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/126811
By John Ulrich T he big q u estio n for a nybody interested in high-performan ce sport bikes is, which of the excitin g new 750s is better, the FZ750 Yamaha or the GSXR750 Suzuki? That's not a n ea sy question to a nswer, at least not a t this point. The ultimate answer ca n o n ly be fou nd after a head-to-head compa rison test over a wide ra nge of co ndi tions. incl ud ing race track a nd drag strip tests an d street rid in g o f all types fro m intersta te touring to ci ty traffi c co m m u tin g 10 blazing th rough the countryside. In the meantime. though, it's int er esting to compa re snap impressions FZ750 Yamaha Suzuki GSXR750: 56,5-inch wheelbase. 26° rake. 4.2-inches t rail. The 461 -lb . FZ (abo ve) has four hp less than the 388-lb . GSXR (below). .' 44 GSXR750 Suzuki Water-cooled .. .. . . Air/oil-cooled DOHC inli ne-f our DOHC inline-four Bore x stroke 68x51 .6mm . . ... .. . . . .. . . 70x48.7mm Displacement 749cc . . . ... . . . .. . . ... ... . 749cc 11 :1 Compression ratio 11 .2:1 · Carburetion ; (4) 34mm Mikuni .. . . . (4 ) 29mm M ikuni flatslide CV Horsepower ... 100.6 bhp @ 10.500 .. .. .. .. . .. .. . 104.5 bhp@ 10.500 rpm rpm To rque .. . . . 57.9 lb.-ft. @ 8000 rpm · . . . . 52 lb.-ft. @ 9000 rpm Valves per cy linder ' 5 .... ... ..... ... .. .. . .. . .. 4 Int ake valve size (3 ) 21 mm . .... .. .. ..... .. . (2 ) 26mm Exhaust valve size (2) 23mm . . .... .. • .. . ... .. (2 ) 24mm Intake lift . ... .•. ..... . . : . . 7 .35mm . . .. . .. . .. .. . . . . . .. 8.2mm Exhaust lift 7 .2mm ... .. . . .. . . ..... ... 7.5mm Included va lve angle 25.25° ... .. . . .. . . . . .. .. . . . .. . 21 ° Intake valve timing 33°-63° ... .... . . . . ... . . .. . 38-66° Exhaust valve timing 63°·33° .. .... .... . . . . . .. . . 63-37° 0 .3mm (m easuri ng pt.) N.A. . . . .... Ignition Electronic · Electronic Lubrication Wet sump . .. . . . .. . . .. . . . . . Wet sump Redline 1 1.000 rpm ..... ........ .. 11 .000 rpm rpm @ 60 mph 4900 rpm .... . .. . . . . . . .. . . 4500 rpm Gear ratios Primary 91 /48; 1.895:1 .. .. . .. .. .. 75 /43; 1.744:1 Final 45 /16; 2.812:1 ... . ... .. . . 42 /14; 3 .000:1 6th 26 /24; 1.083:1 .. . ... .. . .. 23 /21 ; 1.095:1 5th 28 /22; 1 .272:1 · 27/22; 1.227:1 4th 30 /20; 1.500:1 ............ 28 /20; 1 .400:1 3 rd 32/18; 1.777:1 . .... ..... . 28/17; 1.647:1 2nd 35 /16: 2 .187:1 ... .. . .. . .. 33/16; 2.062:1 1st 33 /13; 2 .846:1 ..... . ..... 36/13; 2.769 :1 Calculated speed in gears at redline 6th 136 mph 147 mph 5th ; 116mph 131 mph 4th 98 mph 115 mph 3rd 83 mph 98 mph 2nd 67 mph 78 mph 1st 52 mph 58 mph Frame Double-cradle. rectangular ' . • . . . . Double-cradle reetansteel tubing gular alum.-alloy tubing Rake 25° 30' 26° Tra il 3 .7 inches 4 .2 inches Front suspension type Telescopic .. . ... . . • . . .. .. . Telescopic forks forks Fork tube diameter 39mm 41 mm Front wheel travel 5.5 inches ,. 5 .1 inches Rear suspension type SingleSingle-shock shock swingarrn ' swingarrn Rear wheel travel .. .. 4 .7 inches 4.7 inches Front brakes (2 ) 10 .5-in . discs (2) 11 .8-inch. discs Rear brake 10.5-inch . disc 8 .7-in. disc Front wheel N/A Cast alum. 2.50x18 in. Rear wheel N/A Cast alum. 3 .50x18 in . Fronttire 120/80·16 110/80-18 Bridgestone Excedra G527 Rear tire 130/80-18 140/70-18 Bridgestone Excedra G528 Dry weight 461 Ibs . ......... .. ..... . . . 388Ibs. 56.5 inches Wheelbase 58.5 inches · 5.0 gallons Fuel capacity 5.8 gallons · Ground clearance 6.3 inches .. ..... . . . . . ... . 4.7 inches Seat height 31 inches . .... .. .. . . ...• . . 30 inches GVWR 981 Ibs . ' ... .... . .... . .. . ... : . . N/A Colors Silver/red . · . ... Blue/white. red/black Retail price $4599 . . . . . . .. . ........ . . . . . N/A Eng in e type Yamaha FZ750: 58.5-inch wheelbase. 25° 30' rake. 3 .7· inches trail. gai ne d in test rides o f th e two bik es, th e Yamaha a t Will ow Springs Ra ceway in Rosam ond, Cal ifornia, and the Suzuki a t Ryuyo Circuit in Harna ma tsu , Japan. All th e logi cal di s- ' claimer s must a p p ly - th e bikes weren 't ridden o n th e same track o n th e sa me day, the Suzu ki wasn ' t bu ilt 10 meet U.S. emissio n stan dards , th e Yama ha was a pre-produc tio n prototype, etc. So tak e wha t foll ow s for what it is, no more, no less - impressio ns of specific ma chines a t specific