Suzuki has been making the Gixxer 750 since they were cool.

I love this middleweight class of bikes and was very excited to ride this new 750. I will skip the most of the specifications as they have been covered well enough since the 2011 refresh. The most notable features are the Big Piston Forks (BPF) and the Brembo brakes up front.

The seating position is sporty but significantly more comfortable than the competing Triumph Daytona 675. My favorite stock feature of the Gixxer are the adjustable footrests. Since I would be leaned over the tank for 12 hours and 500 miles I adjusted those to their lowest position after a quick ride up the Angeles Crest Highway. This provided a tradeoff of increased comfort for slightly less ease of moving my body from one side to the other in the canyons.

All the modern supersport bikes get a passing grade these days. It’s really about which receive an A+ and which receive an A-. The brakes on this bike receive an A-. Still a passing grade, but a bit squishy requiring significant effort at the lever. There is also very little initial bite. Some, if not all, of this could be improved by swapping out the brake pads and possibly upgrading to braided lines if you felt like getting serious. Like the GSX-R1000, it’s probably in need of an upgrade master cylinder too.

The other characteristics that keeps this bike from getting an A+ are some quirky behaviors in the engine department. The more minor of the two is a slightly unbalanced feel while maintaining highway speeds. There was a slow undulating sound and rhythm to the vibrations. The more egregious behavior was something I have labelled “engine float”. Most noticeable in higher gears, but not restricted to them, the engine would sometimes stop vibrating all together and reach what felt like an awkward equilibrium between the engine driving the wheel and the wheel driving the engine. This was rather unnerving in two scenarios: One – while out in the middle of nowhere worried about the reliability of the engine and whether it would leave me stranded. Two — while braking for a corner, relying both on engine braking and the front brake and for a second or so the engine braking would go away upsetting the bike and my net braking force dramatically reduced.

Having said that, all modern fuel injected bikes experience fueling issues caused by the manufacturer’s attempts to provide liability free performance while conforming to ever more stringent emissions and noise regulations. Some manufacturers seem to navigate this system more gracefully than others. I am confident that both the balance and “float” issues could be rectified by putting an aftermarket fuel manager, like the Power Commander, in the mix.

The final nitpick is that the digital clocks while full of useful information, including a gear indicator, were rather difficult to see in the daylight.

The ultimate question: Would I buy it with my own money?

The short answer: No.

Here’s why. I am reluctant to purchase a bike knowing I’ll need to spend a couple thousand dollars on to build it up to how I want I think it should be off the show floor. I may be delusional to think that it would be possible to not do this for any bike, but that is my delusion. (Perhaps a post about the current state of motorcycle specifications is in order to explore why it is assumed we’re all accepting of fueling deficiencies, silly gearing ratios, and mediocre components on many of today’s sport bikes.) I also greatly favor the engine of the Triumph Daytona 675. The powerband of the Gixxer feels very much like a 600 but with a bit more grunt. Very eager to please above 8-grand but very complacent below that. The Daytona has a more linear feeling powerband. (note: I have not, as of writing this, had the opportunity to ride the 2013 Daytona)

In conclusion, the Suzuki GSX-R750 is a great bike and I applaud Suzuki for continuing to make it. It provided me with a wonderful combination of speed, agility, and comfort. I wish I was more in love with it, but I am only in serious like with it.