Faults:

I had to replace a clutch gizmo (easy operation), the gas shut off valve dial fell off (found another on Ebay), and I had the carburators rebuilt at about 10,000 miles. I had both fork seals blow within a few years of purchasing the bike.

General Comments:

This bike is scary fast. On the go, it's light as a feather, but on the slow, its weight becomes apparent. Watch for oil spots at intersections. If you lay the GSX 1100G down, you may blow a gasket getting it back up.

The GSX is oil cooled, and it holds more oil than a V-8. The bike is COLD blooded. Here in Washington State, it takes a long time to warm up on spring and fall mornings. I'll take it into town, run into the store for 20 minutes. I'll have to choke and idle for three or four minutes before I take it back on the road.

Mine is all flat primer with the side panels off... Looks like something from the Road Warrior. My high school students all want it.

Faults:

Ate rear tires often, despite being babied most of the time.

General Comments:

This bike is as another reviewer mentioned, a sport bike in disguise. There is no shortage of power here, despite the heavy weight of the bike, downshifting is completely optional and never necessary.

Coming from an old Honda 400, this bike took some getting used to. The power is phenomenal. Cruising down the road and hitting a little bump causing a slight twist in the throttle results in an unexpected leap forward. Just takes some time to get used to, and you can adjust to these little nuances.

The bike is extremely comfortable, as the riding position is nothing like the typical super sport beasts that have you laying down the whole time. I went on many long trips with this bike, and even carrying a passenger did not reduce the power of the bike; again roll-ons even with passenger leaves everyone around you in the dust while the drive shaft contributes to a smooth, clean acceleration without much vibration.

Now for the bad; the bike is extremely heavy. Well over 600 pounds. To make matters worse, the seat is extremely high. I'm 5'9" and when stopped at a light only the very tips of my toes could touch the ground. This resulted in my dropping of the bike on two occasions.

The first was when I was pulling into a restaurant parking lot. At the entrance of this lot there is a little dip for water to be channeled down the road in heavy rain. As I was pulling into the lot, a car that didn't see me almost backed into me, and as a result I had to come to a stop. The front and rear wheels were on opposite sides of the dip, so when I stopped and sat my feet down, they hit nothing but air. The bike fell and took some minor damage.

The second time was pulling up to a red light at night. As I came to a stop, the bike slightly leaned to the left, and when I put my foot down, there was a pothole about 6 inches deep. By the time my foot hit the ground, the 600+ pound monster already had plenty of momentum. I held on with all of my might and ended up setting the bike down as gently as I could. I could only keep it from crashing to the ground. This resulted in damage to the clutch lever.

Bottom line; this is a fantastic motorcycle, but unless you are very tall or very lucky, it's a matter of time before you drop it. Would be the ideal bike for very tall people (6'4"+).