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/128368
The new GSX·R1OOO is completely restyled. T raditional anniversary gifts go something like this: year one paper; year five - wood; year 10 - tin; year 15 - crystal. In celebrating the 20th anniversary of its G5X-R line, 5uzuki has come up with its own idea of the perfect 20-year gift: It's called, "get the hell out of my way because I'm going to kick your ass." Or, more simply, the 2005 Suzuki G5X-RI000. The latest in a long line of G5X-R sportbikes, the new GSX-RIOOO really is that good. It's almost like Mat Mladin sat down in a room packed with Suzuki engineers, coffee and cigarettes, and nobody could leave until the smoke cleared and the perfect 1000cc sportbike was created. "Make it lighter, mate. Make it faster, mate. Make it handle a bit better, mate. Oh, and make it a bit more slippery through the air, mate. While you're at it, a bit more acceleration would be cool, mate." Check, mate. Check, mate. Check, mate. Check, mate. Check, mate. Mission accomplished. The new GSX-R I000 is everything Mladin and his fellow Suzuki racers worldwide could possibly ask for. It is faster, it is lighter, it does handle better, and it is more aerodynamic. There are also a few things thrown in that might make the rest of us happier as well. The first thing you notice when you see the GSX-R I000 for the first time is its size. Okay, who hid the 1000? The bike is compact like no other in its class, and its looks are striking. Pointy nose, pointy tail section. Turn signals integrated into the mirrors and into the tail section. An exhaust like no other, a triangular canister (totally titanium, dude) that at first makes you scratch your chin ... then you start to wonder: Why aren't they all like that? It's a looker, and it makes you want to suit up faster than a pool bloke caught with another man's missus. And it only gets better when you ride it. Right when you toss a leg over the GSXR, you notice that it's small. And it is. Overall, the bike is 40mm shorter (front to rear) in length, 15mm shorter (from ground to top of the windscreen) in height and 5mm narrower. That puts the seat 20mm lower to the ground than on last year's, and the distance from butt to handlebars is 40mm shorter. Now that the distance from foot peg to footpeg is 17mm narrower, Suzuki was able to drop the pegs a bit lower without hampering ground clearance. This should be a big help to taller riders, though I wouldn't know because I'm not one of them. Although the bike feels small, I had a good six inches behind my posterior section before I hit the back of the seat. I also had plenty of room from elbow to knee while tucked in, and those taller than me in the group of journalists didn't seem to complain about a lack of room. However, when the thrill of the racetrack is gone and you're droning along at freeway speeds, the smallness of the bike might become a hindrance. For that, we'll have to wait until we get our hands on a production unit stateside. Back to that 20-year anniversary thing... perhaps the perfect gift for 20 years would be torque. The new Suzuki gives you tons of it. With the displacement of the new bike up 10.9cc, from 987.7cc to 998.6cc, it's fairly easy to see where that comes from. The bore has also been increased from 73.0mm to 73.4mm, though the stroke remains the same at 59.0mm. The compression ratio has also been bumped up to 12.5: I from 12.0: I. You can throw all the numbers out there that you want. but the proof is in the pudding. And the bottom line is that with this much torque, you can treat the gearbox like a lotto machine. Pick a number, any number. I'll take the Quick Pick, please. Fourth gear instead of third on a corner exit... whoopee. No big deal. Fifth instead of fourth. Still works. There's so much torque that there are times you wouldn't even know what gear you were in (and it wouldn't matter) if not for the handy, dandy new gear indicator on the flashy new instrument cluster. The gear indicator is really a treat. When Suzuki guest rider Kevin Schwantz tells you to be in fourth gear, you can tell him with all honesty that you were in fourth gear. Another thing that stands out almost immediately on the new GSX-R 1000 is its slipper clutch (or back-torque limiting clutch, according to Suzuki) that enables you to bang downshifts with nary a thought. One time I got a little overzealous and slammed down into first when second would have been more prudent. I was a tad nervous but figured that since I'm still an Australian citizen and would be covered on the national health plan, I'd go ahead and let the clutch out and give'er a go. No worries. The motor screamed a bit, but the back end didn't get all squirmy, and I was good to go. Obviously, this means that regular downshifts are a pleasure. You really just don't think about them after a few laps. At least early in last year's AMA CYCLE NEWS • MARCH 9, 2005 31