[AMorgan]

I think you're expecting a Hayabusa out of your Kat. The SRT-4, while it is a neon, is a very quick car (heck i'd love one as my CAR let alone a commuter vehicle) and the Supra is in a class all its own. By comparison your Kat is kind of "tame" albeit a little more skill is involved in the Kat. Your a high performance kind of guy. The Kat, while quick and whatnot, isn't designed as a performance bike. Sounds like you should have gotten a Gixxer. The Kat is kind of "tame" compared to a lot of bikes (I just rode for my first time on the freeway today... about my 5th or 6th ride now, I don't have much seat time) I'm not scared witless, but i do check my mirrors as often as I can and all that. Basically i'm very precautious. Overall i'm just enjoying the learning experience. I don't plan to keep the Kat forever, I just know this is a valuable learning tool. The reason the big bikes are held in such high regard isn't so much the power (although it's there) but that they're FAR less forgiving, requiring a higher riding skill level which the Kat is a step towards achieving.

[TheKlic]

The last thing I want to be is a troll. I operate another board as a administrator, and trolls suck. That being said I will stop here and thank everyone for their advice.

Don't worry, I thought your post was ok, at least it seemed so to me.
I've been riding my kat 1 year, all year. Before that I owned a Nighthawk 250 and rode my dad's FZ1 alot. Compared to the 250 the katana is a beast, compared to the FZ1 the katana hardly moves.

The katana will not scare you under hard accel, it just won't. But if you're really running it hard (think all the way to 9-10,000 on a broken in bike) very few cars should keep up. The Kat 600 (I have an 89 600) has enough power, but it's no rocket ship, it's just about where a commuter bike should be, quick enough to get out the way but won't scare the pants out from under you.

Riding my dad's FZ1 was such an amazing rush, 0-60 in like 3.3 I think, it was FAST. I would never need all of that power, and to be honest I don't have the skill to use all of it, I'd be safe but not much quicker through the turns than on the kat.

I think you expected too much and just try 'er out for awhile longer, in a year if you feel the same way, bump it up to a 750 kat or another more sport-commuter-touring bike

[schlagdogg]

Get off the freeway and spend a day in the twisties and the fun of the bike will show. Constant highway droning would get boring on any bike. Give it a shot and good luck.

EXACTLY my thoughts on reading his complaints.

Freeway riding can be fun, but also can get repetitive and old. Do some research on the area you live in, and find some good rides with some twisties, and it'll be a whole new experience!

Just don't forget to bring a camera!

[Jax]

if you have no fear you dont need a faster bike. you shouldnt be on the bike you got now. dont want to preech but seriously.... your lane splitting your first few days riding? no real experience and your out there doing some seriously risky stuff. then you want to do it all with more power under you?

if you cant go 0-40mph from a stop light and leave all the cars well behind you. then something is wrong with the bike or the rider.

havent people here done 10s with a kat. your 9 sec supra isnt That much faster than the kat as it is.

im not out to tell you what to do or ride. sounds like your doomed though if you keep on your current track with or without the kat....

I really hate to agree with you but you are right...

why would you hate to agree with me lol

Let me count the ways (reasons):

1. You want to die....(see handle)
2. You live in AZ...(not that it's bad but I'm making a list so it goes here)
3. I've seen your other posts in the past...(again not a bad thing but I'm making a list)
4. You think mormons are racists...(not a bad thing..I may agree with you after reading the Mormon thread)...

That enough for ya!!...Just incase...I'm just screwing with you...wouldn't have mattered who posted what you did I would have made the same comment...

And you were right...

[The CyberPoet]

My first instinct is to ask some questions:

What RPM are you shifting at for each shift?
The torque peak lies between 7300 and 9800 RPM and working this RPM range anywhere outside 1st and 2nd will net you the max acceleration (in theory it can be used in 1st and 2nd as well, but many "new" riders tend to clutch/shift/throttle poorly and damage those two gears, so I recommend following Suzuki's guidelines of shifting out of first around 5k and 2nd around 6k).

The other questions are what fuel are you using (try to avoid alcohol-rich fuels), when was the last full service including valve adjustment, how long was it sitting before you took delivery (carb passages may be partially blocked and the air-fuel mix particularly lean as a result), and what mods (if any) have been made to the bike.

Oh, and as for fear:
Fear comes from experience usually. Once you wreck (or put yourself into a serious panic-situation), the fear will probably be there at some level for the rest of your riding career.

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

[schlagdogg]

Oh, and as for fear:
Fear comes from experience usually. Once you wreck (or put yourself into a serious panic-situation), the fear will probably be there at some level for the rest of your riding career.

