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1997 Suzuki GSXR600 Although It was designed at the same time as the 1996 Suzuki GSXR750, the '97 GSXR600 makes Its debut a year later. The bike should ,give Suzuki a good base on which to try and add a 600cc Supersport Championship to its '96 750Cc Supersport title. which uses a spacer-type system that gives complete ride-height adjustablity at both ends. . The GSXR600 uses cast-aluminum wheels, a 35-inch wheel up front and a 5.5-inch rear (the 750 uses a six-inch rear wheel). For our day at the track, the bikes were fitted with Dunlop's new 364 racecompound DOT tires in 120/70 and 180/55 sizes. Although the front brakes on the 600 use the same 320mm rotors as the 750, the 600' s front discs get four-piston calipers as opposed to the six-piston units used on the 750. The back brake on the 600 is the same as the 750 - a 220mm single rotor with a two-piston caliper. In all, Suzuki saved 3.5 pounds in the changes they made to the 600' s chassis over the 750' s - savings which came directly from the front fork, the front tire, the rear wheel and tire, the front brake calipers and the braceless swingarm. Without the two sitting side by side, it would be difficult to actually walk up to By Paul Carruthers Photos by Tom Riles . \0 0\ 0\ ....... ('f)~ ,...., l-< OJ "S OJ :> o Z 16 ,- t hrst glance, last year's longawaited ,Suzuki GSXR750 tooked a lot like a 600. So it ma~es perfectly good sense that the brand-new 1997 GSXR600 looks like last year's 750. And because of those similar looks, Suzuki goes to great pains to let you know that the 600 is not simply a sleeved-d'own version of their 750cc Supersport Championship-winning motorcycle - a point that's easy to defend upon closer inspection. It is different, and a great effort was made to make the motorcycle's power-to-weight ratio even more impressive than the sibling 750. After all, they're hoping for similar racing success. You can often tell a lot about a motorcycle by the site in which the manufacturer decides to unveil it to the press. The GSXR600 is a Supersport bike, through and through. Thus it was the race track on which we were slated to spend our day with the newest of the 6oos. Fittingly, it was the newest of race tracks, Las Vegas Motor Speedway in the desert outskirts of the gambling capital of the world, that would serve as our testing grounds. Since Suzuki hasn't had a 600 worthy of comparison of late, it's only natural to compare the newest GSXR to its big brother, the GSXR750. There are plenty of differences, most of which were brought about in an effort to get that even higher power-to-weight ratio from the 600. Some of those changes were also about cost: after all, it's a bit hard to sell a 600 that costs as much as a 750. What Suzuki has come up with is a motorcycle that weighs in at an anorexic 383 pounds, produces roughly 106 horsepower and sells for a suggested retail price of $7,699. FRAME UP The GSXR600 may not be a sleeveddown version of its big brother, but the GSXR6oo's aluminum chassis is virtually identical to that of the 750. The rake angle is the same 24 degrees, and the engine is still used as 'a stressed member of the chassis - of which the sub-frame is still detachable. The big difference between the two models is that there is no swingarm-pivot adjustablity on the GSXR6OO. Suzuki has also added a steering damper mounting boss on the left frame spar of the 600, an addition that will also be featured on the 1997 GSXR750. The 6OO's wheelbase is lOmm shorter than that of the 750, and that lOmm has been taken straight from the swingarrn. This' in spite of the fact that the biggest complaint about last year's 750 (at least in Superbike trim) wa? that it was too short and the Yoshimura factory riders were constantly asking for a longer swingarm. This wasn't a problem on the Supersport race bike, so it shouldn't be one with a less-powerfu1600. The wheelbase on the 600 ends up at 54.7 inches (1390mm) compared to 55.1 (140Omm) on the 750. Suzuki also used the swingarm on the 600 as an area to save weight, and they did so by not using the massive external brace that came on the 750. Since it obviously produces far less power, the 600 apparently didn't need the extra strength the brace provides nor the extra weight that comes with it. While it would have been easy to simply throw the components from the 750 on to the 600, that would have proven costly and, according to 'Suzuki, would have been overkill in a lot of areas.ยท One of those areas is the front fork. While the 750 uses an inverted, 43mm unit, the 600 has been given a 45mm conventionalstyle fork that features both preload and rebound damping adjustablity but no compression damping adjustablity. Naturally, the 600's fork is also lighter than the 750's. To say that Suzuki opted to use a different fork just to shave some weight from the 600 wouldn't be entirely accuissue in the rate because cost was also selection. Although the rear suspension is similar to that used on the 750, it also is not identical. The fully adjustable, piggyback-style shock uses the same spring but the leverage ratjo has changed (because of the shorter swingarm). This . works out for the 600 because it also uses a slimmer rear tire than the 750 and doesn't require as much leverage. While the ride height can be adjusted at the upper shock mount on the 600, the bottom of the shock is fixed. to the swingarrn via a clevice,.type mount - unlike the 750 an a GSXR600 and know at first glance to that it wasn't the 750. And vice versa. Visually, the bikes are nearly identical and most of that look comes from the use of the same fairing, seat, front fender and tank. The instrument panel is also the same as the one used on the 750, featuring an electronic speedometer with LCD odometer (twin-trip type); water-temperature gauge with LCD readout; oil-pressure and water-temperature warning lights with flashing LED, and a two-stage low-fuel warning light. Like the 750, the GSXR600 also gets the handy hinged fuel tank, which lifts up for easy access to the carburetors, valve cover and spark plugs for maintenance and tuning purposes. DOWNSIZING This is where it becomes apparent that "sleeved-down 750" doesn't accurately describe the 6OO's powerplant. Although the engine was obviously produced to be as light and compact as possible like its sibling 750, the 600's engine features a few key differences. Obviously, the bore and stroke are different at 65.5 x 44.5mm as opposed to the 750's longer stroke of 72.0 x 46.Omm design. The compression ratio is higher at 12.0:1 vs. the 750's 11.8:1. The GSXR600 uses a DOHC shimunder-bucket type valve system 'with 26.5mm intake valves and 22mm exhaust valves that require adjustment at 15,000mile intervals. Those valves are angled at 30 degrees as opposed to the included