Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

In what cou ld on ly be described as an upbeat meeting, Suzuk i un veil ed fou r n ew m odels a t its a n n ual deal er meetin g in Ren o, Nevad a, September 26-28. "The Suzu ki team - a powerful partne rship" was th e theme of th e show. Compan y execu tives informed the assemb led dea lers o f new programs a nd product and a co m m itment to work together with them that wou ld hopefully en ab le Suzuki to in crease its present 13%motorcycle market sha re to 25% in two years tim e. Better fl o or p la n n ing , in creased co -o p advertising , a n improved fin ancing program , assistance with left- over models, a nd o the r business pl an s wer e a n no u n ced. Deta ils o f the plans were not released to the pr ess. _ -A new twin- cyli nd er 500 , th e GS500E, received th e audib le appro-. val of the ass emb led dealers pa rt icula rl y a fter it was a n no u nced tha t the suggested retai l price of th e bike wo u ld be $2999. The "e ntrylevel " Suzuki GS500E is powered b y - a DOH C, a ir-coo led, fo ur-stro ke 487cc engine, a nd features incl ude electric start er, vibra tio n-damping cou n terba la ncer, six-speed tra nsmissio n, a u toma tic cam cha in tensio ner, 33mm Miku ni Slingsho t sm oo th b o re ca r b u reto rs , tw o -into-one ex hau s t sy s te m, ca b le -o pera te d cl u tch , m icrocomp u ter-controlled ignition, Full-Floater rear suspensio n, a lum in um a lloy th ree-spo ke whee ls (3.00 x 17-in ch fro nt an d 3.50 x 17 rea r), sing le d isc brak es front a nd re- r (12.2-inch fro n t a nd 9.8 a rear), 4.5-ga llon gas tank, a nd a clai med dry weig h t o f 372 po unds. -O p t io n a l a ccesso ri es fo r th e GS500E include a headl ight cowling a nd lo wer cowling that add a "perform ance" look to th e entry-level bik e. The GS 500E will be avai la ble in Febru ary and color choices ar e white, bla ck or red. T he Suzuki RM 250X is designed for off-road competitio n a nd developme nt a nd testing of th e new model saw a R MX-modified R M250 motocrosser rid den to th is year's AMA Na tional Cham pio ns hip End uro Series titl e by Randy H awkins a nd three RMX-modified RM 250s carry rid ers to go ld medal s in the ISD E in Fra nce, T he RMX250 fea tures a two -: stro ke, sing le-cylinder, wa ter-coo led 249.6cc engine wit h 67 x 70.8 bore and stro ke, a co m p ressio n ra tio o f 8.64: I, p rimary kick starter, fivespee d tra nsmissio n, a 38m m Mikun i Sl ings hot 'ca rb u re to r , . case-reed induction, a 12.8-inc h trav el FullFloa ter rear suspe nsion tha t combines a ligh tweight a lu mi n u m a lloy casti ng wi th ext ruded a l u min u m alloy arms and a snail-cam chain adjusting system designed for fast whee l cha nges, upside do wn fork with 18 ext ernally adj ustable comp ressio n da m pi ng settings and 2 1 externally adj us ta ble rebou nd da m ping settings with 12.2 inches o f wheel travel , si ngle dis c bra kes fro nt a nd rear, .a 2.9-gallon fu el tank, 14.4 in ches o f gro u nd clea rance, and a cla imed dry weight o f 238 po unds . T he RMX250 will be ava ila ble in the sp ri ng of '89 a nd will ca rrr y a $3899 sugges ted retail price. It will be yellow wi th a blue seat a nd bluepa in ted ch ro me-mo ly steel tubi ng fram e. The 1989 Suzuki GSX750Fadds a 750 Kat ana to th e existi ng 600 a nd 1100 Ka tan a lineu p. _ he GSX7 50 T Katana 's engi ne is ba sed o n th e DOH C , four-valves-per-cyl inder GSXR750 powerplant a nd is identica l in d isplacem ent, 749cc, bore a nd stro ke, 73 x 44,7m m , a nd valve sizes, 28.3m m intake and 25mm ex ha us t, but has a low er com p ressio n ra tio, 10.7:1 as co mpared to th e GS XR's 10.9:1. Li ke the GS XR's engine , the 75G Ka ta na's engine fea tures Suzu ki Adva nced Cooling Sys tem which co m bines air cooli ng with a separa te o il flow