1997 Suzukis
•
(Left) Been lusting
after that Ducatl but
just don't have the
cash? Suzuki may
have a vary good
answer for you: The
1997 TL1000,
powered by a 996cc
fuel-Injected 90degree V-twin. It's
less than $9,000.
(Below) The
GSXR750 (basically
unchanged for this
year) gets a little
brother: the
GSXR600. Dry
weight is 383
pounds and the
wheelbase is even
shorter than the
75O's.
By Mark Hoyer
~
~
emember the GSXR600 Suzuki made a few years ago?
Kind of heavy, kind of slow.
Forget it. And that Italian Vtwin sportbike you were considering?
You might want to reconsider. For sport
and race fiends alike Suzuki has fresh
answers for the old question: How fast
can I go? In the form of a new GSXR600
supersport machine and the 11.10005 90degree, fuel-injected V-twin sportbike.
And if pretending you just smoked
DuHamel down your favorite back road
isn't your game, Suzuki has a few other
1997 models that might be more your
style. Fulfilling the role of (gasp!) a regular all-around motorcycle is the Bandit
1200, the ster.Qid-scarfing older brother
to the nimble and fun Bandit 600. For
the boulevardiers among you there's the
805cc V-twin-powered Marauder cruiser, "styled for the strip."
-
TL1000S
If you had any doubt that the 11.1000
- with its available red paint, liquidcooled 90-degree 996cc single-pm-crank
V-twin and aluminum trellis frame was aimed squarely at any of the sporting Ducati V-twins, then let Suzuki's
own brochure lay your doubt to rest:
"The wide powerband, rush of acceleration and enhaT)ced traction produced by
a booming V-twin can be so seductive
that some enthusiasts are willing to sacrifice comfort, forego long-term reliability and serviceability, and give up the
parts and warran ty support of a comprehensive dealer network."
Okay, so the intent is clear. Looking
at the specs shows they may have executed that intent with skill. Every effort
was made to keep the 90-degree V-twin
- usually a difficult engine to work with
due to the spread-out nature of the V -
as compact as possible. To that end, the
cylinder dimensions were made an
undersquare 98 x 66=.
In addHion, to make the downdraft
cylinder heads more compact a unique
chain I gear combination drives the
camshaft. The chain encircles the twomain-bearing crankshaft and an idler
gear below the cams in the cylinder
head, which in turn spins the cams by
gear drive. The benefit of the chain I gear
system is that the gears on the cams can
