eRIDING IMPRESSION
1992 Suzuki G XR600
S
m
,
he motorcycling enthusiast press
can write stories until the ink runs
dry, and advertising agencies can
create ads until the budget is depleted,
but the real storyline for Suzuki's allnew GSXR600 will likely be written
at Laguna Seca International Racewa y
on April 26.
That's when the much-ballyhooed,
liquid-cooled 600cc sportbike is set to
make its AMAlCCS 600cc Supersport
racing debut, in the hands of Yoshimura 's Dave Sadowski and Britt Turkington. Suzuki vs, Honda CBR600,
Suzuki vs. Yamaha FZR600.
Simply put, supersport racing is
important to motorcycle manufacturers. The 600cc Supersport class is the
true test of the middlweight sportb ike
- with success on the track translati ng
directly to i nc reased sales on the
showroom floor.
We recently had the opportunity to
sample the new GSX R600 during a
press introduction at Laguna Seca, and
on the back roads and freewa ys of
southern California.
T
28
The GSXR600 was p ri marily designed for the race track and that's where it performs
best. Although it also works well on the street, its cramped cockpit will make th e
rider go quickly in search of twisting roads,
,
Talking tech
Yes, Virginia, there's finally a
liquid-cooled Suzuki GSX R. And it's
a 600.
Why liq uid-cooling? It better stabilizes engine performance and allows a
higher compression ratio to be utilized,
as compared to air-cooled engines. As
in the GSXR600 's case, liquid coolant
flows through a large, curved " Radial
Flow" radiator which gives a biggerthan-usual effective surface area without increasing the frontal area of the
bike. A slim electric fan helps draw
extra air through the radiator when
temperatures get too high.
The cooling system also helps
mai ntain constant o il temperature. A
water-coo led oil cooler is incorporated
between the oi l filter and cra nkcase,
and filtered oi l circulates th rou gh a
series of coolant-filled coi ls before
reac hi ng the main oil gallery .
In o rder to keep the overall wid th
of the GSXR as narrow as possible,
cra nkcase width was m inim ized using
a narrow cylinder bore pitch and
