k5 were the daddy's as was the k6 1000,true lightweight 1000's then the k7 and k8 came alomg and felt slower and heavier but on a track they are quicker,get rid of the stupid heavy cat and add a pc3 and decent slip on exhaust and you'll see 180 bhp at the rear wheel and they'll eat the earlier ones for breakfast,k9 1000 lighter and handles better than the k7/k8 1000,power roughly the same as the k7/k8 1000's,looks uglier though.handling is awsome on all the bikes from 2005 onwards very planted and no surprises,later ones have eletronic damper witch is exellent,build uality is decent enough like yamaha,k5's had a recall for the frame brace on the steering neck as reports of cracking but these have only happened in the states were alot of them are caused by ham fisted wheelies...i've ridden alot of 1000 cc bikes and so far these are the best and most comfortable to ride all day long,r1's might turn in quicker but they wont out handle one and will inspire you to go quicker in the corners as they are so stable unlike the r1's and zx10r's which feel light and twittchy at silly speeds,the 05 zx10r is just stupid fast all through the rev range,gsxr make their power from the bottom of the rev range right the way to the red line unlike r1's that like sitting up in the high rpm's before they really come alive the later one rev better off the lower rpm range than the earlier ones...this is my opinion so all the r1 owners will flame me but i've compares them all back to back from the gsxr to fireblade to the r1 and 2005 zx10r's as all my mates ride them and the gsxr shone through in handling and suited me as a road bike,if you want mental balls out wheelie machine then get a 05 zx10 as they are just mental and scary and you will be lifting the front wheel 3 quarters of the way out of most corners in 3rd gear no probs,honda fire blade are exellent build quality is second to none very easy to ride and a little boring as they do every thing so well,out of all of them the gsxr's feel the best in power and road handling in my opinion,zx10r are just mental but you wont ride them as fast as the other bikes mentioned,r1's love being revved and are a great handling bike and again they are a hooligan bike that loves to be ridden fast,the fireblade is again awsome but no soul...for touring or riding like a loony the gsxr everytime for me until i get the new bmw...lol...gsxr 750 if you want the handling of a 600cc sports bike but want 1000cc performance then the gsxr 750 is the one to get as theya re insane for such a light bike,get rid of the cat fit a pc3 and decent slip on and you'll stay with the 1000cc bike everywhere as they are that good,straight out of the box they are great bike and will shock anyone who rides one how good they are...
