Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128310
1_~IO::BaIkkCe-::-;r izzJy~G~s~x-nlO:v:\Or\O- - -- - - - - - - - - G~r~ l R-'--;; 4000-8000 rpm , sho rt-shifting th rough the slick-act ion gearbox to deliver acceleration a looo cc Yamaha Fazer o r Honda Hornet can only dream of. Wheelies are a constant factor - both the showboa t kind and genuine power-whe elies - when you get it on good in any of the botto m three gears , even with the 10mmlonger swinganm to throw more we ight onto the front PirelJi. But even with the front wheel waving in the air, the Grizzly doesn't shake its jaw around unduly, even when you land with the front Marvic slightly crossed up. Then the neat-loo king and very compact Ohl ins rotational stee ring damper fitted to the steering head does its job, allowing just one brief toss of the Grizzly 's head before resuming normal service. For a naked streetfighter this potent, with arou nd 140 bhp at the rear wheel and a much different weight distributio n with the rider on board com pared to any othe r sportbike with that much power thanks to the upright riding position, the Grizzly is really a cuddly teddy bear of a bike, reflecting Bakker's years of experience in harnessing horsepower. Bare powe r. The WP shock is rath er st iff, mean ing that ride quality on Dutch cobblestones is pretty dismal, though you wouldn 't be dialing up the numbers w ith your right hand on those anyway - too slippery! But while yo u do get tossed about a bit in the reasonably plush seat over bumps, t here' s not a lot of choice but to have a hard rear suspension setting, as Bakker emphasized w hen 1co mplained about th is to him. "I agree - it' s not very comfortable, but w ith this style of bike producing more than 160 bhp at the crank, and the two-teethbigger sprocket putting all t hat to rque to the ground, there's noth ing else to do ," he says. "Anyway, you can always stand on the footrests and get your backside off the seat over the worst bumps !" Okay, N ico, put it in the Gr izzly owner's manual! The seat height is the same as a sto ck GSX-R1000, but the near-perfect upright riding position's much more com forta ble t han on the fully faired sportbike, thanks to the wide one-piece Magura handle bar, which gives plenty of leverage for correcting the inevitable slides that you'll get pow ering out of a turn on a bike like this - even w ith the ex cellent grip of the forgiVing Diablo rubber to help you hook up the back wh eel. The rear Pirelli is supercontrollable when it does start to spin up, plus the fact the Italian t ires (but made in Germany, at the Metz eler factory ), w hich heat up so quickly, even in a coo lish early sum mer Net herlands day, are an important safety factor for an ultrarod like this one . There's a subco nscious urge to hop on , thumb the starter button and give it some gas without even thinking about whether the tires are already coo king nicely. And 34 FEBRUARY 11,2004 • while that wide handlebar is great for catch ing slides when they do come , it also makes the Grizzly really maneuverable in tight turns and city st reets, plus the extra leverage it offers means you don't notice the heavier effect on the steering of t he 190mm rear tire , which helps put that power to the ground properly. Good package. That added maneuverability mean s you honestly don't not ice the main be nefit of fitting tho se sexy-loo king Braking petal discs, which is the spe eded-Up steering you get fro m their reduced gyroscopic effect compared to the heavier, more su bstantial stock brakes. But I guess t heir reduced unsprung weight does enhance suspens ion response fro m the exTL l OOOR Kayaba fo rks, and the main t hing, to be ho nest, is that they just look really trick , wh ile still providing benchmark stopp ing power in street terms from the six-piston Tokico calipers. The Grizzly sto ps really well from high speed, though a key factor here might be its reduced rea l-world 170kg [374 Ibs.) dry weight compared to the GSX-R1000 it's de rived fro m. Okay, I know - that's the same as Suzuki claimed for t he 2002-model 'Gixxe r, except here w e have included battery acid, suspe nsion fluid, engine lubricant , coolant and all t he other vital stuff japanese factories somehow forget to add in when they put their latest and greatest on the scales, come homologat ion time. Take it from me, the Grizzly digs its claws in pretty damn well when you ask it to . The news that Flammini is considering running a Super Naked support se ries at European rounds of the 2004 World Supe rbike Champ ionsh ip brings bikes like the Grizzly into add ed focus - and makes you realize that , ahem, Suzuki only one of the four japanese m doesn't have a fo ur-cylinder c this clothes-off category. It does have the SVI000 V-twin - but that's no real compeamaha tition fo r the Z I000 ' Kwackers, Y FZ-I Fazers , MV Brutales, and Hond a Horn et 900s that are expected to contest this class in t uned form, alongside the Vtw in Supe rbike streetrods like the Aprilia ",,_:'-::11 Tuono Racing and Ducati S4R Monster. So co me on Suzuki - wake up and b . a j-Grizzly yourself, and prefe w it h a passenger seat, too. Nico Bakker already shown you how to createSXRI000 ultra-Naked sportrod. Why n his des ign and fast-forward it into pro tion? 'Til t he n, the market for crash-d aged Gixxers and RIs looks to firm quite noticeably... CYCLE NEWS