Wanted- T500 under $1500

[titan performance]

I'm afraid I have been unable to bring myself to part with my R1.....so I'm fortunate enough to have the best of both worlds.
I must admit to being a Suzuki man, but back in 98, Suzuki had lost the plot a little. The GSXR1100 was the size of a boat back then, so after 11 years of slabside 11's, I bought a TL1000S. I liked the bike, but it ate tyres and drank petrol...what's more, my R1 mounted mates rode away from me at will. Consequently, in 99 I bought my first R1, and have had them ever since. My good mate has a K5 GSXR1000......which is an animal ! We dyno'd our bikes at the TT year before last, and his made almost 30 bhp more than mine at the rear wheel ! at a fraction under 170.....now that's a lot !

[MikGsxr]

I hear you, that is why I sold it- complete animal. mine was dynoed at 163 at the rear wheel when it only had 1000km on it! it would have loosened up and probably was making closer to 170 when I sold her last month. 2 gear wheelies were just a flick of the wrist.

[titan performance]

Well I doubt your newly acquired "old nails" will scare you too much then ! You'll be about 125bhp down on what you have been used to.
Mind you.....although I don't do a lot of miles on my 500, it never feels slow when I go out on it. You'd think that with the same, or maybe more weight than my R1, and about a third the horse power, it would be tedious...but it's not, not even slightly !
At the Isle of Man it runs out of puff on the mountain, and feels like it may die, so I tend to slacken off, but on the twistier stuff it actually feels quite lively. The motor has some mild porting, and a pair of original Barton squish heads from the seventies, I have some chambers fitted, but I think it is held back a bit by the original 32mm Mikunis....the carbs are open, no filters at all, but 130 mains are as big as it will tolerate, and still run crisp. It revs nice and clean, and will show a little over 120 on the dial, so I guess there's not too much wrong with it. Getting back on the R1 after the 500, it feels like the 2 wheel equivalent of a Bentley, but going out on the 500 makes me smile more, and I think/hope it will be the same for you.
Listen to the tunes four of us were playing at the TT year before last.....my bike is 3rd past the camera, and the one with the clutch letting go at full throttle !
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_Fh8GVt ... KTcU5VhaU_" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[MikGsxr]

Awesome video, thanks for sharing! Would love to ride around those roads. Do you have a disc brake on the front of your t? One of the only reasons I am leaning towards keeping the gt550 is because it has disc brakes and the t only has a drum. Drum brakes scare me

[titan performance]

I do have a single disc up front. I nailed on a Gt500 front end. To be truthful I gained nothing in stopping power whatsoever, as the drum was nicely set up with Ferodo green linings....and would outstop the single rotor any day. The T forks I had were better too, so all in all it was a waste of time. However, I did it back in 1979, and to have a drum brake then, was "old fashioned", so it was a cosmetic choice more than a performance one. Reserve judgement until you have the bikes, and although neither of them will ever stop like a GSXR with however many opposed pistons, they can be made to work adequately, and ridden accordingly are bags of fun.