I have been living with the gixxer10 for over a year now. It is still the undisputed king of the track. This impression is based on 600 road and canyon miles and 8 track days including big willow, the streets of willow and California speedway in both AMA and infield configuration. The bike has been tested with both original Bridgestone BT14 tires and Michelin Pilot slicks.

 

 

Some bikes are fast. You can’t seem to tell how fast they really are until you cross the start/finish line and glance at the digital lap timer, preparing yourself for another hot lap before the session is over. The gix is one of those bikes. Sure, it pulls from nothing in third on a tight canyon road, sure it steers right in without any unusual problem, and it’s not running wide under acceleration or fishtailing if you’re sloppy with your downshifting thanks to its neutral suspension and slipper clutch. On top of all that, the bike feels alive under me as I am clocking one lap after the next.

 

 

 

In the showroom

 

It is actually an odd duck. It is small and looks like nothing before it. The shark like tail, the triangle pipe and the egg shaped fairings. Someone in Suzuki must have been smoking something… this bike is ugly as fuck. Putting it next to an R1 or better yet, an R6 will have it smiling to itself. Yes I am ugly, but ill see you both on the track…
Sitting on it have you planted deep inside the bike, with a bulky gas tank that seems to be very wide and enables you to hug it with your knees comfortably. The pegs are low and narrow and the bars are close together and close to you, enabling to stay upright. The riding position is the very “touring”. Just the opposite of lets say a ZX7.

 

 

 

Once we start moving

 

It all seems to come together to create a well balanced package, a slight twist of the throttle launches the blue and white mass under you at a rate that makes you appreciate the benefits of that gas tank. If you don’t hold on to it with your knees, the vibrating titanium adrenalin pill under you will just take off, leaving you wandering what happened. There is a gear indicator, which saves you the need to guess or remember what gear you are in, and once you gotten used to it. You wouldn’t want to live without it. At low speeds, there is nothing special about this bike. Piloting it in the Sepulveda pass between Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley, I am able to lean it over with accuracy even within this B Road surface. It keeps its line under moderate pressure and over some mean bumps. The breaks are nothing special. They can stop you but provide no feel.

 

 

 

Put on a fresh pair of knee sliders

 

We are going to the track! Since I have tested this bike on both fast and slow tracks, let’s start with where a liter bike makes its money. Ultra fast third and forth gear corners. This is the fastest stock bike out there period. With over 160HP in the rear wheel, you are easily able to wheel in any exotics your likely to encounter out there. Sure the Kawasaki ZX10 has the engine to match, but, you are likely to loose it behind you mid corner. The gix is very balanced in sharp lean angles and the excellent suspension keeps any chatter away from interfering with the feedback, which, pays dividends when accelerating hard out of the corner. I could use an adjustable steering dumper. The stock dumper gets a little “confused” at times, allowing for too much handlebar movement while the rear is loaded. This can cause you to back off the throttle and loose expensive seconds. The brakes, as I mentioned are ok but not more then that. I have to give them points for resiliently and the lack of tendency to overheat. When they finely do overheat and fade and pulling the leaver starts threatening your other fingers, a 40 minute rest is usually all they need to go back to normal. On slow tracks like the streets, there is a real torque advantage. I was able to pull right off the skidpad into the front strait and turn one without missing a bit. There are no holes in the powerband and the only thing that had me on adage was the wheelie factor in first gear. This bike demands your complete attention when driving out of slow corners in first gear. It will lift the front violently if you are not ultra smooth with the throttle. Its scary at first when it happens unexpectedly, but then it turns fun and your just busy giggling in the helmet, wondering when the fastrackriders marshals will have that “talk” with you at the end of the session.

 

 

 

 

Conclusion

 

Yes baby. This bike rules!  With the heavier 07 model almost in a store near you, it will be interesting comparing the two.