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Yoshimura-Suzuki GSX-R 1000 track test

The hell of Suzuka

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The most important race for Japanese motorcycle manufacturers takes place in Suzuka / Japan every year: the 8 Hours of Suzuka. PS tested the Yoshimura-Suzuki GSX-R 1000 on the racetrack.

"Hopefully it works now", it flashes through my head. I keep the speed of the Yoshimura-Suzuki GSX-R 1000 around 4000 tours, gently engage and roll out of the box, accelerating slightly, out onto the pit lane of the legendary Suzuka Circuit in Japan. Below me the motorcycle that last August lost the eight-hour race, which is so important for Japanese motorcycle manufacturers, by a lousy 111 seconds after a fall and drive-through penalty. A weapon that, unlike me, knows the route inside out – and unfortunately does not have an autopilot. But where did the unfamiliar procrastination come from?

Yoshimura-Suzuki GSX-R 1000 track test

The hell of Suzuka

Yoshi-Gixxer in long-distance trim is not a handling miracle

“Concentrate, these skins are hot!”. I hiss down the pit lane and drive onto the track. The winter temperatures of just under ten degrees let me voluntarily shrink behind the bubble pane. So I’m burning towards the first double right on the Yoshimura Suzuki. The Gixxer in long-distance trim and on 16.5-inch development tires from Bridgestone willingly angles and then stoically pulls its path. At the exit of the second right it goes steeply uphill into a passage that I call "Hatzenbach" for myself, because the legendary Nordschleife saying fits here: "If you drive in here too fast, you can not get out at the back.".

Then it goes extremely fast uphill to the left over a nasty knoll, similar to the entrance of the back straight in Jerez, only the other way around. Tough guys are sure to fly over here in the fourth full cannon. I leave it at three-quarters of the throttle and am still spat too quickly at the following tight right-left-right chicane. Even this passage, which breaks the flowing rhythm of the first third of the route, is not a problem for the Yoshimura-Suzuki GSX-R 1000. Even more so for the newcomer, who of course brakes either way too early or way too late. Finding a clean turn-in point is just as difficult as doing a smooth lap at all. Three laps later, I’m through. So far, the Suzuki has forgiven me for all driving mistakes in the saddle, including the track. We approach our fourth round with increased harmony. The GSX-R pushes me down the start-finish straight, the double right and the "Hatzenbach", the input speed fits here.

Naked bike

PS-Quick-Check: Speed-Tec-Suzuki GSX-R 1000 Naked

Take off your clothes Gixxer

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Race bike: Sattler GSX-R 1000

Black cannonball

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Buy Suzuki GSX-R 1000 on markt.motorradonline.de

The tester’s very private Suzuka hell

In third gear at medium speed, I arrow through the tangle and boldly throw the Gixxer from left to right. However, this requires a little force, because the Yoshimura-Suzuki GSX-R 1000 is not a handling miracle in long-distance trim. It does exactly what the pilot wants, but requires a direct and clear steering command.

Sato

Short and stable Yoshimura aluminum rear.

Unbelievable then what happens in a supposedly deep incline. The more sloping you are on the 16.5-inch Bridgestone bikes, the more transparent the driving experience, the better the tires feel. Corrections to the line – unavoidable with Suzuka newbies – are easier to make the more diagonally you drive. Elbow loops à la Marc Marquez even seem to be getting closer. Even these hated "ui-ui-ui-brakes" in an inclined position, if you approach the apex far too quickly, go over the stage without any disturbing erection moment. At the exit of the bend, just a tiny set-up with the cock fully cocked and traction control. This was set quite conservatively by the technicians in order to make life a little easier for the tester.

Eureka, the fourth round was good. Hopefully an even better fifth round will follow! Lo and behold: man and machine master the test to the satisfaction of the pilot. Finally I have the feeling that I know the track a little and fly full soup in fifth through a murderously fast left turn. The Yoshimura-Suzuki GSX-R 1000 lies like a board, a Moto3 rider is inhaled and spat out through the exhaust. Bamm, the lap time fits for a Suzuka debut, the self-confidence is back.

In the run-out lap, thoughts of the legendary "8 hours of Suzuka" pop up. Driving fast here for eight hours? And in the grueling, humid heat of a Japanese August? I would never survive this glowing hell in my life!

Then I experience my private Suzuka hell. I’m too slow for the autumn weather, the front tire is cooling down and waving the white flag when leaning to the left. On our way to the gravel bed together, the rubber whispers to me: "Hey boy, I’m built to burn, not to stroll!"

PS data

Sato

According to team boss Yohei Sato, wheel changes on both axles only take five to six seconds.

drive
Four-cylinder in-line engine, four valves / cylinder, approx. 154 kW (210 PS), max. Torque: n / a, 999 cm3, bore / stroke: 74.5 / 57.3 mm, compression: n / a A., Magneti-Marelli ignition / injection system, 44 mm throttle valves, mechanically operated multi-disc oil bath anti-hopping clutch , six-speed gearbox, chain, traction control.

landing gear
Light metal bridge frame, steering head angle: 65.5 to 66.5 degrees, caster: n / a, wheelbase: 1400 to 1460 mm, inner fork tube diameter: 43 mm, spring travel v / h: 120/130 mm.

Wheels and brakes
Magnesium forged wheels, 3.75 x 16.5 / 6.25 x 16.5, front tires: 120/600 R 16.5, rear: 190/650 R 16.5, 320 mm double disc brakes with four-piston fixed calipers at the front, 220 mm single disc with two -piston fixed calipers at the rear

Weight (full tank): 193 kg *,
Tank capacity: 24 liters

* Manufacturer information

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