Which to buy as 2nd bike GSXR or CBR (600)

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kazmiaad

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I've ridden my ninja 250 since June - and believe I'm ready to move on to my first SS. The CBR & GSXR are both gorgeous bikes - and despite reading many forums, and reviews - it's a tough choice. I keep hearing that GSXRs are more prone to screw up (any merit to this claim?), but that the CBR sacrifices low-end power (I dont exactly understand what this means). Finally, I went to go see this one CBR and while the bike was amazing and had some tasteful upgrades, the back brake squeaked when the guy would come to stop from a speed of 40-45km/h - also, when i took it for a spin, the back brake was a bit soft (like it lost some stopping power) - is this normal? is it expensive to replace brakes or should i just find a different bike? thanks alot !

Your thoughts, experiences, suggestions?

Btw, im looking at 2007+ for either the CBR or the GSXR
 
I've had 3 CBRs. Brakes a cinch to replace and arent too expensive.
I wouldn't worry too much about low end power unless you feel the need to get up to speed SUPER quick. You probably wouldn't notice a diff between the GSXR or the CBR if there was any difference.

I dunno why you think the GSXR is a gorgeous bike compared to a CBR but whatever floats ye boat.
Oh and people who ride gsxrs are squids. lel
 
I have owned the 2007 gsxr600 and currently own a 2011 cbr600rr and i personally think that cbr is better bottom end torque than the gsxr had. The rear brake on my gsxr seemed more responsive then my cbr, that i agree. I loved the 07 gsxr but i love my cbr more haha...there is a bit of a price difference between those 2 bikes. cbrs for some reason always tend to hold their value more then gsxrs and gsxrs have a bad rep to it on this forum apparently.

You should also keep in mind the smaller little details, your 250r and the gsxr will not have fuel gauges, cbr does, gsxr shows what gear your in, cbr does not, gsxr has more storage space under the rear seat then the cbr has, etc, etc, etc.

Good luck with the choice!!
 
kazmiaad said:
I've ridden my ninja 250 since June - and believe I'm ready to move on to my first SS. The CBR & GSXR are both gorgeous bikes - and despite reading many forums, and reviews - it's a tough choice. I keep hearing that GSXRs are more prone to screw up (any merit to this claim?), but that the CBR sacrifices low-end power (I dont exactly understand what this means). Finally, I went to go see this one CBR and while the bike was amazing and had some tasteful upgrades, the back brake squeaked when the guy would come to stop from a speed of 40-45km/h - also, when i took it for a spin, the back brake was a bit soft (like it lost some stopping power) - is this normal? is it expensive to replace brakes or should i just find a different bike? thanks alot !

Your thoughts, experiences, suggestions?

Btw, im looking at 2007+ for either the CBR or the GSXR
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"Prone to screw up" ? I know a few guys that have a 2007 GSXR 600 with absolutely no problems. Not saying that there are NO issues with that bike, but they're as reliable as you can hope for.

2007 CBR 600 is a great bike. But my advise is to sit on both and try them out, see which one appeals to you better. The finer, technical points of these bikes won't make much difference to you as a relatively new rider.
 
Hop on a cbr and you won't be disappointed, if you want the most bang for your buck go for a gsxr.

Just be like every noob and hop on a gsxr as your first SS or first bike for most guys LOL. (75% of people on gsxr's don't know how to ride them, they hop on them because they're the cheapest 600 otd and very forgiving plus comfortable position)

Gsxrs are great bikes I'm just super biased on them hahahaha (I personally prefer 2 headlights vs 1)
 
For what you''l be able to detect in performance differences, I'd be more inclined to say buy whichever one makes your heart race more.
 
ellickk said:
I have owned the 2007 gsxr600 and currently own a 2011 cbr600rr and i personally think that cbr is better bottom end torque than the gsxr had. The rear brake on my gsxr seemed more responsive then my cbr, that i agree. I loved the 07 gsxr but i love my cbr more haha...there is a bit of a price difference between those 2 bikes. cbrs for some reason always tend to hold their value more then gsxrs and gsxrs have a bad rep to it on this forum apparently.

You should also keep in mind the smaller little details, your 250r and the gsxr will not have fuel gauges, cbr does, gsxr shows what gear your in, cbr does not, gsxr has more storage space under the rear seat then the cbr has, etc, etc, etc.

