2017 SUZUKI GSX-R1000
FIRST TEST
P102
front to back and 6.6mm nar-
rower side to side.
The new inline four-cylinder
motor's stroke has been re-
duced from 57.3mm to 55.1,
with the bore increased from
74.5 to 76mm to give more revs
and more top-end power at the
14,500 rpm redline, up by 1000
rpm. There's also more com-
pression (13.2:1 vs the 2016's
12.9:1), a new, lighter finger-
follower valve train acting on the
camshafts that does away with
old school valve tappets, a larg-
er airbox, a new Suzuki Ram Air
Direct (SRAD) system and a new
Ride-By-Wire throttle and intake
system housing new primary
and secondary fuel injectors.
The secondary injectors spray
fuel from the top of the air box
directly into the intake funnels,
resulting in higher peak power,
more efficient combustion,
and better fueling control. The
system works together with the
Stacked Air Intake Funnels on
cylinders one and four and isn't
a variable intake system like on
the Yamaha YZF-R1—Suzuki
wanted a fixed system so no
extra weight and complexity was
added to the GSX-R.
But the big talking point is the
new Variable Valve Timing (VVT)
system, a mechanism that's
been used by Suzuki in MotoGP
for the past decade. MotoGP
racing banned hydraulically and
electronically adjustable VVT
systems some time ago, but the
Suzuki system isn't hydraulic or
electronic—it's mechanical.
Get out into the
backroads and
the GSX-R shines
bright like a
diamond.