K5: the dealer
James Butler buys, sells and maintains performance bikes from the 1990s and 2000s. Here’s why he’s smitten with the 2005 GSX-R1000
Words John Westlake Pics Bauer, Ben Lindley
‘I think the K5 is the best bike Suzuki ever made. The K3 and K4 were great, but they were big and felt a generation behind. I had a 954 FireBlade at the time and the K5 was another world – it made my Blade feel 20 years old. It moved the game on.
‘As a performance bike, it was the benchmark for years. The K7 was a lot heavier and seemed to be a worse example of a K5. That helped keep K5 prices strong. These days if a K5 or K6 (identical but with new colour schemes) comes into our showroom, they’re straight out the door. They command a good premium over a Fireblade or R1 of the same era too – the 04-05 ZX-10Rs have a similar following, but don’t fetch the same money.
‘Nice low-mileage K5s in blue and white are often advertised at £6000-7000. But even with 35,000 miles they still make £4000 easily. I’m not into bikes as investments – they should be ridden – but a tidy K5 is as strong as it gets on that front.’
What goes wrong?
‘Not much. We look after one that’s done 70,000 miles and it’s never had a problem. They’re typical Suzukis – corrosion is the main issue. There’s a big block connector in the main wiring harness down the left side of the fairing by the frame – that corrodes and does funny things to the electrics. The odd cam chain tensioner needs attention but I’ve never seen one break. Ultimately, they’re very solid.
‘The brakes were never up to much – they weren’t as formidable as the rest of it. R1 radial calipers go on with some spacers, so a lot of the guys racing them fit them, along with a Brembo master cylinder. Then just freshen the suspension and you’re away.
‘Because of the owners they attracted, K5s probably had harder lives than, say, a Fireblade of the same era. This can cause problems because they are not built like Hondas – the finish certainly isn’t as good and the paint comes off the wheels and engine cases.
That makes it simple to spot a bike that’s been looked after – if it’s not tatty, then an owner has been on top of things.’
Who buys them?
‘A mixture. There are people going back to older sportsbikes as they’re good value – you can do trackdays, go on holidays and ride every day, yet it’s not sitting there owing you £20,000. Then you have guys who come in and ask for the fastest thing they can get for £5000.
‘Also, a lot of racers are buying them because several clubs are setting up series devoted to older bikes. A couple of friends are racing them in Bemsee’s Thunderbike Ultra class [for pre-2007 bikes under 170bhp and over 170kg] and one of them – Jamie Thomas – won it on a K5 he’d raced for four seasons.
‘The K5 and K6 are perfect because you don’t have to do much to get to that power and weight – Jamie has done very little beyond normal maintenance and it’s been completely solid. He loves it. The grid is full of GSX-R1000 K5s and K6s.’
Why are prices so strong?
‘When the economic crisis happened in 2008, the exchange rate was in the favour of the Dutch and Belgians and loads of used K5s and K6s went over there. The headlight has quite a flat beam pattern so that was easy to sort, and you could push a button on the dash to change to kilometres. It was their dream bike, and they cleared the UK of a lot. These days, the supply still doesn’t match the demand.
‘Plus, of course, they’re such a brilliant road bike compared to the modern stuff, so demand stays strong. They’re 600 size but roomy enough for me at 6ft 3in, and if you’re used to riding something like a new Fireblade there’s so much grunt. The K5’s spread makes a lot of sense for the road: great engine; nice gearbox; easy chassis; not stupidly uncomfortable. Suzuki got the formula right.’
Thank you
James at jbmotorcycles.co.uk always has a stock of ’90s bikes and will happily service them, too. Tell him Bike sent you.