Good luck with the choice!!
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So you are comparing a 4 year old bike and iirc the 2011 GSXR is very different compared to the 2007?
 
Thanks for advice everyone
The CBR definitely is the bike Im leaning towards - just having a hard time finding one with everythin i want within my tight budget of 5.5k
 
HELLBOY said:
"Prone to screw up" ? I know a few guys that have a 2007 GSXR 600 with absolutely no problems. Not saying that there are NO issues with that bike, but they're as reliable as you can hope for.

2007 CBR 600 is a great bike. But my advise is to sit on both and try them out, see which one appeals to you better. The finer, technical points of these bikes won't make much difference to you as a relatively new rider.
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Ummm i guess bikes catching on fire and having a massive brake recall is considered "as reliable as you can hope for"
 
OP, wait for a week before Christmas. People really need money during that time. You'll get a better price.
P.S. I love my CBR but if I was to upgrade, I'd get Gixxer 750cc
 
Paul1000RR said:
Ummm i guess bikes catching on fire and having a massive brake recall is considered "as reliable as you can hope for"
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Companies detect potential defects. Issue recalls. Happened to Toyota, and I'm sure the brand was thought of as reliable before the recall. They still are after the fact. Bottom line is the quality of GSXR models is still very good.
 
nikiter said:
OP, wait for a week before Christmas. People really need money during that time. You'll get a better price.
P.S. I love my CBR but if I was to upgrade, I'd get Gixxer 750cc
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Good idea - I think as more bikes get taken off insurance, owners will be more inclined to sell. Or i can save some more up, and grab a 09 cbr w/abs in feb
 
kazmiaad said:
Good idea - I think as more bikes get taken off insurance, owners will be more inclined to sell. Or i can save some more up, and grab a 09 cbr w/abs in feb
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I'd stay away from '09+ years unless you really need ABS (That's like mine by the way).

In '09+ years they downgraded the power on those bikes. Kinda went backwards. What I did is just swapped ECU from '07-'08 CBR600RR and gained the lost top end power.
 
Face Palm to most posts in here

Just go and sit on both bikes, then read about them. I put research ahead of test riding the bike. Do your research and stop asking GTAM.

No one can answer that question for you, it will depend on what you are looking for in a bike
Is it Price? is it easy to work on? is it performance? Cost of maintaining? parts availability? or just looks?

Are you commuting with it? are you using it for Posing at timmies? are you going for touring trips with it? all of the above? each answer to those questions will guide you to your ultimate choice. How are people in here supposed to know any of those things in order to give you a proper answer, they are just going to tell you what they like and that to me is useless.
 
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It doesn't matter what you buy. They're both great bikes made by reputable companies with long standing pedigree. This is a superficial decision so don't bring too much details into it (basically as the poster above said, buy the one you like man!).
 
kazmiaad said:
Good idea - I think as more bikes get taken off insurance, owners will be more inclined to sell. Or i can save some more up, and grab a 09 cbr w/abs in feb
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Go sit on both and find out which appeals to you best.
Both are excellent bikes; visually I prefer the clean minimalistic look of the CBR.

1212-sbkp-01-o+2012-CBR600RR+lead-shot.jpg


1302-sbkp-01-o+2012-honda-CBR600RR+rear-shot.jpg
 
ZX600 said:
Face Palm to most posts in here

Just go and sit on both bikes, then read about them. I put research ahead of test riding the bike. Do your research and stop asking GTAM.

No one can answer that question for you, it will depend on what you are looking for in a bike
Is it Price? is it easy to work on? is it performance? Cost of maintaining? parts availability? or just looks?

Are you commuting with it? are you using it for Posing at timmies? are you going for touring trips with it? all of the above? each answer to those questions will guide you to your ultimate choice. How are people in here supposed to know any of those things in order to give you a proper answer, they are just going to tell you what they like and that to me is useless.
Click to expand...

Wouldn't asking other motorcyclists on GTAM be part of his research?
Who better to find out from then the people who have owned and ridden both brands?






Honda
+ Better fit and finish
+ More reliable

- More expensive to buy
- More expensive to maintain

Suzuki
+ Cheaper
+ Parts are everywhere and plenty of them
+ Dirt cheap to buy and maintain

- Has its quirks
- You'll be an automatic squid :D
 
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