Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

S UZU K I GSX-RSOOY Swan Song? FEATURES Engine If Suz uk i sta ys in st ep with its past de cisi on -ma k in g reg ard in g th e in t ro du ct ion of it s prod ucts, t he b ik e you see h er e co u ld be ren d ered all b ut o b so le te in th e n ext four or fiv e m onth s. After in trod ucing its rev olu t io nary ne w GS X -R750 in 19 9 6, Suzuk i made mid d lewei ght ma vens w ait fo r one yea r before jumping in with a simi larly ret oo led 600 . If you go back to the beg inni ng of o u r little story, you 'll reca ll that little part about t he pa ttern of develop me nt and, well , the 750 plays a very vita l ro le in t he Suzu k i Su pers port family, After all , it is their Superb ike as we ll as a Supersport racer. T hat said , we would hav e to sa y that in li g ht o f t he release o f t he sc ream in' 2000 Gixxe r 7 5 0 .. . y ou ge t t he p ic t u re. So wh ere d o es t h at lea v e t h is year's GSX -R6 0 0 ? Gl ad yo u as k ed, because t he answer is " sur p r ising ly c o m p e ti t iv e" even th oug h it i s effec tive l y a fouryear -old design . TRACK SAV V Y Age and treachery in the hunt: S uzuk i's GSXR600Y is an aging repliracer with decent street manners and enough teeth on the track to make it a serious choice for the all but the most hardcore sp orting riders. • Airbox capacity enhances mindrange performance • Engine size minimized by transmission shafts being behind and below crankshaft • SCEM nickel-siltcon-carbide plating replaces conventional cast-iro n cylinder liners • Combustion chamber efficiency maximized by high corn pres sion ratio & 30° valve angle • Side-mounted cam chain uses live mai n-bearing journals lor r ates ri g ht i n t h e ba llpark for race track us e. C omfo rt was ano t he r ar ea w h ere the Su zu ki ga ve up no gro und t o th e compe t i t i o n despit e the f ac t t h at it s r id ing p os ition wa s clea rly sim il ar to th e Kawasaki. So who w en t to schoo l on who? The Suzuk i's 5 99c c DO HC inl in e fo u r fee ls m uc h fa ste r than it a ctua ll y is, c ough in g u p a rush of power in th e mid d le an d then pu lling in t o th e upper rpm registers , th ough not quite with the same authority STREETCREO as the ZX-6R. It'll pull on top , but u ltimately you are greeted with more buzz than power. Just the same , The Suzuki w a s righ t at hom e on th e st reet , eve n th e motor is fun t o flo g th ou gh it is c l ea r l y d esi gn ed f or the White Brothers R&D Dept. around th e ra c etrac k , trac k. The m or e m ellow p ower d eli ve ry 90 90 as t he sh ifti ng i s and deliberate ha ndlin g offer up a se nse ZlJ 1M •PI>w: R= 1.5 ~s : I- M , T1 RCUE 43. d ecent, al beit a li ttle on o f s e c u r it y t o th e r id er. Th er e i s n o - 60 60 lt h e notc h y s id e, and h arshn e ss o r twi tchi ness to be foun d 70 I70 th e cl u t c h i s on p ar a nyw here in t he Su zu k i. Once aga in , UJ CD : ) 1= w i th the best un i ts i n brakes t hat cou ld stop a trai n are , an d 60 fi; ~ 60 Ith e cl as s. a. have always been , one of t h is p art icul ar ~ : CD Ic;i - 50 .a In low -s peed tu rn s , model's s trong suits . This is a real ~ 50 o c: th e GSX- R tends to feel I bonus on the street, w here you h ave to (l) / W 40 I40 ~ a b it o n the plump side , keep an eye on them b ecau se you k n ow

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