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 Absolutely
the bike to have in 2005, the K5 makes everything else feel a bit
short of go and rather unwieldy.
The bike is incredibly easy to steer and hustle down
a twisty road, although the payback is a shade more nervousness
in long, fast bends. But that is more than made up by the heroic
entry speed you are now able to demonstrate to your awed mates following
along on their Yams and Hondas ...
Nice growly engine with that immediate injected throttle
response, and a very scary top end. Makes anything else seem a little
bit flat, although in head to head riding there's nothing much in
it so it's more down to the way the Gixer presents the power than
the absolute amount of it.
People have been dribbling on for years about litre
bikes feeling like 600s, or even 400s come to that. Well the K5
really is getting close to 600 handling territory, although you'll
still struggle to stay with a good 600 on a bendy road. But you
won't be wearing your boot out on the gearshift. Shame about the
1958 Stephenson steam steering damper, but you at least have an
excuse to buy a decent one!
Looks-wise ... well, it's a strange beast but beauty
is in the eye of the beholder so we won't slag it off too much.
The exhaust can is undeniably weird, but grows on you after a little
while, and at least it isn't heating the seat unit up to RC30 temperatures!
Anyone who's ridden a new R1 on a hot day will appreciate the cool
seating afforded by a standard pipe setup. And the sooner manufacturers
stop sticking red hot exhausts under bloody seat units the better!
What's that all about? Still, it did give us a good laugh at John's
heated-bum expense in Amboise last year ... Suffice to say he chopped
the Yam in for a K5. You listening, Yamaha?
Another advantage of the exhaust - it allows you to strap some
luggage on the back for your continental jaunts, although the little
indicator wing things do get a bit in the way of the bungees. And
you can get a fair amount under the pillion pad, which makes a nice
change from the new 'Blade or the R1.
 More
strange design ideas ... indicators stuck on the back of the mirrors
- or perhaps the mirrors are stuck on the back of the indicators.
Either way, they're handy for track days, removing both of these
vulnerable sticky-out bits in one, or rather two, fell swoops.
Mind you, anyone who does track days on their cherished road bike
is mad as a hatter anyway, and you realise that removing odd bits
was a complete waste of time when you watch the whole lot dismantling
itself as it tumbles through the gravel trap and eventually smashes
terminally into the barrier.
But this bike is very very good. Whether or not you want something
quite this good on the road is up to you. It does take away a little
bit of the challenge as the kind of entry speeds this thing can
comfortably manage are getting beyond the level of bottle available.
Well, speaking personally anyway. I mean, just how fast are you
prepared to enter a blind gravel-strewn bend just before you disappear
up some horses arse? ...
And what of the later model? Well, general opinion seems to be
that the motor isn't as nice, the 2 huge silencers look crap and
only a complete tosser would want a switch to actually reduce the
power he's spent all his dosh on; so basically it's a can of worms
and you're better off with the older model.
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I've got to say what a fantastic machine the new K5 is, a revelation
over the K3. It's light, very light, it turns like a dream. It's
a lot smaller than the K3, looks better, even the odd exhaust I
quite like now, it makes the most lovely sound and the build quality
is better. 