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 Be§t of Time§, the Wor§t of Time§ The exhaust pipe is now triangular in shape. And all titanium. be adjusted up and down by inserting optional race-kit spacers. The swingarm itself has been redesigned. with the right side brought in to allow for the new exhaust system. Kicking the exhaust system closer to the center of the bike allows for a 56-degree lean angle without touchdown, according to Suzuki. Although I never dragged the pipe, I'm fairly certain I must have been at a lean angle of at least SS.8 degrees. Suzuki has upgraded the suspension on the new GSX-R by adding diamond-like carbon (OLC) plating to the 43mm Kayaba front fork. with the OLC plating designed to reduce friction. The rear suspension is basically unchanged except for slight mods to the linkage. The suspension worked well on last year's GSX-R. and it works well again on the new model. Suzuki didn't upgrade everything and then forget about getting the thing to stop a bit better. The front brakes have been upgraded with bigger caliper pistons and 10mm larger discs. They're still the radialmounted Tokicos that worked well last year and work well again. though the feel and feedback is a bit better because the new model uses a radial-piston master cylinder. The rear brake is unchanged. Try as I might, on the racetrack at least, I couldn't find a damn thing I didn't like about the newest GSX-R. In fact, I never made any changes to it from the time it was assigned to me. allowing my personal mechanic to worry about nothing but the amount of Vegemite he was putting on my sandwiches. Mladin is already glowing about his new ride and so is young Ben Spies. who will race the bike in Superstock trim this year. Add yours truly to that list. The bottom line: If you race one of these in 200S and you don't finish at the top or very near it. you might want to take a long look in the mirror when passing out blame. eN Eastern Creek Raceway in the suburbs of Sydney has been good to Kevin Schwantz. And bad. In 1993, the year he won his 500cc World Championship. Schwantz started his season with a victory at the Creek. In 1995. Eastern Creek marked the beginning of the end for the Texan as he crashed during morning warmup on race day, later riding through the pain to finish fifth. A few races later, Schwanu pulled the plug on his Grand Prix career and retired. As a guest of Suzuki's in Australia for the introduction of the new GSXR1000. Schwantz talked about his memories of Eastern Creek - the highs and the lows. The best of times... "My best memory from Eastern Creek has to be from 1993 - not only because I won the race but because there were two other Americans on the podium:' Schwantz said. "I've got a big picture of me, Wayne [Rainey] and Ooug [Chandler]. and the three of us have the biggest grins on our faces. I've never seen another photo of Wayne and I on the podium together where either he wasn't pissed off or I wasn't pissed off because one of us didn't win. That was a rare occasion where everyone on the podium were having a big time. and we were really happy with the results we had gotten." The worst of times... "No doubt my worst experience at Eastern Creek was in '95 when I fell in the first turn in the Sunday morning warmup:' Schwantz said. "I probably should have just walked away from racing then, but I ended up doing two or three more races. I think the thing that had the most to do with it was the Australian crowd. When I stood up and they realized that Iwas okay. a big cheer came up from the stands. I said. J\h. I can't disappoint these people. I've got to go get on my other bike and try and ride.' I think by the start of 1995. I was so detached from my racing that I could have walked away from it really easily then, but I didn't. I made a few more races." SPECIFICATIONS Looks to Kill Look at the 2005 GSX-R I000 from the front when it's parked side by side with the 2004 model. and the '04 looks sort of droopy, while the 'OS appears perkier. The GSX-R still gets vertically stacked headlights. but they're shaped differently. allowing the air ducts to be moved closer to the center of the fairing - the point where air pressure is the highest. And ripping the turn signals off the side of the bike and integrating them into the mirrors is another touch that makes you think: Why aren't they all like that' The fairing also looks cutting edge. with sharper lines making for a bolder look. the rear. From there's no comparison to the older model. with the taillights now integrated into the seat cowling. But the styling changes weren't made just to give the bike more curb appeal; they were also done to improve aerodynamics, with the new model's aerodynamic drag reduced by over 5 percent. according to Suzuki. SUZUKI G5X-R I 000 LIST PRICE $10.849 0ISPLACEMENT 998.6cc ENGINE lYPE Liquid-cooled, four-cylinder, four-stroke BORE x STROKE 73.4 x 59mm COMPRESSION RATIO 12.5: I CARBURETION ..Electronic fuel injection Oigital COl IGNITION TRANSMISSION Six-speed. constant-mesh STARTING SYSTEM FUEL CAPACllY WHEELBASE RAKE[fRAIL SEAT HEIGHT FRONT TIRE REAR TIRE FRONT-WHEEL TRAVEL REAR-WHEEL TRAVEL FRONT BRAKE REAR BRAKE FINAL DRIVE CLAIMED DRY WEIGHT Electric .4.8 gal. .55.3 in. 23.8°{96mm 31.9 in. 120{70-17 I90{50-17 I20mm I 30mm Disc Disc Chain .365 Ibs. CYCLE NEWS • MARCH 9,2005 33