SUZUKI GSR600 (2006 - 2010) Review

Year: 2006

Annual servicing cost: £150

Underrated by MCN. It's brilliant. Brakes, engine, suspension are suprisingly good if not to say excellent. The only thing weak point is the fork. It doe's not feel stiff enough. Maybe i will mount catriges or a Upside Down fork. The engine is a gem. Absoute reliabel and fun to drive. If you drive it beyond 7000 there are few that will get away from you.

Buying experience: Bought it used

Version: 2006 (K6)

Year: 2006

Annual servicing cost: £150

Reliable, fun and still eye catching. Sets blistering pace when needed. Light to steer and excellent to handle. Great for beginners and advanced riders alike. Don't understand or agree with the MCN rating.

Buying experience: Bought from new from dealer, absolutely no issues.Second hand suggestions:Look for evidence of drops Ensure equipment has been either serviced or replaced Look in the tank for rust and debris (could cost a small fortune to replace) Radiator can suffer at the front, think about an aftermarket cover Think about a wind screen if none in place Service manual freely available on the internet if you are technically minded and will save you an absolute fortune Regular servicing is an absolute breeze

Year: 2007

Annual servicing cost: £300

Breaks - Useless. Tank range - Useless. Front forks - Useless. Only owned nine days, dread to think what else I'll find - useless! Superb engine though. I worry about rectifier placement 'engine', can't see that lasting with the heat.

Version: GSR600S

Year: 2007

Annual servicing cost: £600

50,000 Miles (38,000 of them mine). The GSR is a capable 600. Comfortable commuter with enough sportiness for the weekends too. In the time I have had the GSR it has needed two new R/R, the second replacement I upgraded the loom with larger diameter wires for the charging system (No issues since). The other issue I have had is the output shaft bearing had failed, however I have been assured by my local dealership that this was in fact a freak failure. And one caliper rebuild on the front end.

Version: K9 gsr 600

Year: 2009

Annual servicing cost: £150

Ignore the poor reviews, what a fantastic 599 cc bike. It's light a lot lighter than say a z800, it's engine is superbly forgiving, it pulls from 6 th gear at 30 mph without any fuss, in fact, my riding twin owns a 16 plate Kawasaki z800 and a 20 mph standing start the gsr was quicker, and quicker at the top end too, we weigh the same, but z800 is almost 70 kg heavier. Swapped bikes and same result gsr is quicker, we not talking loads but it pips it nicely. Handling is great very forgiving, so easily chuck able and super easy to get it down around the twisted, well built for the price, no vibrations rattles.... Would recommend a screen to cut the buffering down if your in motorway a lot. Only down marks on this particular bike is brakes could offer a little more bite, little vague, they stop you no issues but the feel isn't strong enough for my personal liking. Averaging 55 mpg, £60 a year to tax. Great bike.

Buying experience: Private

Version: GSR500S

Year: 2008

Annual servicing cost: £200

Great value, great fun bike. Very easy to ride, great high revving engine. Safe handling. Looks good.

Buying experience: Bought from dealer. £3200 - good value for a bile with 3000 miles.

After many years without a bike and after many months of looking I purchased a suzuki GSR 600 in March of this year. It was in grey and red with red wheels. It has the following extras, scott oiler, crash bungs, rad cover and brake fluid cover, belly pan. I love this bike. It sounds lovely on the stock under seat pipes and I think it looks great as a street fighter. I have been amazed at the mount of people who come up for a chat when Im out on the bike. It handles well, it stops well and seems to be quite good on fuel. For me this has been an ideal bike to return back to biking on.

I find this mcn review for the suzi gsr 600 well and truly of the ball. I have been fortunate enough to ride quite a few super-sports and pretty much every modern 600 naked middle weight and the gsr 600 is by far and away the best of the bunch when it comes to naked 600s. Ok it would have benefited massively from usd forks to rival the stunners on the hornet and the styling is take it or leave it, but non of that makes much of a difference when your actually riding the bike. reports of snatchy throttle are over egged, the problem certainly exists on some machines (not mine thankfully) but it is not as bad as made out! the bikes that do suffer from it are still very ride-able and it is something you can adapt to or try to iron out with various fixes. I have mine fitted with yoshi tri oval cans and the sound from the bike is just outstanding. Its a quick little beasty as well! Suzuki have removed the blurred vision, kill me quick top end off the gixxer 600 that this bike shares its engine with and replaced it with some real mid range grunt and very usable power. It still gives a great tug from 10000rpm to 14000rpm and will pretty much show any four wheeled vehicle on our roads a clean pair of heals with ease. Its not silly quick but still has enough to leave a big grin on your face if you like to push on a bit on bikes. The gsr600 was never designed as a novice friendly first (Big bike)according to suzuki engineers but i say it should probably be your fist choice. Its rare,different and quick enough to keep you interested well above and beyond your skill level. Its such a easy bike to ride and also very very easy to ride fast, point and shoot and the gsr 600 obeys like a loyal dog. A bike hat has no where the recognition it deserves, worth every penny and will be appreciated by the novice and experienced rider alike

