yoshi system is off and replaced but the stock down pipes, a Micron cat replacement pipe and twin Micron Serpant end cans. The results look good
The replacement for the catalyst is so simple I almost feel bad for not mentioning it before now. Definitely it's something you should consider. I weighted the catalyst section of the standard exhaust and it alone is a hefty 3.8kg. It sounds better too with teh dual pipes back on.

Through a methodical process of elimination I'm now using race brake fluid and have fitted the Hel braided hoses. It's better, particularly day-to-day but still they faded on the track. A quick spin on Kenny's CBR6 showed how good brakes should be. Less weight accepted power and feel all day long from the Honda. In short it's still not good enough.

The throttle started sticking (not that I'm using this an excuse for Brands!). I dismantled the whole twist-grip assembly expecting to find a dry bar but found only a nice, clean thin layer of oil. So I put it back together and can only conclude the grip must have been rubbing the bar end weight slightly. All I did was take it apart and put it back together again and everything is now fine. Regular inspection and maintenance of the controls can never hurt though.

During approximately 3,500 miles I've totally knackered the rear Dunlop Qualifier RR with my ninety-odd miles daily commute and three trackdays. To be fair the trackdays are responsible for the horrific state of the tyre but I can't remember wearing a tyre out so much before. Check out the pic on the gallery.

September 26th
A quick up-date to tell you I've been to Premier Motorcycles at West Wickham in South London to have the recall work done care of Suzuki. With the inlet idle valve replaced my bike is, well, idling better - just as you'd expect. I'd never really thought it a problem but it does seem sweeter now.
Fuel consumption has been improved generally since the PDM installation of the Power Commander and Yoshi pipe helping me do a record 177 miles on a tank before a fill up this morning. It's a nerdy topic of conversation but I was pleased with it. 17.83 litres went back in according to the Esso pump reading so those last ten miles holding my breath and trundling along at 4,000rpm must have saved a bit of pushing.

September 20th
We're just back from our SuperBike trackday at Brands Hatch where I had a great time on the Gixxer. The truth is the astonishing speed makes it a bit of a handful around the tight Indy circuit but it's one hell of an experience holding onto a 170bhp+ bike out of Clearways.

I was there doing a back-to-back test with the PDM racing British superstock bike (which is for sale now by the way!) so got the chance to weigh up my bike against a proper race bike. The biggest thing which stood out from the test was how close the two were, truthfully you're K7 is not far removed. The fitting of the race exhaust system and a Power Commander is the most obvious leveller, putting my bike roughly 10bhp behind the PDM GSX-R motor. Other than that the sharpness of the race bike was the key with stronger front brakes causing no fade and consistent lever pressure, rearsets making gear shifts precise and the sharper profile Metzeler Racetecs helping it steer better.

The Ohlins rear shock is a loads more sophisticated than my stocker but PDM rider, Luke Quigley, reckoned the stock forks were really good and not so far off his K-tech worked race set-up.

I removed the PP Racing rear sets chiefly because I wanted to switch back to standard road shift gear lever (with the PP mounting plates fitted the wrong way around to make them usable for my leg length, race-shift was the only option).

September 13th
Unlucky for some? Well not in any drastic way. But let me paint a picture for you; I set off for work just as normal, except I'm a bit chilly now Autumn seems to be here in the early morning air. The fuel light has been flashing since 20 miles or so ago last night, so I'm heading for my usual garage on the A24 to fill up. I pull up at the pump, just like normal, get off, take my glove off and then attempt to remove the filler cap. There's the rub. "Attempt". That fancy PP Racing quick release filler cap I fitted a couple of months ago suddenly was far from quick release at all, in fact it wouldn't budge an fuggin inch.

There's not a lot you can do when you get to a filling station low on fuel and the fuel cap won't undo. After a few minutes thinking my hand had suddenly turned weak or maybe I've forgotten how to unscrew things (?!) a mild panic sets in. The rational part of my brain eventually kicks in and logic tells me to use the under seat tool kit to un-bolt the whole cap and fill 'er up that way.

