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/445433
1985 SUZUKI GSX-R750 SUPERSTOCK RACER TEST P72 When it was first launched the GSX-R750 acquired a reputation as a rewarding if demanding streetbike, what the French call a "nervous" motorcycle that would occasionally flap the front end unpredictably, or at worst if badly set up, the possessor of twitchy, skittish handling and, on certain tires, an insidious high-speed weave. We've since come to take some of this for granted, as the entry ticket to race-quality handling, where if you get it wrong you must work at dialing out your setup mistakes. But, back then, when men were men and bikes were expected to be solid and planted in their steering, if you didn't have to raise a sweat slinging it from side to side through a series of turns, then it was "nervous." The Suzuki was the gateway to the modern world, and the combination of its lightweight chassis and the racing suspension on the Superstocker, results in a surprisingly modern-seeming bike you can chuck around and enjoy, rather than have to tame. Though Mick Grant recalls it did occasionally set up a high- speed weave on him, I'm glad to say that never happened to me either at Snetterton 30 years ago or Cape Town today, and though I was rather cautious with it to begin with after the tales I'd heard of sudden misbehavior, I soon realized this is a nearly vice-free bike. The steering is neutral, there's no sign of tuck-in when leaned hard over, even on the brakes, and the suspension coped ideally with the many bumps on the Killarney circuit, where other more recent bikes got badly unsettled, especially with the power on. If ever the Suzuki was going to twitch, it'd be there, but it didn't. The front end tended to wash out a bit around the fast left-hand sweeper on to the Killarney main straight, but that's where a bit of muscle came in useful to pull it back on line, and I was impressed how well it rode the circuit's many bumps, especially leaned over in a fast turn, where the low cee of gee with rider installed would have been a positive factor. It leapt around a little at speed down the long main straight, but the front wheel didn't flap and it stayed going where it was pointed. Not bad for 30 year-old suspension at something approaching 150mph. The Honda Fireblade is always quoted as the first sportbike of the modern era, but eight years before it appeared, Suzuki got there first with the GSX-R750, beating Honda to the punch by creating a 750 with the performance of a 1000 but the handling of a 600. In the context of the mid-1980s this was a truly revolutionary motorcycle, and the fact it's worn so well that 30 years on down the line, Mick Grant's title-winning Superstock version is still such a satisfying bike to ride, is a due mark of its significance. CN SPECIFICATIONS SUZUKI GSX-R750 SUPERSTOCK ENGINE: ......... Oil-cooled, DOHC, 16-valve transverse in-line 4-cylinder 4-stroke with central chain camshaft drive BORE x STROKE: ................. 70 x 48.7 mm DISPLACEMENT: .............................. 749cc HORSEPOWER: 96 bhp at 10,500 rpm (at gearbox) COMPRESSION RATIO: ..................... 10.7: I CARBURETION: ........... 4 x 29 mm Mikuni VM29SS flatslide IGNITION: ................Kokkusan-Denko CDI CLUTCH: ...............Multiplate oil-bath with hydraulic operation TRANSMISSION: 6-speed constant mesh with gear primary drive CHASSIS: .............. Square-section tubular aluminum duplex cradle frame FRONT SUSPENSION: .......40 mm Kayaba telescopic forks with hydraulic antidive REAR SUSPENSION: . Extruded aluminum swingarm with White Power mono- shock and Full-Floater progressive-rate link WHEELBASE: ........................... 56.7 inches FRONT BRAKE: ..........2 x 310mm Brembo floating steel discs with Tokico 4-piston calipers REAR BRAKE: .........1 x 220mm steel disc with twin-piston Tokico caliper FRONT TIRE/WHEEL: .................120/70-17 Michelin Power One on 3.5 inch Suzuki cast aluminum wheel REAR TIRE/WHEEL: ................... 180/55-17 Michelin Power One on 5.5-in. Suzuki cast aluminum wheel WEIGHT: ............ 350 lbs. with oil/no fuel TOP SPEED: .................................. 150 mph