FEATURE
30 YEARS OF SUZUKI GSX-R750
P56
This was the
new face of
superbike. If you
didn't have one
of these, you
were in trouble.
THE GSX-R750 F ARRIVES
Well, not in the States, at least. We'd
have to wait another year for the bike
to land, but the rest of the world got
their share. The GSX-R750F was a
product of the factory GS1000R race
bike that tasted success in AMA and
Endurance racing. Sold as a 400 in
Japan in 1984, the upgraded 750
of 1985 came to buyers' garages
with a race-bred 100 horsepower,
DOHC, inline four-cylinder, air- and
oil-cooled (Suzuki Advanced Cooling
System—SACS) motor with 70 x
48.7mm dimensions, 29mm flat-slide
carbs, aluminum box section chassis,
18-inch wheels, and bodywork that
looked straight off the Endurance
racetracks of the world. The end result
was a bike that weighed a claimed
394 pounds, substantially lighter than
the same year Yamaha FZ750 with
more power to boot. It was an instant
success. The new GSX-R won the
1985 Le Mans 24 Hour first time out,
as well as the Production TT and in
1986, a guy called Kevin Schwantz
took second behind Eddie Lawson at
the Daytona 200. That year of 1986,
the new-to-U.S. GSX-R750G only saw
slight revisions, with a 25mm longer
swingarm, revised bellypan and
slightly different headlights. There
was also a 500-only GSX-R750 R that
sported different colors, graphics and
headlights, 310mm floating discs,
steering damper, span-adjustable
clutch lever, race-style dry clutch, a
single seat, remote rear suspension
reservoir and electronically activated
anti-dive forks New Electronically
Activated Suspension (NEAS).
For 1987 the only change to the
GSX-R was thicker 41mm forks and a
larger 5.5 gallon gas tank.
1985
