Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

.I 66.0~ ft ••lbs. @lS 100 rpm! ! . I I _ i ' I I --+-.---+'---c,L+--+--!-""-.~- i -1----;-- - - ~l'L"jW 4/ .. ,, =---- - -1 . . - : APRILIA RSV Mille R noating above the road surface - then it would shake its head enough to make you edgy. Of allof the bikes in this test, the Kawasaki was the most likea bullin a chinashop on the smaller track. Care had to be constantlytaken to keep from gettinghighs ided to the moon. On the big track it was absolutelyastonishinghow much steam the bike woold generate between turns seven and eight. What's not to like?We're sure as hell not going to complain about too much power. One last thing: Some of the guysweren't bothered by it, but the transmiss ion's shifting actionstillisn't on par with the other bikes here. Suzuki GSX·R750 The idea of puttingthe GSX·R750in this test wasn't entirelya popularone. The reason was that a few people were worried that the littl 750 may e just givethe big bikes fits, and it did almost upset a couple of the bigger bikes, not becauseof its motor, but because of the chassis and excellent steering. Okay, we're not rippin on the little 750's motor g - it's quite good- but in this company? Giveus a break... One thing that Ididn't noticewhen I rode the bike on the racetrack in Japan was that the bike's fuel injection is still more abrupt than the 1000 or 600s from Suzuki. Riding the 750 around town made this more apparent. It is much improved over early generation GSX·R750s and is even d eaner thanthe lastgeneration, but it still lurchesa bit exiting tight lower-rpm comers. You get the picture n - the 7S0 can't win the king of the mountai title in thiscrowd, but we were still really impressed by the engine's perlormance. The motor. combined with the bike's600-like chassis, makesit one hell of a streetbike. The 750 is one of the most rewarding bikes to ride on the track. We allthought that the 7S0 would be able to hold its own at the smaller Stree ts track, and some even predicted that it would run away there, but even there it was out motored. So as you mayguess, the bigtrack ate it up and spit it out. Okay, so Tomand I still tumed raster lap times on it than either of the V-twins, but it was about a halfa second a lap offof the fourth-fastest 10000c bike there . The 750 couldn't pulloffthe upset, but it was a blast nonetheless. Suzuki GSX-R I000 The old girlstillhas it; that's the bottom line. I thinkeveryone was pleasantlysurprised how well the Suzuki 1000held its own in the motor department in this test. So maybe it has fallen from grace to some degree because of the new Kawasaki, but our bike stillmade more power than the RI and the CBR. k The GSX-R, li e the Honda. puts a big emphasis on mid-range power, with that peak comingat a very access ibleBSOO rpm. The top end on the bigSuzuki justdoesn't seem as impressive as it once did, but exiting those tighter comers both on the street and on the track requires a gentle touch. Inaddition to having one hellof a punch in the bottom and midrange, it has more traditionalgearin compared to the ZX-IOR and Rl's g taller setups. Thisof course makesthe bike a wheelie afi ionado's dream. One thing that was a surprise c to both Tomand me at the big track was that Tom turned his second-Iastest lapon the GSX-R,while I tumed my third-fast st. Aswe sai , it still has it. e d On the street the bike has one of the nicest motors you could ever ask for, with clean fuelinjection delivery and a motor that is always ready to play One area where the GSX·R has always . been good is that the gearbox isstill one of the best in the group, somethingthat makes carving up the racetrack a lot easier. Just wait until next year... Suzuki is sure to step it up bigwith the next-generation 1000. Yamaha RI We had reallyhigh expectationsfor the RI, and it met most of those expectationsquite well, but it fell short in a coupleof key areas. The RI is a racebike for the street and nothingless. The bike is geared so tallthat riding it in a tight canyoncan literally be done in first and second gears alone. So what's wrong with that, you ask? Well, it takes some gettingused to for one. The RI doesn't have that GSX-RlCBRIZX-1OR entertainment valuearound town. You can't just rollout of a comer and get that overwhelming sense of power - well, at least untilyou let the tach needle wander closer to its 13,750 rpm redline - and then allhell breaks loose. There is no doubt that the RI 's motor absolutely rips on the top end, but Ithink we'll be throwinga couple of teeth at the rear sprocket just to see how much more excitingthis bike can be on the street when this test is over. Otherwise. most street rides would have to be at 100-plus mph to keep the bike from falling asleep. That said, all of the complaints that we moaned about on the street (gearing) are what made itan awesome bike on the track, Once the RI gets up into its sweet zone, hang on tight,because the motor isawesome. It may make less horsepower than the Kawasaki, but it transfers that power to the ground more emciendyon the track. The Yamaha turned the fastest lap time at Wil· low's bigtrack by over a second, but it wasn't ableto handle the tighter Streets track nearly as well, lingering down in fif h. t To be fair we have to mentionthat the RI completelytorched its dutch during our hot laps at the big track, forcing us to ride the spare bike that Yamaha had brought along. The clutch, it seems, had probablybeen deteriorating for most of the day judging by how completely destroyed the plates were. The onlythingthat we can think of is that someone's personal lever preferencewas actually causing it to dragslightly. One area that the Yamaha has improveddramatically is the gearbox. The RI now shifts as smoothlyas anythingin the class.One last note: The old suction-piston secondary-throttle butterllysetup on the 200203 throttle bodies were smoother reacting than the new servo-controlled veesons. LIST PRICE " " .." ,." ,,$ 13,999 DISPLACEMENT ., , " " ,997.6cc ENGINE TYPE Uqu id-cooled V· twin fou r-st ro ke BORE x STROKE ...." ". " ..,97 x 67 .5mm COMPRESSION RAT IO I I.B; I CARBURETION ....Fue1 injeetiionw/57mm thro ttle bod ies IG N IT IO N , Digital e lectronic TRANSMISSION ,.,.." ." ...." ..5ix-speed STARTING SYSTEM ,.." ,.., Electri c "., .4.6Bgal. FUEL CAPACITY .." WHEELBASE " .., " ." " " 56 .72 in, RAKElTRAIL , " 24 .Bo/1 0 1,7mm SEAT HEIGHT.., " " , ,,32 .4 in. FRONT TIRE , " " ,." .. 120/70- 17 REAR TIRE ". 180/55- 17 o r 190/50 · 17 FRONT·WHEEL TRAVEL.. .4.8 in. REAR·WHEEL TRAVEL " " 5.32 in. FRONT BRAKE .." ,.." " Dual d isc REAR BRAKE .., , , " ,." " ,.Disc FINAL DRIVE " Chain CLAIMED DRY WEIGHT " .4 15.8 Ibs. "The best wa to achieve 00 riv ut 0 th RSV is to rev the hell out of i just lik it' a inl"ne four. n

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