system that carries engine h eal to a n a lu m i n u m ' coo le r mounted in fro nt o f th e frame 's d own tu bes. The 75G Ka tan a 's double-crad le frame is steel , unl ike the GS XR' s a lum in um box fram e, a nd tha t rs o ne facto r in th e Katana weighing a claimed 461 po u nds as compar ed 10 the GSX R 's 429. Accordi ng to Suzuki, the GSX750F o ffe rs m ore torqu e th an th e G SXR750; new cam tim in g a nd a la rger sta rte r cl utch ho usin g gives th e Katan a more torq ue from id le, a t lo w rpm , a nd a t middle rpm . Features' o f the GSX750F include 36m m Miku ni Sli ngs hot- carbu retors, four-in to-two exhaus t system wi th head p ipe cha mbers designed to i m p ro ve lo w i a n d mid -ra n ge resp onse while mainta ining hi ghrpm o u tp u t, .Fu ll-Floater rear ,su spension with 5.4 in ches o f tra vel, 4 1mm three-way adjusta ble dam pin g fro nt fork with 4.9 in ch es o f travel , a 5.3-ga llon gas tan k, and 17in ch al u m in u m a lloy three-spoke wheels (3.00 x 17-in ch front and 3.50 x 17 rear) with Metzeler V-rated tires (110/ 8G fro nt and 150170-17 rear). -17 Stopping po wer is p rovided with two . 11.4-inch stai n less steel a lloy fro nt bra ke di scs wi th floating _ca rrier mOUIllS and four-piston ca li pers and a single rear di sc. Other features in clude a handlebar-mounted choke control lever, tri p meter a n d fu el gauge, easy access eng ine id le adj uster, mounting tab for optio na l tank ba.g, and teardrop-shaped rear view mirro rs. T he GSX750F wi ll be a vaila ble' in December and its su ggested retail pri ce is $5299. It will be a vaila ble in either blue orsilver, ' . T he 1989 Suzuki GSX RllOOK ge ts added power a nd torque via the Katana 11 00 engi ne, which boosts th e GSXRllOO 's displacement from 1052cc to I I27cc.' T he four-cylinder , fo u r -val ves- pe r-cy li n de r, DOH C TSCC, air-cooled with SACS pow 'erpla n t de livers a claimed 81 Ib.-ft. of torq ue at 7000 rpm. Feat ures incl ude Suzu ki 's DAIS (Direc t Air Intak e System ) which ro u tes air fro m a fairi ng intak e into th e righ t-side fra me ra il a nd th en th rough th e rea r fra me cross tube and into theairbox inta ke and then into th e four 36mm Mikuni Sli ngs ho t carbureto rs, stainless s teel fou r -into-two ex ha us t syste m , adjus tme nt free ca m cha in with a utomatic tensioner, h ydraul ica lly o pera ted cl utch with new di aphragm sp r i ng sys te m, n ew cu rved o il cooler , lar ger 43m m front forks with cart ri dge damping system , new 17-inch hollo w three-spoke wh eels, chrome -mo ly stee l ax les, Zra ted lo w profile rad ia l tires, and newIy designed fai ri n ~. T he GSXRIIOOK will be avai labl e th is month at a suggested retai l p rice of $6599 in blue/ wh ite or black/ silver. Retu rn ing in 1989 wiII be the GSX600 and updates o n that model include a sta in less stee l covered muffler bod y, three-wa y adj ustable rebound damping front fork, holl ow three-spoke wh eel s, a wider rea r wh eel rim (to 3.50-inches from 3.00in ches), floating type fro nt brak e discs, hand leb a r-m ounted cho ke lever, a djus table front brake lever positio n , a nd eas ier to read in strumen t face. Su ggested retai l price is $4399 and its a va ila ble in black/b lue or red. The GS XR750K ca rr ies a suggest ed retail price o f $5799, up 600 over the 1988 price, a nd new features incl ud e a sta in less stee l co vered muffler body a nd adj usta ble front brak e lever posi tio n, T he 747cc V-tw in VS750G L P K In trud er remain s virt ua lly unchanged a nd will be availab le in p urple a t a suggested retail price of $4299. T he 1360cc V-tw i n _VS1400GLPK Intruder a lso returns, a nd carr ies a suggested retail p rice of $6499. T he V-4 GVI 400GDK Cava lcade ret urns, ava ila ble in black/ sil ver a t a sugges ted retail p rice of $9999. ~ 7

• Cover