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/833352
CN III ARCHIVES BY LARRY LAWRENCE S hinichi Sahara, Chief Engineer of the new-generation 2017 Suzuki GSX- R1000, made a somewhat surprising revelation. In a very Spock-like telling, when the first prototype engine of the new GSX-R1000 was assembled and on the test bench and fired up for the first time, it didn't particularly move him. However, when the first complete motorcycle was started and began rolling away under its own power at the Suzuki plant, it was a different story. At that point, Sahara showed he was more human than Vulcan. "It was quite emotional," he admitted. It's easy to understand why the very logical-thinking Sahara discovered a smile coming across his face when the first of the new generation GSX-R1000 became a real- ity. It was the culmination of countless hours of work by a dedicated team hoping to keep the rich legacy of Suzuki's GSX-R alive. Even though Sahara would likely never admit it, being the project leader appointed by his company to produce the newest version of the most popular sport bike of all time has to carry more than just a little pressure. When he was high-school age, Sahara began riding motorcycles. At 19 he began road racing, but "I didn't have enough budget to continue racing because I was still a student," Sahara says. "Then I switched from road racing to mini bike racing, just to enjoy." The mental image of the lanky Sahara draped over a mini bike brings a smile. After graduating from university at 24, Sahara be- gan his career at Suzuki. The year was 1989. "My first job at Suzuki was developing future technology," Sahara said. "Not a production bike, but working on elements of the technology of the future." Thinking about the company mindset that gives new engineers, fresh from university, the opportunity to work with a clean sheet of paper and offer their visions of technologies their company might use or develop, gives you an idea of why Japanese makers continue to be on the leading edge of innovation. From that point, it was a typical step-by-step engineering apprenticeship for Sahara. He began working in engine development for street bikes, at first for smaller displacement machines and gradu- ally working his way up to the larger bikes. "My job was working on the engine dyno and finding more and more horsepower," Sahara says. At the end of 1995 Sahara moved to Suzuki's racing department. His first few years were spent working with Suzuki's superbike team in the Japa- nese domestic MFJ Road Race Championship. Sahara's time with the domestic team coincided with a dramatic improvement for Suzuki's results. It was during this time that Sahara was part of the team that developed the Suzuki TL1000R. The V-Twin machine was a big departure for Suzuki, and while the motorcycle ultimately didn't prove to be a great racing machine, it did mark an important P140 SHINICHI SAHARA: KEEPER OF A LEGACY Shinichi Sahara, the man behind the new GSX-R1000.