We've had our GSR600 for 6 years and both me and my wife ride it and think its great, I think it is unfair to compare it to the Bandit as in my opinion they are 2 very different bikes having used both. The GSR always makes me giggle when riding it and in my opinion one of the best 600's out and has a great look. I have used the bike against others such as the GSXR750, Fireblades and I also ride a TL1000s, the GSR is more than capable of keeping up round the twists and bends of the British A roads and up to 100mph I managed to keep side by side with a GSXR750 in a drag race. Its a cool bike and I would recommend them to anyone especially those who have just past their test and want a cool looking bike which is loads of fun to ride

An usd fork, radial callipers and oil radiator would make this bike the perfect street racer.

THIS BIKE ROCKS Im very hard to please but this bike pleases and does it well. for the price your getting a bike that looks the part, can be customised, goes like a rocket when you open the throttle (for 600 standards) but very easy to ride around town as well, sport bike handling, comfortable and a 180 rear tyre. What more could you want from a bike you can pick up new for less then £5,000? (if you shop around) The only draw back is the lack of wind protection but that is easily sorted with an after market screen and there are many to choose from, because the bike is able and very willing to do the wrong side of losing your licence speed (130+) you often find yourself taking a wind battering on open roads. This bike should be loved by new and old riders and those in the street fighter scene. Any bad review on this bike is just wrong, No other 600 street bike does or offers what this little dude does.

Bought this bike after 2 years riding a CBR600F. Was looking for a change and looked at the naked 600 market. Tested all of the models available and I instantly fell in love with the Suzuki for both its handling and looks. Performance wise, I can't fault it. Compared to the heavy handling of my previous bike, I found this bike instilled confidence and my riding has improved as a result. Throttle can be jerky at low speeds and when cold, but you get used to it, and as it is a Suzuki I am braced for the poor finish to show, but so far - fingers crossed, 1 year and 3000+ miles down it looks great. Sounds lovely over 7000rpm and I manage to keep up with (most) of the boys. Overall a great bike for both beginners and experienced riders alike, I'd recommend it!

Superb engine always has more to come combined with extremely agile handling makes this an excellent prospect in the naked 600cc market. Better than the fazer, better than the new hornet and better than the versys. Snatchy throttle noticeable only when the engine is cold and disappear above third. Fit the rizoma rearsets which are stunning.

After a few years tooling around on a gsxr 600 K4 I fancied a change... something less likely to get me banned. So I bought a brand new gsr 600 (in blue). Running it in was a depressing afair to be honest and on the ride home from the dealers I thought about heading back and begging for my old GSXR. But I stuck with and I'm glad I did. Riding at under 7000rpm allowed me to try out the bike's handling and I was very surprised to find it's pretty much flawless straight out of the box. It's nimble and smooth and comfortable and the tyres are absolutely fantastic. After the first service I was able to explore the power. The engine's a retuned gsxr lump, but to be honest, it feels the same as my old gsxr - pretty gutless until 6k and then surges of thrust. I run out of strength to hold on (wind blast) before the gsr runs out of revs in top. Which should help me avoid an instant ban for doubling the speed limit on the motorway. On the whole it's a good bike. Strengths: Handling, engine, looks. Weaknesses: Stand is poo. Forks look like they've been looted from the Bandit parts bin, but they work just fine.

They say it is suitable for the vertically challenged with its low seat height?? but park it next to a Hornet & it looks a far bigger & wider beastie, it is in fact roughly the same seat height as the Hornet, when trying to mount it you will almost certainly kick the grab handle - unless you do ballet or 6ft tall. But it'll turn heads & make you grin-twist that throttle listen to the induction grunt & hang on this could be fun!!  Strengths: Pulls better than a standard hornet 600, riding position the wind isn't trying to rip your head off, the suspension has adjustments back rebound/preload & front preload only, instrument panel is clear with 2 trip meters, clock,fuel gauge,gear indicator as most Suzukis do, fuel economy is good (haven't worked it out yet) but told by previous owner that it should do 160 miles between topups (watch this space). Weaknesses: Build quality could be better, bits held on with velcro & push clips: ie side panels, seat very weak/flimsy construction, no protection for radiator mesh, sidestand not very good -recommend you fit crash bungs/mushrooms before it falls over like mine did!!