It's not the end of the world and I know now you have to keep on top of things and grease the actual cap regularly (even then it's always been a bit stiff). I can hear my Dad moaning about my lack of maintenance from 150 miles away!

August 29th
So I nipped over to sunny Bexhill-on-Sea to visit the chaps at PDM Racing (again) for a chat and a dyno run with the new Yoshimura exhaust system. The result? A massive 174.68bhp and 82.61lbf-ft torque. Blimey.

The results are interesting but just as Yoshi say, having the mid-section of the exhaust turned one way or the other does give you more top-end or mid-range power. You can clearly see from the charts I've got it set for more mid-range and basically what that means is the 4,000rpm slump is ironed out. I was glad the dyno backed up the feeling on the road because you can't fail to notice the difference. Basically, with the careful Power Commander plotting of Glenn on the Dynojet dyno at PDM I have all the smooth power a man could need from tickover to top end.

I've popped a pic of the dyno chart on my gallery page, so take a look at the differences between the LeoVince and the Yoshimura, but this chart is pre-power commander.

August 15th
Hot on the pipes of the new Yoshi exhaust system are a smart-looking pair of PP Tuning rearsets (it's amazing what you can get done when the boss is out the office!). I figured while the bike as on the bench and the tools were scattered everywhere I should get more than one job done.

These black anodised alloy hangers have nine adjustment holes for each hanger bolt, which gives them quite a range depending on your height or preference.

You can see form the picture the lower half of my fairing is still missing while I find an accurate way of cutting it to accomodate the Yoshi pipes (they foul unless you do some cutting).

August 14th
I've spent the morning fitting a fancy new Yoshimura Tri-Oval exhaust system. This is the Japanese-spec, high level, 4-2-1 system which retails at £1,279.

There was nothing wrong with the LeoVince pipes I removed, they were great in fact, but in the interest of testing different products on the bike it was time for a change. This stainless steel system is naturally not as light as the LeoVince titanium one but the quality of it is second-to-non. You get so much for all that money, from comprehensive fitting instructions (including how to disconnect the exhaust valve without docking yourself any power) right down to the factory exhaust spring puller, embossed with the Yoshi logo.

To be honest it was a lot harder to fit than I imagined. Fitting the header pipes into the mid-section/4-into-2-into-1 pipe was a real struggle and one of those massively frustrating jobs where everytime one bit lines up another falls out. You also have to butcher the standard oil and radiator mounting bracket and the bottom fairing and I'm wondering if I'd be very happy if this were my bike. Obviously it's partly my job to test these things on my long termer so I'm going through with it. But if this Yoshi system takes your eye as much as it did mine then you'd better know in advance you'll need a hacksaw and be prepared to fit it and ditch the standard exhaust (or be prepared to buy a new fairing).

Apart from the above it's clearly a very well designed and manufactured system. There are two ways of fitting the mid-section onto the header pipes; one gives the engine better top-end performance the other better mid-range. I've opted for better mid-range (mainly because I seem destined to never get on the track again if the flaming weather has anything to do with it!) which should serve me better overall I'm thinking.

I'll get myself off to a dyno as soon as possible to let you know the figures. In the meantime take a look at my gallery page for latest pics.

August 2nd
Just a quick update to say thanks for the emails coming in, specifically about the brakes as I'm glad to hear it's not just me! Replacing the fluid has helped but the general consensus seems to be changing the hoses as well will do the job. So I'm on it.

