Suzuki GSX-R 1000 will soon join the racing scene. Although it is revealed as a concept, the production will start soon (in a couple of months, probably) and the final version won’t be too different to the one we saw at 2015 EICMA
Suzuki says that the new GSX-R 1000 is the lightest, the most compact, the most aerodynamic, the most powerful, the hardest-accelerating and the best-handling GSX-R ever built with a very simple engine management system. The performance figures should be as Suzuki says, but would it be enough for the new Gixxer to beat the S1000RRs, R1s and Panigales on the racetrack?
Suzuki says “Yes” and wants to “get back the proper title of The King of Sportbikes.”
As for the way to do it, Suzuki claims the long experience in Superbike and the new technologies developed in the last years of MotoGP.
Now, let’s skip the PR words and see how they want to claim the street Superbike title:
- an entirely new 999cc inline-four engine, more compact and inspired from their MotoGP prototype;
- racing variable valve timing system (VVT). The valves will be actuated differently according to high/mid/low rpm. Suzuki says that this technology enables greater top-end power without losing low-to-mid range power;
- new valve train system, new dual-injector design (S-TFI) and two servo-operated butterfly valves on the exhaust which remain closed at low-mid rpm and open at high rpm;
- a new aluminum frame;
- Showa Balance Free suspension: Balance Free Fork (with external damping circuits) and Balance Free Rear Cushion;
- a sleeker and more aerodynamic bodywork and a tuck-in-easier tank shape compared to the old GSX-R;
- electronics: ride by wire, ten levels traction control, three power delivery settings, ABS, quick shifter (up/down), launch control;
full LED headlight and taillight.So we have a new engine which promises to develop more high-end power without losing low-mid torque, the electronics any modern superbike must have (nothing about leaning sensor yet) and high-spec suspension system, similar to the one on the new ZX-10R.
So, will the new GSX-R 1000 beat the highly competitive superbikes on the market? We’ll see that in a couple of months, probably.