It's now about 2 weeks since I first rode my Gixxer Thou and I've already done 250 miles on it. I'm amazed at the difference in the performance level between the FZ1-SA and the GSXR 1k k8. I was reminded enough times that the Gixxer Thou is a completely different beast to the FZ1-SA and I now know why that reminder should be respected.
First ride:
My first ever ride was a very tentative one. The switch (from FZ1) was dramatic in every sense of bike riding. It took me a while to get used to the low-sporty seating position. To my height, the Gixxer doesn't pose a problem to the knees or neck. I've been using the engine map mode-A all the time except when I took it on my test ride.
First 100 miles:
The first 100 miles included a two-up with my wife on A406/M11. The bike handles pretty well when filtering through stationary traffic. With the FZ1, when I used to ride two-up I'd always be extra-cautious as the mirrors were very wide, but on this it's so easy to squeeze through. And the bike is far lighter to easily manoeuvre.
Riding solo with cross-winds seems to be less of a problem on a Gixxer than the FZ1-S with a full body cowl. I'm not sure if the "Steering Damper" helps in reducing the effects of cross-winds but it certainly makes me feel more confident.
Performance:
There are enough websites to tell about the performance of the Gixxer Thou K8 but what I'd like to share is how it differs to my previous bike. FZ1 was by no means a sluggish bike. To my level, I've accelerated hard, braked hard, did 70(mph) in 1st, rode it well on the country roads. But when compared to the Gixxer Thou's acceleration and deceleration, FZ1-S is a mile away. One factor could be the weight and the other the close-box gear ratio. I remember an instance when an R1 left us for dead at the traffic lights earlier this Spring. I thought that I wasn't accelerating hard enough to keep up with the R1. But having ridden a Gixxer Thou I now know that it's just that R1/Gixxer accelerate far more quickly than an FZ1. Nowadays with the Gixxer, when I leave the traffic lights I get to the road speed limit even before I can physically say "I've reached the road speed limit", that is how quick the bike is.
The deceleration achieved when closing the throttle in the 1st or 2nd gear is scintillating. Unless you anticipate this, say for a new rider never ridden a big superbike, it could potentially spell doom. I've now tried closing the throttle at various speeds in the bottom gears and can now anticipate the effect of deceleration.
More experimentation:
Last weekend took the bike out to learn more about the bike's behaviour in various combinations of speed/gears. I tried various gears on the M11 Motorway doing 70-75. In 1st, the engine does about 8k revs and the bike feels as a proper sports bike. Switch to 2nd, the revs doesn't drop that much and the bike still feels quick. In 3rd, the bike feels very comfortable and there is very minimal vibration. In 4th, there is significant vibration that could be felt through the legs and the engine does exactly 6k revs. Fifth gear is a no-go, as the bike seems to die out and sixth is certainly to be avoided as there is no response from the engine and the engine does 5k revs.
The Gixxer feels very happy to get in/out of corners/bends. I feel more confident in leaning into a corner. Taking the left-hand off to look for blind spots is so easy even in cross-winds as the bike feels very stable.
Problems:
The only problem I find with this bike is the lack of a fuel meter. I'm having to calculate using one of the two trip meters to find out how much fuel I'm likely to have. The other problem is the windshield noise, seems to be worse than the FZ1-S. I have tried various riding positions, tucked-in completely but still can't do anything about it. I'll think about having a double-bubble screen to reduce the noise and start using the in-ear plugs.
Am I good enough?:
There is no need to answer this. Unless you are in the 1st gear on Motorways, you are not even going to touch the envelope of performance of this bike. The Gixxer is one of my dream bikes. Taking it out is enough to live that dream.
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