Good point. When I first began riding the commute on the freeways, I was stupid and was too close/too fast behind the cars in front of me as I tried to get over to the HOV lane. Slammed on the brakes and skidded a bit to stop. Freaked the crap out of me, and I learned my lesson to keep plenty of following distance.

Those guys who pull right up behind cars, then turn backwards to check for a lane change baffle me.

[Bad4URHeart]

In most cases moving from a stand still into open road shifts happen just before 8k or so.

Fuel is whatever 89 octance is out of the station. I don't really have a choice in fuel other than grade (87,89, and 91).

Last dealer service was at 4,010 miles according to the paperwork. Bought it with 4,032 miles, and it now has 4,412 miles. The bike was been actively ridden when I bought it (about 90 miles a week). I expect to put over 500 miles a week on her.

I will try shifting a little later in the RPM band and see if that nets me any more satisfaction.

Thanks

[The CyberPoet]

There's something wrong in my mind with that math... 90 miles a week on a 6 year old bike should put a whole lot more than slightly over 4k miles on the bike. You may want to check for some of the obvious signs that it was sitting for a long time at some point after initial delivery (such as rust in the gas tank), and for possible signs that the odo was replaced at some point (heavily worn sprockets indicating more than 4k miles worth of use for example).

If it didn't get the valve adjustment at 600 miles (nor at the 4k service, which doesn't call for it), I'd hazard a guess that it needs one deperately as well as a carb sync. How much vibration are you getting at the handlebars? The vibration level often relates to how evenly the cylinders are producing power, which in turn relates to how evenly the fueling is occurring (affected by the carb sync to make each cylinder pull the same amount of vacuum). At minimum, I'd recommend running some fuel system cleaner (1/3rd of a bottle of techron) through with the next tank you fill up, in the hopes that it will clear out any fuel-residues blocking the smaller passages of the carbs.

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

[iwannadie]

Oh, and as for fear:
Fear comes from experience usually. Once you wreck (or put yourself into a serious panic-situation), the fear will probably be there at some level for the rest of your riding career.

Good point. When I first began riding the commute on the freeways, I was stupid and was too close/too fast behind the cars in front of me as I tried to get over to the HOV lane. Slammed on the brakes and skidded a bit to stop. Freaked the crap out of me, and I learned my lesson to keep plenty of following distance.

Those guys who pull right up behind cars, then turn backwards to check for a lane change baffle me.

one of my first freeway scares was from re-tread. a semi threw a nice chunk of re-tread off which was laying right in my lane position. as im coming up on it(going 70mph) i saw it at the last second. of course target fixation kicked in and i was going right at it. luckly i got it together and missed it just barely, it hit my right foot peg and scared the hell outa me.

that MC safety video CP posted in another thread might be a good start to getting the right amount of fear started.

[The CyberPoet]

that MC safety video CP posted in another thread might be a good start to getting the right amount of fear started.

http://www.katriders.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=24010

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

[zenjim]

I don't need it to compete with my sports car, but I do need to be able to accerelate from the front at stop light, and not have other cars still hanging around when I hit 40mph and want to change lanes.

[/b]

I have a hard time believing you can't get out in front of cars from a stop light with room to spare. My problem is the opposite, in 3 seconds I'm doing 50 and the cars at the light are very small in the mirrors. (This is only a problem for me because of my driving record.) My questions are where are you shifting, and was your last bike a twin? Sometimes it takes a while to get used to how high the 4 cyl can rev.

[slayergsxf1]

Take care of yourself dude your bike is plenty fast...
Funny thing just the other day I thought my bike was lagging like if something was wrong it was a little windy and I had a slight,slight hangover and thought the bike was just not right,,seemed slow. I was on a pretty twisty road looked down and I was doing 81MPH.in a 45mph zone....smooth running bikes are deceiving and will bite you in the ass at any given time....

[notec]

I have a 750, but have been on a 600.....it was fast enough. Maybe your bike isnt set up properly.....

[Süsser Tod]

This is just going to turn into a troll-bait thread.

We were talking about it at the rally, and I think BraadaJim said something to the effect of "If you tell me your 600 doesn't have enough power, then you don't know how to ride it."

That is because, its the truth! People don't accelerate out of stoplights as if they were drag racing, and even if they did, the Kat would have no trouble leaving most of the cars and suvs behind.


I really dont' think the OP can be serious, to me, it sounds 100% troll bait.


Oh, and it is really fun on the track! I'm getting mine ready for a trackday next Oct 14!!!

[The CyberPoet]

Oh, and it is really fun on the track! I'm getting mine ready for a trackday next Oct 14!!!

Süsser Tod! You're still alive and well! I thought you dropped off the planet! Great to see you again!

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet