2007 Suzuki GSX-R1000 - Street Surgery

We have a thing around here about riding stock bikes. Even monsters like the 2007 Suzuki GSX-R1000 that come out of the box with 158 horses at the wheel somehow don't give us the warm and fuzzies like they should. A lot of the time, it's a bike's minor finishing touches that annoy us-such as obnoxious turn signals or stupidly large license plate hangers-and on the GSX-R1000, it was the dual exhaust system that we just couldn't stomach.

After some ripping around town on the bone-stock beast for an impression, we sourced a Two Brothers slip-on pipe for better looks and sound. The other huge benefit of removing the stock dual exhausts was a hefty weight savings. The dyno showed this bike with the stock exhaust putting out the same power as our Hayabusa with a full system and Power Commander, yet the dramatic weight difference really shows when laying into the throttle. With the chunky catalytic converter and dual pipes gone, we then looked for major appearance flaws-but the new bike was done right, and the integrated signals in front and back do just fine. The typically obtrusive license plate hanger had to go, though, so we replaced the stock undertray with a Hotbodies Racing unit. It sharpened up the rear end and gave it the tight race look that this bike deserves and wears so well.

From the Suzuki catalog, we ordered a fancy-looking gel seat, as well as a set of frame sliders just in case we got too carried away and dropped her. After those minor mods, it was time to really rock, and with the louder and more aggressive-looking Gixxer we certainly turned some heads.

Unfortunately, one of those heads belonged to the bike, as we discovered that the new electronically controlled steering damper doesn't offer the amount of control we'd prefer. After a few twitchy moments through the canyons, we headed back to the shop to fit a fully adjustable Scotts damper. It was a quick and easy install, and we simply unplugged and unbolted the stock unit. There is an annoying warning light for the unplugged damper, and so far we haven't found out how to get it cleared (we'll update you as soon as we do).

Feeling more confident in the front end, we headed back out to stripe our favorite corner (the Bridgestone BT-015s are super-soft and lay darkies everywhere). The serious power simply allows nonsense like this through every corner.

Of course, you could always restrict those horses with the latest bit of trickle-down gadgetry to hit a production bike, but who really wants less power? Suzuki's S-DMS (Suzuki Drive Mode Selector) changes the engine mapping with three options: an A, B and C mode. The idea is that A gives full power, while B is a bit softer and C brings it down significantly to that of a 600cc sportbike (ideal for rainy riding, perhaps). Though it's definitely a cool gizmo, and you can pretend to be Ben Spies changing engine mapping on the fly, it should be said that if you don't have the throttle control and experience to ride a GSX-R1000, no engine-mapping adjustment switch is gonna save your ass.

On the opposite hand is a hydraulic clutch-another new item for the 2007 model. It's as silky smooth as a hydraulic clutch should be, and a nice replacement to the previous bike's dated cable arrangement.

Not only does the new model look and feel like a meaner and more aggressive bike, but it literally sounds like it, too. The Idle Speed Control (ISC) system is designed to assist in cold starts and consistent idle, but our test bike sounded like it had a race cam dropped in. The fluctuating idle gives no indication of the bike's beastly howl at higher revs, though, and a couple of our bike-night buddies commented on the beefier-sounding exhaust note. (Despite the obvious decibel increase with the aftermarket pipe, the motor definitely has a deeper tone than those of other piped GSX-R1000s we've ridden.)