I own a TL 1000R-99 . Have had R1-Thunderace-FZR exit deltabox, driven ZZR1100, ducatti 996, XX 1100, nothing in this mc world can be compared with one litle duc eater.)

I've had a couple of R1s and thought "yep thats the bike for me" but then my last R1 gets nicked so I went looking for something fast but different. I didnt need to look far for exactly what I had been missing all my life...... First ride out, after handing over not alot of cash for an immaculate 1999 model with a mere 18000 miles on the clock (which is just run in for these bad boys), and I was in the new experience biking nirvana and hooked!!! The machine pulls through the gears smoother than an R1, can take more punishment than the badly over produced yamaha, feels solid at all times and sounds unbelievable! I'm going to compare it to the R1 alot here..... Lean angle is easier to achieve than an R1 Gear box is better Build quality is way better Top end is almost the same (ive had my clock reading 180mph on standard sprockets) And I thrashed two guys on R1s round the mountain section of the Isle of Man TT course last week so the proof is in the pudding there I think. All in all it's grunty, fast, beutifully noisy and suprisingly nimble for the weight it carries. And in classic blue and white it looks the nuts too. My advice is the only thing you will ever want to change on it is pop a full stainless system on it just to create a chorus like effect for that engine but only for esthetics...do not change anything else as it can ruin the experience.

had my Suzuki TL1000R since new 1999 and have ridden/owned lots of other top flight sports bikes......but ive still got my TLr and i think that just about says it all!
Is comfy either one or two up, keeps up with anything else i meet on the road(or trackday)though it does handle better with a smaller 180(than standard 190)section rear tyre...itl cruise all day at three figure speeds if needed although youl be seeking a garage every 110 miles as it can be thirsty/small tank.....it looks great and sounds fantastic with my yoshi RS3s on...never had any major probs with it....other bikes/cars/boats will come and go but the TL will never be sold on,il keep it forever

The Suzuki TL1000R 996 is an absolutely Awesome Bike! Had mine nearly 3 years now and love it to bits. Definitely not for the inexperienced rider. Not great in town. Scissor gear ticks but doesn't effect performance or reliability.

I have owned my Suzuki TL for 3 years now and have just it in every weather. This bike is amazing to ride and sounds great, on long runs it's very comfortable but can be a handful around town. This is not a bike for beginners in anyway. The only problem I find with this bike is a ticking noise from the engine. I have checked it out and nothing it worn. I have read reviews on this and I'm told that if a TL doesn't tick then it's broke, just being an engineer seems wrong but it's not.
I would recommend this bike to anybody who whats to be different from the norm, you get looked at everywhere you go, people will always ask about it. Don't let magazing reviews put you off, this bike handles fine and won't kill you unless you do something dumb.

Love it! Fast, quick, good wind protection at high speed, pleasure to ride, one hell of a bike for the money! For what you loose riding a new bike off a forecourt you can pick up a TL1000R for the same price and owe nothing and have lots of fun!

The Suzuki TL1000R is a mad beast on a lead! Treat it right and it will serve you well! Treat it rough and it's even better! Not for inexperienced riders!

I have owned this Suzuki TL1000R 996 for over 2 years now and can safely say I have not had any bother with it at all(touch wood). The engine with its 2 primary fuel injectors provides it plenty of bottom end grunt and just when you think the party is over 2 secondary injectors kick in about 8000 rpm and off we go again only to find it hitting the limiter very quickly, but click it up through its very smooth gearbox only to find yourself doing it all over again without any lag or waiting for the motor to come into its optimum power curve ,its just there on the end of the throttle cable. Riding at low speed is another ball game, the switch like throttle combined with a top heavy V twin makes mini roundabouts a chore but this can be sorted by the fitment of a smaller front sprocket smoothing second gear out and dispensing for the need for first gear.
The front forks are severely hard for the road but work well on track. I have wound the preload completely off and it's much more managable and responsive. The rear shock is not so easy to sort out other than shoe horning it off and fitting an overpriced replacement but can tranform the handling of the bike even further if you are able to ride this bike fast enough for it to matter. The steering damper makes the steering slow and numb, so it can easily be removed making it more agile, as far as tank slapping goes I've had more nipping slaps on more so called stable bikes than I've had on the TL so don't judge a book by its cover.
As far as rubber goes I use Bridgestone BT012ss tyres that I find work well in all conditions and still let you scrape your suicide pegs off the ground in the fast group of any track day, and I have been told Pirelli's work well on it too.
All in all I love this bike and I find it great fun to ride, the lights are good on it and a lot of the parts are interchangable from the other Suzuki ranges, eg indicators, switchgear, levers, wheels etc. Although is has gone down in history as the wheelie popping, tank slapping loony, that Suzuki didnt have the bottle to develop, it will always turn heads and you know when one is coming up behind you.