I forgot to mention the Stomp tank pads which appear in my pics on the gallery. Stomp make these super-sticky pads which help your legs grip the bike better on the track but also stop you sliding about in the seat a bit on the road. They came from the same people who kindly supplied the number plate
July 27th
Would you look at that, a whole month between updates. Apologies. To be honest I've been riding loads of other bikes lately so the K7 has been confined to the dreary task of commuting to and from work and nothing more exciting. Not that riding a 171bhp bike a hundred miles a day can ever be called dreary of course - even if the weather switches from July to December on a daily basis.
I've just spent the morning fiddling about with things in the garden, not the courgettes, the Gixxer. First job was fitting a smart new number plate care of MAL. There's a pic on my gallery page so go check out how good it looks. I didn't want anything blatantly illegal but something smaller than standard was badly needed to make the rear end of the bike look sweeter. MAL came up trumps with this 14x19cm (7.5x5.5inch) plate. The best bit is the little JP at the top, along with the SuperBike logo of course.

The second job, after yet another wash and brush up, was to bleed the brakes. It's taken me far too long to get around to this, especially given all the problems I've had with the brakes.

It's a simple task so long as you have the right kit. I set myself up with my brake bleed bottle and tube, some rags to soak any spillages, an 8mm spanner for the bleed nipple, a new bottle of Rock Oil DOT 4 brake fluid and some warm soapy water in a bucket to wash any spillages immediately.

If you've never done it the process is simple - with the brake bleed bottle hose over the end of the bleed nipple on the caliper, you apply pressure to the brake lever and hold it. Then tweak off the bleed nipple until you see fluid come through the pipe and down into the bottle. Then tweak up the nipple again before letting go of the lever. Repeat that until you're happy the system is air-free. It basically pushes the fluid from the reservoir at the lever down through the brake lines and out the nipple.

The left side was fine but the right hand side did have some air in it, about half a dozen bubbles came through the tube. A quick blast up the road and back showed the lever now feels a tad more positive but not much else. I'd expect to find the difference shows over a longer journey where the fluid, pads and calipers heat up more.

I have some new brake hoses but I'm going to see how simply bleeding the system affects it first, and then replace the hoses along with a complete fluid change. Here's hoping I'm on the path to curing the inconsistent lever pressure problems I've had from day one.

June 26th
I've had a bit of a spanner frenzy over the last two days. The brakes are much better (finally I can stop feeling like I'm going to run into the back of other vehicles) thanks to a pad or two from Vesrah. The difference isn't massive but it is crucial. Basically the initial bite from the lever is, well, there. When I squeeze the lever they bite the disc with the strength you'd expect. Squeeze hard enough now and it'll do an endo with power and feel where-as before it wouldn't. It really was a two minute job which made a big difference to the way the bike feels on the road - I have no idea why I haven't done it before.

Another change (coupled with the exhaust system) is an adjustment to the throttle. Hairy R's make a small piece of plastic (they call it a throttle handle) which clips over the throttle twist grip, increasing the radius and reducing the amount it physically needs turn to open the throttle. Effectively it's like a milder form of a quick-action throttle giving me sharper access to the 171 horses (like I needed it!). To all those people moaning about how the K7 doesn't pick up power like the older models, fit a pipe and try one of these. £25 seems a lot for such a small peice of plastic but it makes much more than twenty five quids worth of difference.

A neat and tidy tail tidy care of R&G (they don't only do crash bungs you know) has, erm, tidied-up the rear end of the bike. There's a pic of it on my gallery along with another new part, a PP filler cap. I'm not sure about it to be perfectly truthful with you – I mean I'm not normally one for fitting parts which bring nothing to the table apart from looking good. Whadya reckon?


June 13th
We're just back in the office from our Snetterton trackday care of MSV. If you look closely (or go to my pics on the gallery) you'll see the LeoVince titanium exhaust system which is making quite a difference to the bike. It handles better with less weight lurking around the swing arm, basically changing direction through Snetterton's chicane proved that. It sounds better (a noise meter at the track measured it at 101dba) and looks better being single-sided too. The main difference of course is the power and what a track to test it at! I'd been riding other test bikes most of the day and so only managed to jump on my bike for one session, and what an eye-opener. Truthfully it is the fastest bike I've ever ridden at that circuit. It changes the place completely and really makes you think again about where you brake, turn and then apply the power again. It's the only bike I've ever taken there which has still been accelerating when I reached the braking point at the end of the Revett straight. 171bhp truly does make it feel like a race bike so I can't imagine what it will be like in superstock or God forbid, superbike tuned trim.
Apart from the power increase the other main benefit of ditching the stock exhaust system is getting the suspension working better too. The shock is still bouncing too much on the smaller bumps but that one session proved some of the problems I've been moaning about were caused by the heavy stock end cans and catalytic converter. All things considered the LeoVince system is proving a real blinder (contact details below).

