Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

1996 Suzuki GSXR750 DUNLoPAD STOPPER NUMBER ONE "/'lle heard that over 90 percent o f new m otorcyc l es come stock with sintered metal brake pads. Why is t hat?" Three words: Performance. Performance. Performance. Sintered brake pads are constructed of compacted fine metal particles of copper, bronze and other materials. Sintered pads provide a higher all-around level of friction and deliver longer mileage than organic/Kevlar pads. They also work more effectively in a wider spectrum of conditions. That's why all major motorcycle manufacturers design brake systems and rotors for use with this friction material. Sintered pads do not, as many people think, cause rotor wear. All Dunlopad brake pads include IGS (a special graphite compound) to protect rotors from wear and eliminate brake noise. When it comes time to replace your brakes, choose Dunlopad. We invented sintered brakes. We are the experts. With Dunlopad, you get just what . you're looking for: superior performance. And they're available at all major motorcycle shops. Don't settle fo r reduced brake performan ce. Insist on Dunlopad! DfI ( / 1I1PAD SIN TERED BRAKES Dunlopad No rth America! Tony Mills Int e rn ational Inc . 4401 Walden Avenue . Lancaster, NY 14086 • 716.681 .8806 REGIONAL & NATIONAL SANCTION5-UCENSE INFORMATION (31 0)868-8112 (909) 657-6782 P.O B 46 . ox NORWALK. CA 90650 National Motosport Association \0 0\ 0\ Suzuki GSXR750-T Specifications Engine Liquid-cooled. DOHC. in-line four-stroke withfour valves per cylinder Dimensions 72 x 46mm Capacity : 749cc Compression ratio 11.8: 1 Fuellig nition system 39mm Mikuni carburetors. digital electronic ignition Gearbox Six-speed , constant mesh Chassis Twin -spar aluminumalloy S us pans ion Front .43mm Sohwa inverted telescopic fork Rea r Sohwa single-shock, progressive linkage Head angle 24 degrees Trail 96mm Wh base 55.1 in. 394 pounds Weight (dry) Front Dual 320mm disc with Tokiko calipers Single 220mm disc with twin-piston caliper slx-plston o ~ [$$ CASH PAID $$] ' ~ BERT'S MOTORCYCLES 16 818·334·1288/818·334·2926 § new ram-air indu ctio n system. (Right) Suzuki went to great lengths to dec rease the s ize of the GSXR's powerplant. Brakes rl rl (Above) Suzuki claims a lhree- ' percent Improvement In air-intake cha rging efficiency with its US,D SnlEET BIKES Rear ......./tlres Front ....120170 ZR Dunlop D204FRadial . on 3.50 x 17-inch cast-alloywheel """r ........190ISO ZR Dunlop D204 Radial on 6.00.x 17-inch cast alloy wheel weigh t. The fra me is a lmos t seven poun ds lig hter tha n the 1995 ve rsion an d is cons tructed in six main sections: mai n spars (press ed and welded a luminum); steering head (cast alu minum); swingarm m ount (cast alumi num ); e ngi ne m ounts (fo rged alu mi n u m) , cross brace (extruded aluminum); and bolt-on rear sub-fra me (ex truded aluminum) . Th is yea r's chassis featu res adjustab le engine mounts, allowing for proper engine / drive-cha in alig nm en t wit h the fra me; w ith fine tu nin g accomp lished via a thread ed adjus te r on th e low er right-side engine mount. Both ends ' of the new chassis feature fully adj ustab le and upgrad ed suspension systems . The fro nt fork is a 43mrn Sh ow a upside-down unit, simila r in man y ways to last year' s fork. The main differen ce betw een th e two is again in an effort to save weight: Th e cartrid ge cylinde r, damper rod, bottom- end cap, rebo un d and com pressio n adjusters, oil lock piece and spring seat ha ve all been re m an u fac tu red in alu m in u m rather than steel. Spring and damping rates were cha n ged to ma tc h th e w eight reduction and tire selectio n (in the case of our test d ay, race-compou nd Dunlop D204 Sport max II ra dials were fitted ; custome r bik es will come w it h streetcompou n d Sp ortmax IIs ). Th e triple clam ps