VOL. 52 ISSUE 47 NOVEMBER 24, 2015 P49
Suzuki GSX-R1000 concept bike – or not…
Suzuki officially displayed a
2017 GSX-R1000 concept bike
at the Milan show – well here
is the truth. The bike shown is
the new GSX-R1000, but due
to manufacturing delays Suzuki
can't deliver it until mid-2016
and rather than upset custom-
ers, they have called it a 2017
model. That's Japanese logic.
So what does the new GSX-
R1000 have? We will start
with the good news. This is a
ground-up new bike and will
be available in two formats, a
base and higher spec R model.
The engine is all-new and uses
variable valve technology to
help it make around 200 hp,
the chassis is also completely
new with more weight pushed
on the bike's nose to speed up
its handling and the suspension
is the very latest Showa BFF
forks and Showa BFRC shock.
Well, on the R model anyway,
the base bike appears to
have stock BPF forks. On the
electronics front the GSX-R has
ride-by-wire and launch control
and an up and down quick-
shifter, but the bad news is the
fact it doesn't have an IMU and
therefore the 10-level traction
control and ABS isn't gyroscop-
ically controlled. Will the GSX-R
succeed when it appears in
mid-2016? According to Suzuki
people it will be priced notice-
ably below the rest of the liter
bikes, which will help, but is it a
case of too little too late?
The jury is out on
if Suzuki has done
enough with their
2017 Gixer.
SUZUKI
The other model…
So what does Suzuki
actually have new?
The SV650 has been
updated with small engine
modifications increasing
power to 75 hp while 70
new chassis components
see it shed 14 pounds.
A new SV650 is all you get
for 2016 from Suzuki.
