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/1542349
time you whack the throttle open. Suzuki's made some big changes to the bike that's been around since 1985, and all of them add to the packaSe that makes this a well-rounded sportbike that will work equally well on the street or on the racetrack. For starters, the 750 now has more power with the bike rewing an additional 600 rpm over last year. The compression ratio has been bumped from 12.3:l to l2.5rl (thank to new valve angles) and a secondary balancer shaft has been added to take away some of that pesky engine vibration. The shaft is located in front of the crankshaft and is gear-driven from the crankshaft. AlthouSh the GSX-Rs valve angle is nar- rower with a smaller bore, the intake valves are still 29mm. with the exhaust valves a bit smaller to accommodate the repositioning of the intake valves. To reduce internal pressure and mechanical power losses, the 750's ventila- tion holes bewveen the cylinder bores at the boftom of the piston stroke are now larger to work with the increase in rpms. The bike also gets pistons that are seven grams lighter. The 750 gets the same upgrades to its SDTV fuel-injection system, again in an effort to improve midrange torque with Suzuki claiming a 5-percent increase, with the big change being the extra iniector. lt also gets the SET system built into the trick little stubby exhaust, again controlled by an from front to back. To get the intake ports to be straighter, the engine has been rotat- ed forward slightly in the chassis. The 750 has shrunk in every way, with a lower seat height, overall height and overall lengrh. though the wheelbase is unchanged at l400mm - thanks to the shorter engine which allows for a longer swingarm without lengthening the wheelbase. The bigger GSX-R also gets the adjustable footpegs. Like the 600, the 750 gets a new fork, down to a 4lmm from last year's 43mm, though the wall thickness has been increased. This year's Showa also features carbonized-titanium coating instead of the conventional chrome plating on the 600. According to Suzuki, this was done to reduce frictional losses by 15 percent. lt also gets the smaller rear shock, which is now fully adiusable on both high and low speed compression. The 750 gets bigger front brake rotorr, up from 300mm to 3 lomm, Aerodynamics and a more effecrive SRAD are also incorporated into the 750's new styling, with the bike looking almost like the tlvin sister of the 600, lt gets the same touches, such as the turn signals integrated into the mirrors and, of course, the gear-position indiaator on the instru- ment cluster. RIDING IT II The ultimate sportbike! A case could definitely be made for the new GSX-R750, which combines the best qualities of a 500 with the added oornph ol a 750. SittinS on the 750 you'd be hard press- ed to not think you were still on the 600. Give it some stick on the track, howevei and you know you've got something more under you. Negatives? Well, the bike's a bit hard- er to get to change directions in some of the faster parts of Phillip lsland, but that might iust be because you're actually going faster. Plus that added inertia of a bigger, heavier crankshaft. Either way, as the Aussies say, it's not something to bung an act over. Positives? Well, there's heaps of rhem. But the power of a 750 in a bike that feels like a 500 has to rank at the top of the list. And that really says it all about the 750. Like the 600, the brakes on the 750 have both stopping power and feel, giving confidence to get on 'em hard. And that slipper clutch makes life a wonderful thing when downshifting from speed into a slow tum like Honda Corner. Vvhat was life like without One? Believe it or not, 670,000 GSX-Rs have been shipped since the introduction of the first unit back in 1985. Since 2005, there have been 57,000 units of the Gixxers shipped- With two bikes like these, that number will only increase, with both the glamour bike and the bi8 brother sure to be favorites with sportbike enthusiasts the Bring on that " Middleweight Shootout!" Cif Tte ioch ir cleon ond the georporition indhotor light should be mqndqtory on oll rporlbikes. Tfie shifrinE liEhr is somewhqt useless os 'J difficult to ree. upSraded EClv1, to monitor rpm, throttle position and gear position, ln an effort to make those downshifts effortless and to allow the rider to concen- trate more on the corner ahead, the GSX- R750 - like the 600 - also Sets the slipper clutch. The six-speed transmission's ratios have also changed in an effort to improve acceleration. The engine, again like the 600, has become more (ompact, lighter and more powerful (what more could you want?) with new bore and stroke dimensions of 70 x 48.7mm. The engine is 34mm shorter from top to bottom and l5mm narrower from side to side. lt's al5o 57mm shoner GSX-R600 LtsT PRTCE .....-. _... .........................$S799 DtsPtACEMENT ..........................599cc ENGINE TYPE....,..,......Liquid-cooled, inline, four-cylinder four-stroke BORE x STROKE .................-67.0 x 42.5mm COMPRESSION RATIO,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, I 2,5 : I cARBURETTON ......................................EFr rGNtTtoN............................................Di8itar TRANSMISS|ON ..........................Six-speed, constant-mesh STARTING SYSTEM,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,EICCIrIC FUEL CAPACTTY ...........................,..4.s 8at. wHEEL8ASE......................................55. I in. RAKE/TR4|L ..............................73.8. /97 mm FRONI-WHEEL TRAVEL ..................4.7 in. nEAR-WHEEL TRAVEL ......................5. I in. FRONT BRAI(E..................................,,.,Dasc REAR BRAKE..........................................Disc FINAL DR|VE........................................Chain CLAIMED DRY WETGHT ..............354.9 tb. GSX-R750 '''',,,',,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,.,,...'.'.359.5 lb, FRONT TIRE REAR TIRE ,, .4.5 gal. 55.1 in. ...............,,....-.--$9999 749tc ............Liquid-cooled, ....................23.8'/97mm ........ ... .... 32 5 in. .................. I 20t 70-zR t 7 r80/5s-ZRI7 ...........4.7 in. ...........5.1 in. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Disc ,,,,,.,,,,,,,,Disc ...........Chain sEAT HEtGHT..........,.,............... ....32.5 in. 170170-17 t80/55-t7 SPECIFICATIONS 7 a rl r- r.i: LB:] 1a --,-- - Xevin who? Kevin N t/ 1 k ({ I L' d I l- ll t' -r-- -r- crclE NEyyS , MARCH 29, 2006 3I