Suzuki GSX-R 1000 2012 test: in small steps

Reigning world champion in Endurance, the GSX-R 1000 does not have to be ashamed of its hyper sporting potential. However, the changes made by Suzuki to its Gex 1000 L2 will allow it to remain at the top in 2012 ? Circuit test.

There is no point running…

Initiated in 2001, the GSX-R 1000 bomb explodes upon its release all the standards of the hypersport motorcycle category: cut like an athlete, the Suzuki spearhead then claims the trifle of 160 hp for only 170 kg dry. A real Superbike !

Eleven years and many successes in competition later (and in particular in endurance), the Japanese sportswoman enjoys an enviable – and deserved – reputation for excellence: acclaimed for the "big-like-that" character and the reliability of her 4-cylinder, the "Gex 1000" remains a benchmark for thrill seekers.

And as its cycle part is as healthy as it is tolerant, facing everyday life on its handlebars is also not a challenge for the enthusiast! This same enthusiast will achieve in the process a very good deal, since in 2012 the Suzuki GSX-R 1000 will be the only Superbike whose price – excluding promotions – remains below 14,000 euros (13,999 €).

However, its excellent "sport-road" compromise (one of the best in the category) comes at a price in pure efficiency on the circuit. An area where the Suz ‘also shows the weight of the years on the technological level (read our)…

Like its Japanese compatriots – with the notable exception of the 2011 Kawasaki ZX-10R -, the GSX-R 1000 indeed suffers from the comparison with the most sophisticated of hypersports like the BMW S1000RR, the Aprilia RSV4 APRC or the MV Agusta F4 RR. And it is certainly not the expected Ducati 1199 Panigale which will slow down this technical – and especially "electronic" – escalation from Europe. !

But for Suzuki, the most successful driving aids do not automatically ensure victory in the race: in 2011, the SERT "Gex" obtained a new endurance title without traction control or ABS, recalls Hamamatsu’s coat of arms. . An argument on which Suzuki France relies moreover very widely to promote the GSX-R 1000 "2012 vintage" (or "L2", according to the Suzuki nomenclature).

With this in mind, the Japanese admit that they have not sought to revolutionize their hyper sporting flagship, but rather to strengthen its qualities. Thus, no "scholarly chips" responsible for regulating the evasions of the rear and the nose-ups of the front on the GSX-R 2012, no more than a "ride-by-wire" type accelerator or ABS ultra-responsive.

The only concessions to "digital assistantship" are the electronically controlled steering damper and the three injection maps (S-DMS) selectable on the handlebars. Nothing new under the sun, since this equipment appeared on the "Gex" in… 2007 (read our) !

And it is not only at this level that the GSX-R 1000 has not or little changed: the shapes and volumes of the fairings and optics are exactly identical to the previous vintage! Apart from the larger part of blue on the front trim, the appearance of Brembo calipers on the two 310 mm discs and the abandonment of the left silencer, the GSX-R "L2" is an almost identical copy of the GSX -R "K9".

From a technical point of view, same fight: the general dimensions (2045 mm long, 705 mm wide and 810 mm saddle height) and the geometric values ​​of the aluminum perimeter frame (1405 mm wheelbase, 23.5 ° caster angle and 98mm caster) have not moved one iota. Distinguishing the differences between the two vintages quickly comes down to playing the game of "seven mistakes" !

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