gsxr 1000 k6 or k8 ? advice wanted

Im in the running for a new bike after getting rid of the KTM

Has any one ridden both gsxr 1000 k6 and gsxr 1000 k8 and whats peoples opinions on both bikes.

my budget is around £6000

I can pick up a k8 for around £5000 with nice exhausts and decent millage around 5k-11k on the clock. leaving £1000 for an alarm (insurance) and a nitron rear shock and some fork spring and maybe at a push some ohlins fork valves

or i can get a k6 for around £3500 to £4250 with decent exhaust and decent millage, leaving £2000 ish to spend on suspension and other bits, with my connections i could get a set of ohlins forks and rear shock for not far off that price

opinion please ?

Ridden the k5-6. Want it, but my 750k4 is good enough for me. Very small, balanced, silly power you arguably never need. But a beautiful beautiful bike. The later K8 has euro 3 issues and less midrange as far as I'm aware.

A k5-6 GSXR 1000 beats an s1000 to about 130. Should justify silliness needs

Depends what you want from it. The version of choice for the serious petrol heads was the K5 which was tuned differently to the later versions and (I believe) had more power higher up the rev range. The later versions have all been tuned for more mid-range with more progressive power delivery. If you would like exact details, let me know and I'll consult with my colleague who runs a K5 track bike.

I'm not really in the hunt for all out power figures i want a very rideable bike that handles well

Then you won't find a lot to choose between the K6 and K8. Both are excellent and far more than most mere mortals will ever be able to handle.

[TheRamJam]

You really want the K5 thou but its hard to get a clean one with decent mileage.

I owned the K8 for 2 years before I binned it. For me, it was a great bike. I found it more comfortable to ride than my SV was and could do 4 hours on her no problem with no aches or pains. The gearbox was silky smooth and you could quite easily put it in sixth gear and ride all day. The power delivery was smooth and predictable until you hit around 10k RPM and then it just takes off. Its an easy bike to ride too. I had the decat pipe on mine with twin Arrow cans and the sound was addictive.

Give it a try, you'll definately come back with a smile on your face. I think you can get them at a decent price nowadays

[Red Herring]

Unless you are seriously gifted or seriously bonkers you won't separate either on performance on the road, and if you are going on a track it will be all about what's been done to it. If I was in that market I would have a good look at what is around and find one with the right goodies on it, in a condition I want and hopefully with a genuine history.

My K5 is purely a track bike, yes it's a bit trick, but it's quite capable of staying with any of the later bikes.

[Bibio]

Originally Posted by barwel1992

I'm not really in the hunt for all out power figures i want a very rideable bike that handles well

so why a thou?

it wont matter what bike you get your still going to have to do some suspension work to make it ride right on the road.

Originally Posted by Bibio

so why a thou?

it wont matter what bike you get your still going to have to do some suspension work to make it ride right on the road.

Because I miss the power of a il4 thou I'm just not interested in wether it as 170bhp or 190bhp as long as it has the sort of power a litre thou produces then I'm not fussed if the newer one has 5 bhp more or not

My last bike was almost perfect on the road, handled exceptionally well but just didn't have the top end rush that I crave

Try riding a full system tuned 750 with -1/+2 teeth and see if you still need a litre