Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1160219
2018 SUZUKI GSX-R1000R R I D E R E V I E W P110 S P E C I F I C A T I O N S 2018 SUZUKI GSX-R1000 ENGINE: .......... Inline 4-cylinder, 4-stroke DISPLACEMENT: ..............................999cc BORE X STROKE: ................ 76 x 55.1mm COMPRESSION RATIO: .................... 13.2:1 FUEL SYSTEM: ................. EFI, 4 x 46mm throttle bodies EXHAUST: ........................................ 4-2-1 TRANSMISSION: ....... Six-speed cassette CHASSIS: ....... Cast aluminum twin-spar FRONT SUSPENSION: ........43mm Showa Balance Free Fork, fully adjustable. 4.7in travel. REAR SUSPENSION: ........Showa Balance Free Rear Cushion, fully adjustable. 5.3in travel. FRONT WHEEL TRAVEL: ..................4.7 in. REAR WHEEL TRAVEL: .................... 5.3 in. FRONT BRAKE: ...........Brembo Monobloc 4-piston, radially mounted caliper, 320mm disc REAR BRAKE: .......... Nissin single-piston, fixed caliper, 240mm disc FRONT TIRE: ........................120/70 ZR17 REAR TIRE: ......................... 190/55 ZR17 RAKE: ............................................... 23.2° TRAIL: ................................................3.7in. WHEELBASE: .................................. 55.5in. SEAT HEIGHT: ................................ 32.5in. FUEL CAPACITY: ........................... 4.2 gal. WEIGHT (CURB, CLAIMED): ........448 lbs. COLOR: ................... Team Suzuki Ecstar, Glass Sparkle Black/Pearl Mira Red feel, and I'd love Suzuki to come out with thicker footpegs on this particular GSX-R in the future. Ergonomically speaking, the 1000R isn't too bad given its ob- jective, and that's to be a bullet- fast superbike. You have the head down/bum up style, but it's not as bad as something like a ZX-10R. I'd have liked the bars to be a touch wider, however, just to give my arms a bit of a break while doing the 405 run. As for the dash, it's now close to the worst dash in the current superbike class. It has a cheap feel and looks like a relic from the Gameboy era despite having in some cases more adjustability than others in the class. With that being said, the dash is easy to adjust via the large left switch block, but in this day of color LED screens on bikes costing far less than this, Suzuki needs to rectify this to give the 1000R a more premium feel. Another thing with the elec- tronics is the wheelie control, and TC are in the same algo- rithm, much like the 2017-2018 Honda CBR1000RR SP. This is fine, for the most part, however, on the few track days I had with the 1000R, I'd have loved this to be a split system, to let me carry a floating wheelie out of corners without the TC telling me "no!" I won't crap on about the size of the muffler on this 2018 edi- tion. Suzuki has come out with a slimmer, black version (black is slimming, right?) on the 2019 1000R, plus I'd want more noise anyway so the muffler would be the first thing I'd throw out. There is also a surprising amount of heat that comes off the 1000R in traffic. Everything is incredibly tightly packed, but I don't remember the last time a Japanese bike radiated this much heat while in traffic at a standstill. Once you're moving, everything is sweet, but hot days and traffic are the abso- lute enemies of this bike. Fuel consumption was pretty good for a bike with a 4.2-gal- lon tank. I averaged around 30 mpg, which would give me between 120-130 miles depending on how much of a bonehead I was being with the throttle. Not bad for a super- bike, but not great, either. The GSX-R1000R and I had a good time together over our five-month relationship. It's a superbly packaged machine, and aside from those few gripes I just mentioned, a com- petent road machine. It's also quite well priced when you consider the top line BMW S 1000 RR M-Sport and Honda CBR1000RR SP superbikes are nearly $8000 more, and in line with the Yamaha YZF- R1M (which is $200 more), and $1600 cheaper than the Kawasaki ZX-10RR. Insurance costs should be the same across any of these missiles, so what it comes down to is how you like your poison. If it's blue and fluo yellow and loves a good dine at the rev bar, Suzuki has a proper weapon for you. CN