Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

e~I~h~};~fu~~~~S~ION ;:::::::-=-~ e 1992 Suzuki GSXR600 C'i C'I a 60 .0cc spo rt bike, it still feels sma ll ish co mpared to its 750 and II00cc broth ers. And sin ce it 's a few pounds lighter than its brothers, th e 600 turn s ex tre mely quickl y. .Perhap s too 'q u ickly, as it some times feels a lillie sq uirre ly and twitchy, especia lly th e first few times on the bike. As wi th most race-oriented street bike, th e GSXR600's sus pens io n is setup quite stiff out of th e cra te. T h is gives the bike a secure and stable feeling in the turns, but results in a rough and bouncy ride on the highways. Luckil y, both front and rear suspensions are fully adj ustable. If yo u like 'sma ll and cra m ped places, you '11 love th e GSXR600. Like the 750 and II 00, the 600 is not a co mforta ble motorcycle, but th at 's th e price you pay for rac e-track performance. The handlebars ar e extremely low and the footpegs are positioned far back and fairl y high. The rider's chest nearly rests on top of th e big, wide gas tank, as your eyes pe er ou t just above the windscr een. This seating position puts a lot of pressure o n the rider's wrists and doe sn 't do much for the lower back muscles ei ther. At least th e edges of th e fair ing don 't dig into the rid er 's kn ees, like some GSXR's of the past. As a whol e , th e ne w " li tt le " GSXR600 pro vides plenty of thrill, but it's definitely not an everyday bike. It li ves for the weekends, wh eth er it's load in g it u p and haulin g it to the local race trac k, o r tak in g it for a sp in o n you r favo rite canyon o r mountai n roa d. You won' t be disap pointed. __ (Above) Not only is the engine water-cooled, but the oil is too . Filtered oil circulates through coolant-filled coils before reaching the main oil gallery in the engine. (Left) The starter was placed behind the cylinders to reduce engine width, and the oil pan is offset to one side for exhaust pipe clearance. (Clockwise from right) The GSXR is rather wide for a 600; a curved alunimun swingarrn allows the exhaust to be tucked up higher for more cornering clearan ce; dual overhead cams act directly on the 16 valves in an effort to enhance high-rpm performance. Riding opinions I was the lucky o ne wh o go t assigned to ride th e new Suzu ki GSXR600 at Laguna Seca Intern at io nal ' Raceway. And I'm also the o ne that will defen d the GSXR600 to my peers who claim it's un com fort ab le and expensive. Don 't tell them I told you th is but - well, it is a bit unco mfortabl e. And, well, it is a tad expe ns ive. But you for get all tha t wh en you're zoomi ng around Laguna Seca havin g the ti me of your life. In fact, after riding the lillie GSXR around Laguna, I started en tertaini ng the though t of actua lly racing o ne o f th ese things. Dave Sado wski brought me back to earth with a jolt wh en he boldly stated, after blo win g by me lik e I was tied to a fence po st, " Well, you look fast." T hat's it. I looked fast, and I felt fast. And 90 percent of the people ou t there that bu y a GSXR600 are buyin g for those exact reasons. You look good, you feel good. Okay, so I wasn 't th e least b it comforta ble when I had the opportunity to rid e the bike on the freeway . My mem o ri es o f th e da y at La gun a , though, made me q u ickly for get any inadequacies the GSXR600 may have wh en it comes to a Sunday ride dow n the hi ghway. I'm looking forward to seeing how Mr. Sado wski fares - Sunday, Ap ril 26 - at La guna Seca. Paul Carruthers •• ••• 30 Althou gh th e GSXR600 is best su ited for th e race track, it's likely that more of th e machines will actuall y end up cru ising Pacific Coast Highway o n a hot summer day or any o ther local han gout. Just look at th e number of GSXR750s and other models o n display at th e nearest cruise strip. Many of those riders could care less abo u t th e GSXR600's razor-s harp handling, they're more concerned with bein g o n a bike th at looks like it' s come straigh t from the track. And they'll pa y, both in cash and comfort. I'd forgotten j ust how unco mfo rta ble a GSXR can be o n the stree t. The hi gh and rear-set footpegs put my kn ees at the bottom of my arms, wh ich reac he d far fo r the cl i p -o n bars m ount ed below th e u p p er tr i pl e clamp. All hunched o ver, it didn't take long for my lower back to start aching . By the end of an hour- long co mmu te on the freeway , I coul dn 't wai t to sta nd up . I expected th e GS XR to reach race speeds in a hurry, a nd it didn 't disappoint me. Ho wever, it takes a good launch to get th e 600 into the meat o f the powerband, which is concentrated in the upper rev ra nge. There's no t much torqu~ below 8000 rpm, so pulling away from a stop light requires a long slip of the clutch. Throttle response below 7000 rpm is sluggish. Wh ile the GS XR tortured me in the ci ty, i ts rewards were found on a moun tain road. That cra mped position was perfect for cornering, and the stiff suspension kep t it fro m dan cin g around wh en the tu rns were a little

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