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WHAT THE PRESS SAY
GSX-R1000
WHAT THE PRESS SAY
GSX-R1000
WHAT THE PRESS SAY
GSX-R1000
WHAT THE PRESS SAY
GSX-R1000
WHAT TH
Performance Bikes
July 2009
Words: Ben Wilkins & Guy Martin
Pics: Jason Critchall
Ride
May 2009
Words: Emma Franklin Pics: Jason Critchall
Superbike
May 2009
Words: Kenny Pryde Pics: Jason Critchall
087
gsx-r1000
suzuki
There's always been something exciting about GSX-Rs. The
l
atest one is no different but the big story this year isn't the
engine, it's the forks. The GSX-R is the first litre bike to
come fitted with the new big piston forks.
While the forks might be the headline grabbers this time
around, the engine is still what makes the GSX-R what it is.
A big part of the excitement experience is the awesome
noise from the airbox that sounds like the ingested air is
being ripped apart at the atomic level. This resonance is
reminiscent of Velcro being pulled apart all the time the
engine is working hard. At 7000rpm it's most prominent
and a beautiful place to be.
A quick look at the dyno curve (p90) shows the GSX-R to have the most
consistent, and bulging, power curve. At 4700rpm there's a healthy 6bhp
more than anything else and it's strong through the midrange, only
l
osing out in the last few revs to the peaky Kawasaki. The GSX-R
motor feels the strongest here and the dyno backs up the seat of the
pants measurement. The power modes are interesting to play with but
t
he default A-mode setting is the best.
Back to the BP forks. They have both compression and rebound
damping on the top of the fork, while the preload has been relocated to
t
he bottom. Just as the Yamaha's new engine is noticeably different, these
f
orks feel different compared to those on the other bikes.
For a similar amount of compression damping they're
more controlled. There feels like there's more damping
i
n the initial part of the fork's movement. Guy explains:
`
She's plusher in compression and rebound, and doesn't
dive as quickly. The BPFs give more consistent damping.
The tyres are limiting what I can get out of the forks.'
This damping progression gives great composure when
hard on the brakes. The Suzuki's back end doesn't lift as
easily as the Honda's or Yamaha's. Only really heavy
braking lifts the rear or causes the back end to slew
sideways on the way into corners. They're not great
t
hough. Initial bite is disappointing and they need a hefty squeeze
t
o turn all that kinetic energy into heat. Accelerating hard over bumps
has the bars snapping from side to side on occasion too. This jiggiddy
bar movement is purely encouragement that you're in the fun zone,
rather than the Kawasaki's heart in the mouth bar antics that can be
genuinely scary at times.
You might not expect it but the GSX-R is also a cracking all-rounder,
comfy enough for everyday riding and spacious enough for larger riders
l
ike me and Johnny Mac. Then there are the details like the bar mounted
t
rip button and the small but useful under seat space. Brilliant.
£9921 164bhp 208.5kg Raucous. composed. spacious.
`THE BPF Forks
givE morE
consisTEnT
damPing'
zx-10r
kawasaki
£9499 166bhp 214kg poweRful. fast. wild.
p82-87 PB July pt2 CDP.sp.indd 87
20/5/09 11:22:20
089
`The Suzuki iS
The beST on
STandard
SeTTingS. no
queSTion. F
or The
Track iT Sm
okeS The oT
herS,
STraighT ou
T oF The Sho
wroom'
SUZUKI GSX-
R1000
GM on standard
settings
There's f**k all wron
g with this! It's absolu
t
ely mega. Is this how
they're
delivered? Well, I can
'
t really complain. I d
i
dn't think a stock litr
e bike
could be like this ou
t
of the crate. These fo
rks on this bike are m
ega.
There's not as much g
round clearance as th
e Honda [fixed by ra
i
sing the
pegs BW] but it fee
l
s much plusher and c
ontrolled. There's a r
eally
good transition betw
een the front and rea
r
. This only really nee
ds light
t
weaking. She's better
than the Honda for a
trackday rider on sta
ndard
settings. Absolutely m
ega. The stock tyres a
re the best here too.
GM on adjusted
suspension (se
e table)
This has evened the s
uspension up front a
nd rear. They're mov
i
ng up
and down at the sam
e rate now. The most n
oticeable gain is that t
he rear
t
yre isn't being worke
d so hard. She's more
composed on the for
k and
doesn't dive too muc
h. Maybe a bit too co
mposed there's a slig
ht lack
of feeling but it's still
brilliant. The big pist
on forks work well fo
r this
t
rack. Without spend
i
ng hours on it, this is
about as good as we'll
get
i
t for Cadwell. I don't r
eally like the looks b
ut it's mega to ride.
YAMAHA YZF
-R1
GM on standard
settings
She feels high at the f
ront, not the same fe
eling as the 05-08 bik
es.
Strange considering
it's got so much sag a
t
the front end; I was e
xpecting
i
t to be 2mm, not 35m
m. The back end com
es around really easil
y,
backing in without e
ven pushing that har
d. There's good contr
ol
coming out of corne
rs, a bit better than th
e Honda. I've read pe
ople
raving about it.* I can
sort of see where the
y're coming from bu
t
it's
not the night and day
thing that everyone's
going on about.
GM on adjusted
suspension (se
e table)
Better on these settin
gs but it's being held b
ack by the shite stock
tyres.
Stiffening it up has im
proved the way the b
ike turns and the tra
nsition
between acceleratin
g and decelerating. Th
i
s stiffening makes it s
l
ide
more easily. It still ba
cks in on the way into
corners but it's much
better than it was.