have 3m m less offse t (down to 32m m fro m last year's 35m m) and th e lower clamp get s a 30m m alu min u m stee ring stem . The rear suspension is again fu ll y adjus table. And again it's a Showa unit. The unit moun ts to a sepa rate -rid eh eight adjuster which doesn't work unless you buy the race kit. The linkage itself has been ch anged to feature aluminum compo nents and the sp ring and damper rates w er e changed to match the increased traction provid ed by th e wi de r rear tire (a 190 /55-ZRI7 mounted on a 6.00 x 17 rim) . . Up fron t, sto pping pow er is provided by two six -p is to n Tokico calipers w it h staggere d-d iamete r p istons (the lea d ing piston s bein g sma ller than the trailing piston s in an effo rt to equalize p r e ssure o n th e p ad s an d to re du ce fluid vo lume to the pistons ) and lar ger 320 m m roto rs. Na tura lly, th e rotors have been grooved in th e ever-im portant struggle to kee p weight at a min im um . Sinte r ed b r a k e p a d s a re now u sed u p front to in crease friction d uring initial con tact w ith the roto r a n d to main tai n a high frictio n level. The main change to the rear brake is in the size of the ro tor, which has been red uce d 'from 240mm to 220mm - again in the nam e of . weigh t reduction. The ch assi s is n icel y cove re d by a sporty fairing, eye-catchi ng tail section (so me w ill d espise it ) and hin ged gas tank (it's hin ged at the rear, allowing for me ch an ics to s im p ly ra ise th e fro n t, pr op a stan d under it, and wor k on the en gin e without the displeasure of having to disconnect the fuel lines). And it' s all been d esigned to slide th rough the air with the greatest of ease. Falling back on the w in d-tunn el te sting th at wen t into the RGV500, the GSXR gets a highly efficient fair ing sha pe and Suzuki claims a six-percent red uction in d rag. Saving weigh t was a priority even w hen it came to suc h minor d etails as the headli ght lens, which is now polycarbonate at a weight savings of 680 grams. The new elec tronic instru ment cluster is as clea n as th ey ge t, wi th an electric speedometer and a tachometer which features a larger d ial - all wi th a weight sav ings of 430 grams. The clus ter incl ud e s a n LCD odometer di splay , which features two separa te trip meters (one cou ld keep track of the total trip mil e a ge w hi le th e o ther m onitors mileage for one particul ar tank of gas) and the system is no n-volatile so a loss in b attery p ow er won ' t los e th e da ta fro m the odo meters. Also inclu ded on the da sh are LCD displays which mon itor coo la n t te mpera tu re an d low oil pressure; there' s also an amber-colore d low-fue l lig ht which b links whe n th e . fuel level reaches abou t 1.1 gallons . In a ll , Suzu k i h as cut a lmost 20 p ounds from the GSXR in the chassis, b ringin g the weig h t do w n t o 394 .6 p ounds - so me 44 pounds lighter than the 1995 mod el. ON TRA CK Though its suc cess on the race tracks of the w orld see ms imminent with th e su rprising results of th e recent Daytona tir e test s (both Picotte and Yat es w er e under the 750cc Supersport la p reco rd with only a kitt ed exh aus t an d the best Dunlop tires), the new GSXR750's success as a streetbike remains a my stery . With ou r one-day test slated for the race track, it's easy to see where Suzuki's priorities lie. The new GSXR750 was designed for th e race track . Plai n and si m p le. W h e ther it works well fr om sto p ligh t to stoplight will be answered later. With m y five-foot-ei gh t fr am e, th e new GSXR750 felt as though it was tailor-made for me. The handlebars felt as though they w ere positio ned perfectly a little higher than on past GSXRs - and my h and s seeme d to fall naturally into p lace as I sat on th e bi ke for th e first

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