One thing I'm still moaning about are the brakes though. I adjusted the lever three times during the 15 minute session and still found myself running out of lever pressure. Back on the road it feels fine until the track sharpness wears off with road miles. More power is coming via some HEL hoses sitting in their box on my desk but I can't say I'm not disappointed with the standard performance.


May 30th
Everyone else at SuperBike can EAT MY SHORTS.

I have the best long termer. How do I know this? Because it has 171bhp at the back wheel that's how. I took a trip to Bexhill-on-Sea and the humble home of PDM Racing last Friday who kindly plied me cups of tea, fitted a LeoVince exhaust system and dynoed the bike for me.

This is exactly the same system the yanks are using in AMA Superstock series, as LeoVince developed it initially for that market. UK Superstock racing rules require all bikes with a twin system to run the same layout, where-as in the States you can run 4-2-1's without a problem. It looks better, is lighter and probably cooler-looking but it is friggin loud.

This titanium system is fully 'E' approved and stamped up and so it's road legal (although you wouldn't believe that if you were sitting on it doing 12,000rpm). With the baffle removed the power curve soares from 4,500rpm (and 50bhp) and bangs straight up to 171.86bhp at 12,000rpm which is quite amazing for a stock bike and bolt on system. With the baffle in it 'only' drops to 169bhp, so for now I'm keeping it plugged.

There are four LeoVince exhaust options for the K7; 2 x race only versions, 2 x fully road legal, choice of titanium sleeve, or carbon sleeve - each for £990.45. I've got other exhaust systems in the bag by the way so stay tuned. The LeoVince arrived first so this being a democratic magazine it's getting first dibs at the bike. And what a result.

May 24th
You might have spotted the news story I've posted on the home page pointing out the new R&G Racing crash bungs I fitted last night (any excuse to leave work early on a sunny day!).
Part of me didn't want to spoil the looks of the GSX-R by adding great clunky lumps of plastic on the side but not doing so is a bit like walking around saying, “I never crash me.” Inevitably you will then go and crash. In effect they are like two lucky talismen bolted to the side of the bike and, touch wood, I won't need them.
After two years of running long termers which needed a hole in the side of the fairing cutting out to fit the bungs, the GSX-R couldn't have been quicker or easier. Undo one side at a time and replace with the bung as per fitting instructions (with a dab of grease on the thread), tighten and job's a good 'un.

May 17th
I nearly crashed today. I'm not saying I was innocent but the mum too focused on her school run to realise she was driving way too fast up my little lane got a surprise in the shape of a GSX-R1000. She does it every morning to collect a neighbour's kids and I guess didn't expect someone to be coming the other way. My avoiding action had me locking the front across the stretch of crap which sits between the wheel tracks on the single track lane. That didn't fetch me off (just) but it didn't slow me down either so I had to ride up the bank and into the ditch to avoid the devoted mother in her Peugeot. No harm done (not that she would know having continued on her blind quest) except a slightly increased heart rate to start my day. It's karma I guess for all the times I ride too fast but really, isn't there a time and a place?
The lesson is, as ever, always expect other drivers to do the unexpected. But I'm also on the wrong tyres. The Avon trackday tyres are all well and good on nice warm and dry roads, and they're great on the track, but now the weather has turned during May life ain't so sweet. It's wet around here and without any real tread pattern they don't have a hope of dispersing the water. I feel a change of hoop coming on.


May 5th 2007
Finally I've managed to get on track with the K7. It's been a while coming, frustratingly long but I begged/blagged my way onto a circuit last week care of Avon tyres who were doing a test at Pembrey. As I've got a pair of Avon's new Viper Xtremes fitted and I needed to test them, well, any excuse.
It was the first time I'd been to Pembrey and I reckon it won't get any better than that – empty track, perfect sunshine and all the excitement (and nerves) of taking a new bike out there for the first time.

Pembrey taught me something isn't quite right with the rear suspension. I went up and down the settings at the rear trying to find something I was happy with. I can't seem to lose a feeling that the back end is too heavy, isn't moving progressively enough and pogo-ing too much without enough damping. I'm still not sure what the problem is, the 55-section Avon rear tyre might have been part of that feeling but I'm thinking ditching the stock twin exhausts might lose some weight and help much more.

I'm a bit disappointed with the front brakes. They worked pretty consistently on the track but are already adjusted to number one on the span adjustor which means I can't have any more lever pressure. That spans out to number two on the road but surely I shouldn't have used up all my adjustment straight away on new pads? I'm going to see if bleeding them brings some of the missing pressure up.

Changing the fuel maps through A,B or C apparently makes no difference to the fuel consumption. Long, sweeping corners at the track had me gingerly waiting to use the throttle out of corners in A-mode. C-mode lets you get on the gas and get the drive early so there is some use for it. The switch works instantly so flicking back to A-mode as you get upright down the straight causes a brilliant power boost. I'm not sure if it's quicker but it's a laugh.

It's not the most sophisticated of tests but I've been conducting a repeatable and methodical experiment each morning. It proves one thing; while other GSX-R1000s are threatening a conversation with a hedge, the K7 is gripping and driving towards the next bend in the road.
About a mile from my house a single track road comes to a T-junction. Occasionally (most days it rains) I come out of that junction wind the throttle on too much and do a 'big skid' on cold tyres. On cold tyres, a wet road and on any other GSX-R1000 'big skids' are dangerously easy but the K7 won't do anything other than propel me to 90mph (and the next bend) very quickly. Which you might say is a good thing if you want to get out of corners quicker, or you might say is a bad thing if you want the front wheel in the air more often.


April 2007
Spring has, indeed sprung, the clocks have changed, the days are getting longer, the bunnies and the lambs are…anyway. More importantly my 2007 long termer has arrived and I think it's fair to say I feel like a cat that got the cream and now I'm running mental around the field chasing those bunnies and lambs for all their worth.
It's the third Gixxer Thou I've had (K1, K3 previously) and I'm feeling pretty smug with it. So far I've simply been riding around getting used to it and feeling pretty peachy about having the best bike on the long term test fleet (I know a few of us are saying this but we know who's right here, right?).

The exhausts issue is exhausting, if you pardon the crap pun. It's a talking point (along with the more top end power and less mid-range power). In principal I like the balance two pipes gives the bike physically and visually. But in practice I'm not sold on them, even when they're replaced by race systems. In standard form the regulatory end cans are a bit too hefty and bulbous alongside the rest of the GSX-R's smoothly scuplted lines. The middle section of the pipes looks decidedly un-Suzuki-like as well, cheap you might say. But all that seems to fade away each time I ride it. After a year or two on 600s, then the long dark winter scratching around on any bike I could grab the keys for I'm astonished how fast it is.

It's all a bit too new to start making changes just yet, I'm still getting used to life with that much extra power on tap. The brakes are taking along time to bed in and still have a spongy feel 500 miles down the line. A track session should cure this, otherwise I'm going to need to take some emery paper to the disc and pads.

I've already done that scary thing where you try and see how far you dare ride with the fuel light flashing. An average tank full gets me 112 miles to the flashing light and then approximately 26 miles to solid light. Normally I fill up soon after that but once (just once I hope) I did 154miles total and by that point it had begun to starve of fuel and then took 17.29 litres to brim 'er up.