* Having independ
ent damping circu
i
ts in each fork sim
plifies the fork desig
n,
meaning that the o
i
l has only one job to
do. The theory is th
at the damping sho
uld
s
tay more consisten
t
.
GSX-R Front
Standard
Track
Static sag
23mm
23mm
Compression
5 turns
3 turns
Rebound
4 turns
3 turns
GSX-R Rear
Standard
Track
Static sag
8mm
8mm
Compression
(high)
3 turns
3 turns
Compression
(low)
2 1/4 turns
1 turn
Rebound
2 3/4 turns
1 turn
R1 Front
Standard
Track
Static sag
35mm
35mm
Compression
20 turns
5 turns
Rebound
12 turns
5 turns
R1 Rear
Standard
Track
Static sag
13mm
13mm
Compression
(high)
9 turns
9 turns
Compression
(low)
3 turns
3 turns
Rebound
4 turns
1 turn
(
all adjustmen
t
s out from fu
l
ly in)
(
all adjustmen
t
s out from fu
l
ly in)
Composed a
nd adjustable
.
But back end
still floaty
Works out of
t
he crate.
Good adjustm
ent range
p88-91 PB July pt3 CDP.sp.indd 8
3
20/5/09 16:46:34
108-111 R May Suzuki GSX-R1000K9 cdp.indd 108
4/3/09 15:45:57
108-111 R May Suzuki GSX-R1000K9 cdp.indd 109
4/3/09 15:51:45
108-111 R May Suzuki GSX-
R1000K9 cdp.indd 110
4/3/09 15:55:43
108-111 R May Suzuki GSX-
R1000K9 cdp.indd 111
4/3/09 15:58:20
p88-91 PB July pt3 CDP.sp
.indd 84
20/5/09 16:47:06
092
Setting up the su
spension on your
bike can make a h
uge
difference to the w
ay it handles and
t
he confidence it g
i
ves you.
Some of these bi
kes have great su
spension on the s
t
andard
settings. The Suz
uki is incredibly g
ood with nary a tu
rn of a
screwdriver. But d
on't assume that
your bike is perfe
ct out of the
crate. Not all man
ufacturers get it ri
ght. As it came, th
e Honda had
t
he worst suspens
i
on set-up both fo
r
the road and the
track. The
bike wasn't new,
but it only had 170
0 miles on the clo
ck. Hardly
t
ime for the suspe
nsion to wear. Ho
wever, this does s
uggest that
i
t could do with a f
r
eshen up after on
l
y a couple of thou
sand miles.
Getting your susp
ension set up cor
r
ectly isn't the mam
moth
t
ask you might ex
pect. A couple of
hours spent playi
ng with the
adjusters followe
d by taking it for a
quick spin to see
t
he effect it's
had can work wo
nders. Just make
sure you keep the
front and
r
ear damping spe
eds balanced.
While they may lo
ok like bling, the S
uzuki's big piston
forks do
t
he business. To h
ave Guy Martin c
oming back in fro
m a couple
of laps of Cadwel
l
Park raving abou
t
them, even on st
andard
settings, says som
ething about the n
ew technology. B
W
PB road test
///
answer.
BeLIeVe the
hyPe. the BIG
PIston forks
deLIVer. as
standard th
e
sUZUkI Is Bes
t
CBr1000rr
We'd forgotten about
the Blade,
which is a crazy thing
because
t
he bike is awesome. H
owever
compared to the othe
r bikes the
suspension is lacking
as standard.
There's enough adjus
t
ment to get
i
t right for the road but
if trackdays
are your thing then bo
t
h the forks
and rear shock need r
evalving
because there's only ju
st enough
damping when the ad
j
usters
are fully in, and Guy s
t
ill
wanted more.
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GsX-r1000
The sports all-rounde
r of the
bunch. Crazy I know.
Not only
can the GSX-R carry a
pillion in
(
reasonable) comfort,
t
he rider gets
a good deal too with t
he adjustable
pegs and capacious ri
ding
position. Of all the bik
es here, out
of the crate, the GSX-
R is best set
up on the suspension
front. Then
t
here's the motor. Goo
d bottom
end, strong midrange
and healthy
peak. It's the only eng
i
ne here with
good power everywh
ere.
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yZf-r1
Another cracking roa
d bike.
The forks are on the so
ft side as
standard but respond
well to
extra compression an
d rebound
adjustment, and the p
reload
adjuster on the rear is
a doddle to
use. The Yamaha's en
gine sounds
completely different t
o anything
else and the riding ex
perience is
different too. It seems
slightly
easier to use the powe
r but there's
not a big difference be
t
ween them.
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ZX-10r
As hard in nature as a
ny Kawasaki
has ever been. Ride bu
mpy roads
knowing things are g
oing to get
f
risky. It's the most pow
erful and
f
astest bike here, if you
look at the
peak figures. The ZX-
10 also feels
t
he fastest. It's an excit
i
ng bike that
makes every ride an a
dventure.
J
ust don't expect to be
f
orgiven any
of your mistakes. The
suspension
can be tweaked well fo
r the track
but for the road the re
ar shock is a
t
ouch too hard.
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VerdICt
094
Thanks To ca
dwell
park and The
i
r
fanTasTic ma
rshals
for leTTing u
s loose
on Track for
This
monTh's TesT
.
Best engine,
best suspensi
on
best all-round
er,
best Japanese
thou'
p92 PB July pt4 CDP.indd
1
20/5/09 10:14:45
Every man and his dog has been raving about how good the
new crossplane R1 is. I don't know what all the fuss is about.
Okay, it's good, but I think the Suzuki GSX-R is mega.
Guy Martin, Performance Bikes