what's the difference ?

[Bigza]

This site could do for a neewbie room. lol. Whatz the difference between the gsf 600, gsx 600R, gsx 600F, and so-on. and are the parts, (like the muffler) exchangeable ?

[mreedohio]

different body styles,

gsf= bandit

gsxf= katana

gsxr=gsxr

bandit and kat engines are the same basically, the gsxr600 is water cooled so doubt anything would work.

https://www.suzukicycles.org

[squiggy]

and are the parts, (like the muffler) exchangeable ?

with a welder they are.

[The CyberPoet]

www.suzukicycles.org

Great resource to differentiate them...

Meanwhile:
for Model years 1994 - 2006:

GSF - semi-naked air-oil cooled low-compression hooligan bike with high reliability. Cams/fueling/exhaust tuned for very low-RPM torque curve. Heavy steel frame, suspension tuned for real-world roads.

GSXF - fully clad air-oil cooled low-compression commuter/sport-touring bike with high reliability. Cams/fueling/exhaust tuned for more mid-range torque than the GSF, less high-end torque than the GSXR. Heavy steel frame, suspension tuned for real-world roads.

GSXR - minimal race fairing, water-cooled, high-compression race-replica bike tuned for peak RPM power, top speed & track-biased handling.

GSX (no suffix) - Naked, classic-looking version of the GSF/GSXF concept; never sold in the USA.

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

__________________________________________________ ________
CyberPoet's Katana Maintence and Upgrade Parts Offerings
The Best Metal Steel Aluminum Motorcycle Tire Valves in the World, plus lots of motorcycle & Katana (GSX600F / GSX750F) specific help files.

[katanarider]

I need more information, I'm a new rider

How do I know what I have?
I just know mine is a teal green, full fairing, 96 Katana 600... I dont know much more. The tag on the front says engine family TSK. Pargara
Whats the difference between a GSF, GSX, Bandit and Katana?
This is my first bike and its a 96 Katana with full fairings and air cooled but it needs a clutch, cable, shift lever, and the side plate/guard around the small gear on the motor.
I have found a 94 RF 600R for a parts but I dont know if everything will interchange?
I read on the web that the RF is water cooled? but will the clutch and the rest still work?
The RF also has a aftermarket exhaust that I may want to use as well as jetted carbs (at least thats what I was told)
So, should I buy the RF for parts to fix my 96 Katana?
Thanks

[The CyberPoet]

No, you should not buy the RF as a parts bike for the GSX600F.

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

__________________________________________________ ________
CyberPoet's Katana Maintence and Upgrade Parts Offerings
The Best Metal Steel Aluminum Motorcycle Tire Valves in the World, plus lots of motorcycle & Katana (GSX600F / GSX750F) specific help files.

[Free Coffee]

::flail::

[Scout]

.......::blink blink::

[redciv1]

Actually, what was the deal with the RF models? I never understood there niche in the market. I mean Suzuki had the GSXF for sport touring and the GSXR for track, where did the RF fit? I thought briefly back in the day that the RF took over the Katana series...wrong.

[The CyberPoet]

PS - the reason you shouldn't use it as a parts bike for the Katana (GSXF) is that the engine is water-cooled, and too many parts are not interchangeable.

Actually, what was the deal with the RF models? I never understood there niche in the market. I mean Suzuki had the GSXF for sport touring and the GSXR for track, where did the RF fit? I thought briefly back in the day that the RF took over the Katana series...wrong.

Intro'd as a '93 model, the RF600 was a water-cooled middle-weight, forward-canted engine (55 degrees -- rather extreme & well before it's time), and a fairly low-compression engine for a long lifespan. The forward-canted engine helped put the weight of the bike extremely low down compared to a Kat/Bandit/GSXR. It put out a bit more HP than the Kat 600 of the same time-frame, and carried a manta-ray inspired fairing design with fully-clad fairings. A good bike in general, it was really more of a sport-tourer than a true race bike, with it's steel (not aluminum) frame giving it better real-world road manners (heavier sprung weight makes for a better sprung-to-unsprung ratio; that in turn makes bad-road-surface tracking better), and full fairings (FIM regulations require bikes to be NOT fully-faired, which is why you see engine/tranny side-exposure to such a big degree in race-reps; has nothing to do with aerodynamics or cooling efficiencies).

In '94, they also brought out a 937cc variation (RF900) which under-priced the competition in the over-750cc/under-1-liter category (and in some senses, targeted directly at the thin-wallet VFR-buyer), and was designed to bridge the gap between the GSXR750 and the by-then-aging Suzuki 1100 platform. Same basic frame as the RF600, beefed up, bigger motor, more power... Same manta-ray based design ethos. Small carbs (36mm) made for a lot of mid-range torque punch without significantly sacrificing top-end speed. Much better handling than it had any right to have, due to the

In the end, it was a case of form over function, with the public's buying habits reflecting the fact that the fully-clad manta-ray design didn't appeal to most "new" bike buyers (lots of people thought they were ugly, just as they think the Katana is ugly -- full fairings don't appeal to the sports-buyers in general). Both models were discontinued by 1997, although old-new-stock continued to be sold through '99 as "new" in some countries (in the same sense that there was a 2007 Kat 600 in Brazil that was the basically the same as the '05 US model, and many in the industry believe it was actually left-over stock that couldn't be sold into the US market).

With low unit-sales and the death of the RF platform from the line-up, parts availability started becoming problematic in fairly short order (by '02, getting certain parts was an exercise in futility), especially the louvered fairing pieces which are so easily damaged/shattered in even a parking lot slip-n-fall. It's a great bike, but a real PIA to get parts for if you need something -- enough so that I would dis-recommend the bike as a purchase to typical riders (i.e. to anyone who doesn't want to score more than one and/or start warehousing their own spare parts just-in-case).

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

__________________________________________________ ________
CyberPoet's Katana Maintence and Upgrade Parts Offerings
The Best Metal Steel Aluminum Motorcycle Tire Valves in the World, plus lots of motorcycle & Katana (GSX600F / GSX750F) specific help files.

[katanarider]

Thanks for the info...however, I talked to some people today and they said the the trans and clutch are the same and should bolt up but the motor is different. Oh well?