[bskicrash1]

This question is geared toward the members who have had the experience of riding sportbikes as the differant generations and models have come out. What changes have you noticed in the development of the sportbike since the 80's?

I ask this b/c I ride a 93 750w, and when I sat on an K7 750, it seemed soo much smaller, compact and would be flickable.


Thanks
Robert

 

[SVS]

HUGE difference... A lot of R&D has been going on. Your '93 was the heaviest model GSX-R750 made - 458 lbs dry - the new ones are almost 100lbs lighter! Then add some 25-30 hp at the wheel with a better power delivery, vastly improved frame and suspension, etc., etc. It's gone that way with all sport bikes :thumbup

 

[slow5OH]

i don't know if it is considered a "sport" bike but my first street bike was a 1982 kawi gpz550. it was the sportier side of their kz line. and really there is no comparison other than they (gpz and my current gsxr) had two wheels, disc brakes and clip-on handle bars. everything is so much better.

my last bike before this was a 96 rf600. we nicknamed it the enterprise because of its sheer size (about as big as a busa only with about 60hp less). needless to say, the current sport bikes are leaps and bounds better.

 

[rocgixxer]

slipper clutch

 

[Dorkfish]

I had a '91 750 similar to yours. I had a Fox Racing shock and Lindemann Engineering forks all well set up for my weight. Stainless lines, well-maintained brakes, nice pads. JE 955cc piston kit, RPM adjustable ignition trigger, Dyna coils, FactoryPro jet kit, tuned on the dyno - around 123 DJHP. In other words, the bike had been steadily modified in an effort to keep it current and capable over the course of the 16 years I owned it. After all that, it would run with modern 600/636s, get pulled significantly by '02 and later 750s, and positively looked like it was tied to a post trying to run with a modern 1000. Then I spent a bunch of time on my pal's K3 1000. I was ready for the power - which it had in spades. But the urgency of the power with the light throttle and fuel injection took some getting used to in order to be smooth. Plus, the overall feeling of the bike was like it was carved out of a big chunk of billet aluminum - light, solid, substantial. Going back to my oil-boiler, it was smoother but heavy and slow and the only way to describe the handling/suspension/chassis is what I said at the time: "crap this thing feels like it's got a hinge in the middle of it".

So I bought a K7 1000.

 

[rraiderr]

Cost increase for both the bike and insurance.

The dealers are getting even more stupid.

Lot’s more squids on bikes now.

Cops are cracking down on bikes.

Out of the box performance is much better.

 

[mikeb12]

a few things come to mind; power, weight, handling and durability. all are very much improved except the durabilty part. back in the day, you could drop a bike on it's side and pegs wouldn't bend. broken frames only came with the heaviest of accidents and plastics could be sanded and repaired instead of the usual shattering they go thru now.

on the good side, 600s now make real power (since the mid 90s really), 1000s are crazy fast and the handling of a stock bike is better than racers of a decade prior. think about this-- superbikes magazine did a test of an R1 vs a 500gp bike. the r1 smoked it. a $12000 bike kicked the ass of the top o the line twostroker that cost probably a million dollars not including developement.

bottom line, I always think to my self that now is the best time to be into sportbikes, I have been thinking this for the last 15 years and always think the end is near.

it isn't. bikes now rule even with their flimsy parts. except the breaking frrames part, that I do not like.

 

[oldfart01]

it was smoother but heavy and slow and the only way to describe the handling/suspension/chassis is what I said at the time: "crap this thing feels like it's got a hinge in the middle of it".

So I bought a K7 1000.

That's funny because word for word is how my '83 Suzuki GS750ES felt. It won all the shootouts that year but push it hard at high speed you got headshake. Push it hard at medium & lower speeds & you'd swear the frame had a rubber section in the middle. I could make it slide but when the wheel started back in the whole freaking bike would shake & wag. Scary shit, still fun, but scary. The newer bikes are rock solid, the suspension might not be perfect on some but it's not scary. Power, no comparison on the newer bikes. You buy something newer you'll never look back. I enjoy the newer bikes because they are better than all but a handfull of riders so you have a cushion. Much nicer than hoping your tank doesn't crack from all the frame gyrations when you're pushing, the bars wagging at you, all kinds of weird things going on between your legs (on a bike I mean) is nerve wracking after a while. Much nicer to not have to do it.:cheers