Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

(Above) The GV1200GL Madura is the biggest Suzuki available. (Below) The GS1150ES has wider wheels than in '84; the rest is unchanged. Twin Dome Combustion Chamber (TDCC). The 100 has a wet sump lubricating system, a 32mm Mikuni c~rburetor and a six-speed transmisS10n. It has a single shock Full Floater rear suspension with 5.9 inches of wheel travel and a steel swingarm. The fork legs are painted yellow and produce 5.7 inches of wheel travel. Both front and rear brakes are drum, the rear activiated by a steel rod. Overall weight is 176 pounds dry. Suzuki also' offers an air-cooled, single cylinder two-stroke .OS80. Although air-cooled, the DSBO's engine is based on the RM80, with milder tuning. It has a 20mm Mikuni carburetor, Suzuki CCI oil injection, a reed valve and a five-speed transmission. The exhaust pipe has a heat shield to protect the rider's right leg from burns and has a spark arrester silencer. It has a single shock rear suspension, a box-type steel swingarm and five preload settings. The fork is oil damped with no adjustability. It weights 128 pounds, and holds 1.2 gallons of gas. Street , A pair of V-4 cruisers and an expanded line-up of air-cooled inline-four sportbikes lead the way in Suzuki's 1985 road offerings. Introduced midway through 1984, the GVI200GL Madura cruiser returns as the biggest Suzuki available. Its water-cooled V-4 displaces 1165cc, the cylinder banks offset by 82°. Double overhead cams operate four valves per cylinder, the intake and exhaust flowing oUI of Twin Swirl Combustion Chambers (TSCC). Bore and stroke are 78 x 61mm, the compression ratio 10.5: I. A six-speed transmission with an extra-tall sixth feeds power to a shaft final drive. A 16-inch rear tire and a 19-inch front tire are separated by a 62-inch wheelbase; the seat from the ground by a low 29 inches. Spoke wheels are utilized, with the front end carrying dual disc brakes, the rear a single disc. Hidden away underneath bodywork and the 4-into-4 exhaust system is the single-shock Full Floater rear suspension, an oil-damped shock with preload adjustable by remote hydraulic control. Claimed weight for the big Madura is 540 pounds; two more for California versions due to emissionsreduction devices. The smaller Madura, the tariffcheating 698cc GV700GL, shares many of the same dimensions as its bigger brother. Bore and stroke are 69 x 46.7mm, the carburetors are 33mm Mikunis to the 1200's 36mm, and the exhaust system is 4-into-2, otherwise, the GV700 shares many of the 1200"s features, including transmission, shaft drive, suspension, wheel~ and tires. Wheel base is the same, as is the seat height. The 700 employs dual disc front brakes, but the rear stopper is a drum. The smaller model also weighs less, 502 pounds (505 in California). Both are available in purple or black. The Suzuki sponbike stable, down to two in 1984, expands to six models in three displacements for 1985. The GS 1150 is again the biggest model, coming in faired(GSI150ES) and unfaired (GSI150E) modes. The engine is carried over from 1984, an 1135cc DOHC inline-four with four valves per cylinder and TSCC, plus a compression ratio of 9. 7: 1. Bore and stroke are 74 x 66mm. A five-speed transmission is connected to the 17-inch rear wheel via an O-ring chain. An aluminum boxsection swingarm holds the.rear wheel (Above) A GS700E is available; It's basically the same as the '83750. but is 699cc. (Below) The GS550E got cam-timing and exhaust changes. ang slotted disc in place. The "Full Floater" single-shock suspension offers four damping adjustments and remote hydraulic preload adj ustment. Up front, the Posi-damp suspen'sion is retained from 1984, with fourpreload settings. The hydraulic antidive system also offers four settings. Dual discs are employed up front, and the wheels at both ends are wider in this 1985 version. The GSI150 has a 61-inch wheelbase. Claimed weight for the ES is 522 pounds, II more than the E. Like the Maduras, California versions are two pounds heavier. Both models have. two two-tone color schemes. The ES comes in white/blue and white/red; the E in white/blue and red/black. Suzuki has a middleweight spons machine after a year's absence and a displacement change. The GS700, also available in ES and E trim, has a bore and stroke of 67 x 49.6mm for a total displacement of 699cc. Despite the displacement- difference, the engine is much the same as the 1983 GS750, but features cam timing and pipe changes to increase the midrange power output. Like the 1150, the GS700 runs a five-speed transmission and O-ring chain drive. Suspension features are much the same, with the front end lacking the Posi-damp and adjustable anti-dive. Wheelbase is a bit shorter at 59.1 inches. Both the 750 ES and the E are available in two-tone color combinations - white/blue and white/red. Weight of the former is 478 pounds; the latter 472. The GS550ES and E received only minor changes from the 1984 version, with the 572cc, 60 x 50.6mm engine also receiving cam-timing and exhaust pipe changes to boost midrange. Like its bigger brothers, the GS550 runs a wet sump with an oil cooler; as well as TSCC and electronic ignition. The 550 does feature a six-speed transmission, however. Up front the 550 features the Posidamp forks and adjustable anti-dive. The rear suspension is the Full Floater with four-damping adjustments and remote hydraulic preload control. The rear wheel is also kept in place with a box-section aluminum swingarm. The smallest of the sporters is much shorrer than the others, with a 55.9-inch wheelbase and a weight of 430 pounds for the half-faired ES and 425 for the E. Color choice is white/ blue or white/red. The same engine powers the GS550L street cruiser with its stepped seat and Harley-esque teardrop gas _tank. Pullback handlebars and long forks contribute to the appearance of the stretched front end, but thanks to a shoner swingarm than the ES or E, the L's wheelbase is only one inch longer at 56.9 inches. Stopping chores are handled by a single disc in the front and a drum brake in the rear. Again there are two GS450 models, both with cruiser styling. The L version pf the twin features a six-speed transmission and chain drive. The A, on the other hand, runs shaft drive and a two-speed Suzukimatic automatic transmission with torque convener. As a result of the automatic trans,.the A model hits Suzuki's scales at 399 pounds, 20 more than the nearly identical L. Rounding out Suzuki's street line are the GS300L 299cc twin and the GN250 single. Conspicuously absent from the 1985 Suzuki line-up is the oil-cooled GSXR750 (Cycle News, October 17). Knowledgeable sources say the machine will reach the U.S. as a 1986 model displacing 699cc. • 21

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