All Duels – Comparison test Suzuki GSX-R 600 Vs GSX-R 750: which one to choose? – Circuit test: there can only be one!

Suzuki GSX-R 600 Vs GSX-R 750 comparison test: which one to choose ?

All Duels - Comparison test Suzuki GSX-R 600 Vs GSX-R 750: which one to choose? - Circuit test: there can only be one!

Redesigned (a little), lightened (a lot) and optimized (madly!) In 2011, the Suzuki GSX-R 600 and 750 appear at the top of their form. To decide between these two sports very close technically, MNC opposed them on the road and on the circuit.. Duel.

Circuit test: there can only be one !

In spite of rather comfortable bases for the category, it is with the "proven" basis that the editorial staff of Site arrives at the gates of the Magny-Cours circuit, whose asphalt still shines from the heavy downpours that fell all night long….

Under these conditions, confidence obviously drops by several notches and the start on the track is easy: the perfect opportunity to test the interest of the famous device. SDMS (Suzuki Drive Mode Select) which allows you to choose between two different injection maps (A or B).

In "B" mode, the revs are noticeably less lively and the boom on admission appears muffled. Not very useful on dry ground in French version, this electronic "castration" is apprehended quite differently when it comes to discovering the limits of a sportswoman on a totally soggy asphalt !

But if the SMDS electronically regulates the arrival of power, it unfortunately has no effect on the slight jerk felt during the go-around. Clearly more annoying than on the road, this little "failure" of the injection takes on all its importance on a wet circuit, when the dosage of the acceleration requires finesse and precision…

More pronounced on the GSX-R 750, this jerk is fortunately too light to have a negative influence on the stressing of the fully adjustable mono-shock absorber (including in slow and fast compression). In the dry, the well-braked hydraulics also allow the two Suzuki to perfectly "wedge" themselves on their support and easily keep the traj ‘. But with almost 20 and 45 hp less than in the free version, the opposite would have been unfortunate !

For the same reason, the excellent traction offered by the swingarm and the grip of the Bridgestone BT016 are rarely faulted. And this even by screwing the handle in the corner at the exit of Estoril, a very long and extremely fast straight line which conditions the main straight line of the Nivernais circuit..

Solicited in their last entrenchments in order to take care of the top speed before Adelaide braking, the mechanics of the GSX-R 600 and 750 reveal a very different temperament: more linear in its revving, the 750 suffers greatly from French castration. . At the approach of 10,000 rpm, the power slows down noticeably, even forcing up a gear to restart the acceleration.

Dominated by its sister on the first third of the tachometer, the GSX-R 600 suffers much less from the effects of clamping: the block of 599 cc has a formidable extension and pushes with an impressive "aggressiveness" between 8000 and 12000 rpm! Suddenly, on condition of taking good care of its re-accelerations, the 600 can claim to maintain – even reduce! -, the gap with its elder sister in the very long stretches !

However, as on the road, the "small" is also more at ease when entering curves: despite identical geometric values ​​(23.45 ° caster angle and 97 mm caster), the two Suzuki do not offer actually not quite the same behavior and the same degree of sensitivity.

Naturally more lively, the 600 cc is also more precise: as if riveted to the ground, its front axle is extremely reassuring, even when approaching the very rapid curve to the left located at the end of the straight line of the pits. In this turn, the additional inertia of the GSX-R 750 requires more effort to turn it..

At this precise moment, tortured both by the constraints linked to braking and those of the change of direction, the front axle of the 750 cc is a tad more vague than on the 600 cc. Less incisive, the 750 is also slightly more reluctant to pull towards the rope when the right lever is not fully released..

In terms of braking, the monobloc radial calipers stamped with the prestigious "Brembo" logo are clearly not there only to "look pretty": powerful, biting and controllable, the braking of the two GSX-Rs would achieve almost faultlessness if endurance was also there…

After only a few sessions in the dry, the dead travel of the right lever increases considerably – on the 600 as on the 750 -, forcing it to be operated with more and more force to obtain the same result. Too bad, especially since the use of simple braided hoses would probably compensate for this lack of consistency in intensive use.

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