Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

{EGI - I front area of the bike. That's because the radiator's shape is trapezoidal, which I believe is the coolest word in this story With no claims of the bike rewing to the moon, the new bike does rev 500 rpm more than the last model with redline on the tach set at 16,@0 rpm. lf ever/ sportbike should have a gear- position indicator, then they should defl- nitely all get slipper clutches. And the GSX- R600 does. lt basically makes it so you can hammer your downshifts without nary a worry of the biker going sideways or doing anything strange. That, I believe, is a good thing. So add that to fire, the wheeland the gear-indicator as the world's foremost It abo gets a new front brake, with slightly larger rotors (300 to 3lOmm)- And the fork has been changed, with the fork tubes getting thinner from 43mm to 4lmm to reduce friction loss. At least two things were done to improve torque on the GSX-R600, and combined, those things work. And work well. Elelieve it or not. this is a 600 that does have torque. Rid€ it ard you'll find that you're not constantly shifting gears; you're not necessarity rewing the guts out of the bike. Two ofthe things changed to build more torque are the SDTV (Suzuki DualThroftle Valve) fuel-inlection system, which now has a larger outlet diameter to improve low- to midrange torque, and twin-iniec- tors instead of the single injector on last 2006 Suzuki GSX-R600 ond GSY-R750 year's model, and the SET (Suzuki Exhaust Tuning), which is built into the middle of the exhaust with a servo-controlled but- terfly valve that matches engine rpm. The valve closes at a lower rpm, which increas- es back pressure and improves torque, then opens as engine speed increases - thus bettering midrange and hiSh-rpm power. The ECl4 that controls all this stuff has also been upgraded with 384 kilobytes of ROI'{ ('.rp from 256). RIDING IT The new little Gixxer leels amazingly small, thouSh it's hardly cramped - at 5 foot 8 inches it would take a pretty small motor- cycle to cramp me. The taller (and bigger) in the group reported that there were still no worries in fitting their frames behind the shortened tank - thanks mainly to the fact that there's plenty of room from the front of the seat to the back of the seat. When seated on the 500, I was completely flat footed. which is also unusual. ln fact. I haven't been this flat-footed since riding a YSR50! Part of that comes from the fact that not onv is the bike small with a lower seat height, but it's also nice and skinny through the seat and tank. So much so that you barely notice it between your le8s. On the track, the bike gets even small- er. This bike made gettinS reacquainted with one of the best racetracks in the world effortless. Fort),-two different apex- es in turn two, no worries, mate. Throw it down, pick it up, throw it down.,. well, you get the picture. lt's easy to ride, and easy to change direction on- lf the size of the bike, or lack thereol is what you notice flrst, it's the power that Sets your aftention next. Why? Because it's got some. And it also has torque, a bit more than what yor.r think of when you envision a middleweight. lt makes it so you don't feel as thouSh you need to rev the piss out of the engine to 8et the most out of it. lt feels like it possesses the torque of a b'ke with a much bi88er engine. That rn turn makes it so gear selection isn't as crit- ical as it normally is on 600s. You'd think you'd really need to do a lot of gear shifting on a 600 around Pl, but that's not the case on the new Suzuki with its new gear ratios- ln fact, you only 8et to fifth on the front straight, the bike about to hit the limiter when you backshift once for the ultrafast turn one. That's where you also notice how stable the little bike is as well. You peel off into turn one at a verl high rate of speed. bu! rhe bike settles in nicely and doesn't do anything peculiar. You really notice how small and li8ht feeling the bike is in the slower stuff. like Honda Corner - a tight, second-gear right-hander. You fly off into there going fast, backhift ovice (awesome slipper clutch by the way... and this is a spot where it pays divi- dends), and throw it in. This is where the fuel iniection shows its mettle a5 you pick up the throttle without a hiccup and exit the corner usinS all the bike's torque. 816 BROTH€R A 600 with a bigger enSine? That's exactly what the new GSX-R750 feels like. and that may make it the perfect sportbike. After all, ir fits right in that niche between 500 and 1000 - between the little scream- er and the bike that frightens you every The JvlotoGP-like exhoust doesn't iust look belter but it olso serwer q fun(lion o5 it helpr get the weighl of rhe bike diitributed be er. Both bikes gel rmoller diometer discs for 2006. Sropping power doesn'l sufre., however. 30 MARCHze,zoo6 . cYcLE NEws tr --<1f \ o i$ t ,) - i , o, s {r,' I o i I a -a t\ \ L a I

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