Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

eRIDING IMPRESSION e 1991 Suzuki GsxnOOG T he m ot or rea lly sh ines o n th e highway, where in to p gear o f th e fivespeed tra nsmissio n t he engi ne lumbers along turning 3500 rpm at the lega l speed limit. There is absolutely no vibration throug h th e h an ~l ebaq. or fo ot pegs, a lt ho ug h a t sltg h tly higher engine speeds in lo wer gears th ere is a slight tingle. Average fuel co nsu m p tio n on th e hi ghwa y was just over 40 rnpg, a nd we co uld count on switch ing th e 5.8-ga llo n fuel over to reserve near th e l60-mi le mark. Although th e GSXR-based motor has been detuned slig h tly, it still show s i ts high -perform an ce ca pa b i l i ti es wh en the rpm rea ch es th e upper portion o f th e pow erb and. Be pr epared for a jolt of power tha t tugs at the arms a nd ma kes th e fro n t end ligh t. (Left) The GSXIIOO draws its heritage from earlier GS mod els, combining classic styling with modern technology. Cruisin' on the GSX By Nate Rauba . P ho tos by Ken Faught hese days, it seems lik e everyo ne has come u p with a new mod el based on a success fu l one fro m th e past. There's the Honda Nigh thaw k a nd Kawasaki' s Zeph yr, a nd n ow Suzuk i has upped th e a nte wi th th eir all -ne w GS X I IOO. Suzuki's new bi ke dra ws its heritage from the old GS850 a nd 1100 models, which were so me o f Su zu ki's best sellers throug hou t th e early to m id'80s. Sin ce the lin e was el imi na ted in 1985, many Suzu ki cus to mers a nd deal ers h a ve been p lead i n g wi t h Suzuki to int rod uce a sim ila r mod el. Suzuki answer ed the req uests with th e big GSX, wh ich incorpora tes Suzu ki's la test tec hnology wit h a classic design. At th e hea rt of the GSX is a n ll27cc in-line four-cylinder engi ne lifted off. Suzuki's su ccessful GSXRIIOO sportbik e. Before it was fitted to the GSX; however, Suzuki enginee rs added a gear- dri ven seconda ry bal ancer sha ft to reduce vibra tion and a ltere d valve timing to me llow th e race-bred, air/ o il-coo led GSXR motor. The eng ine breat hes through a ba nk of 36mm Mikuni sli ngs ho t car bure tors d esign ed to give qu ick thrott le response. A comp u ter ize d digita l ignition system provides ideal ig ni tio n timing io burn the mixture at all rprns, and the spent gases exit th e motor through a quiet fo ur -in to-two chrome exha ust system . A lengthy warm up period is requ ired before the engi ne ca n reac h its full performance. Even aft er warmups of severa l minu tes in th e dr iveway, our GSX required several mi les o f rid ing before it wo u ld run clea n ly. Coming to stops within th e warm up period requires several quick blips to th e th rottle to keep th e engine from sta lli ng. However , once i t reaches th e proper operatin g temperature th e mo tor runs well, a ltho ugh there is a slig h t hesitation o ff o f id le. Part o f th e prob lem lies in a n a bu nda nce of th rottle cable T 22 p lay and th e o the r, we sus pect, in car bu ret io n . Aside from the hesitat ion , the motor wo rks ex treme ly well bo th arou nd town a nd o ut o n the hi gh way. T here is plenty o f torque for pu ll ing away fr om sto ps, a nd the powe r p ull s smoorh ly as th e revs ri se. (Above) A GSXR IIOO-based engine is wrapped in a tubular steel fram e. (Below) The mot or prod uces pl enty of torque for around town plus ample, armstra ining top end power, It 's difficu lt to actua lly lift the fro m end o ff th e grou nd. T here is not iceabl e shaft effect from the dri vesha ft, wh ich has a not iceabl e lash when power is sudden ly applied. Plus th e GSX's 562pou nd dr y weigh t helps keep the fro m end firm ly pla nt ed, Up from 43m m forks provide 5.9 inc hes of co m fo rta ble travel. T he rear end feat ur es Suzu ki 's progressive lin k rear suspension mated to a shock wi th four-wa y rebound and step less com pression damping adj ustmen ts that provides 5.3 inches o f tra vel. In sto ck tr im , the suspens ion is well-su ited to open h igh wa y ridi ng as it provides a • (Left) The tall handleba rs a re within easy reach . (Belo w) Following GS tradition, th e well-padded sea t keeps long rides . comfortable for both the rider and passenger. •

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