Menus
- Birthday
- 4 cylinders in line, 1000 cm3, 202 hp, 117 Nm, 203 kg all full facts, 19,599 euros.
- Discovery
- In the saddle
- Highway
- Departmental
- Circuit
- City
- Part-cycle
- Braking
- Comfort
- Consumption
- Video test
- Conclusion
Birthday
4 cylinders in line, 1000 cm3, 202 hp, 117 Nm, 203 kg all full facts, 19,599 euros.
Nice idea to resuscitate the R version of the GSX-R (the Japanese invented the poetry of the R for racing….). The first was born in 1989, with the GSX-R 750 R and was distinguished from the current model by its engine (crankshaft, crankshaft, pistons, air intake) and some parts of the chassis, including the swingarm.. She had that bestial face and picked up from the first Superbikes (the world championship was created in 1988). The GSX-R 1000 R does a bit of the opposite of its grandmother: its engine does not budge an inch; only its chassis and electronics change.
2019 Suzuki GSX-R 1000 R Review
Discovery
We follow the race less than thirty years ago when we pride ourselves on sports today. The colors of the GSX-R still evoke Suzuki’s MotoGP. But above all, it owes its aura to the 1980s, as it was the first racing replica to be produced in series and was the youth of a good bunch of current fifty. The GSX-R 750 R has now become a rare collector’s bike. Not sure that the 2019 GSX-R 1000 R will also be in demand in 2050.
Suzuki GSX-R 1000 R fairing
Released in 2017, the R changed shortly two years later, ignoring the anniversary of the 750 R. swinging arm. Otherwise, the R can boast a superb Showa BFF split-cartridge fork (which gives it a bit more headroom than the GSX-R, 3mm), a Showa BFRC Lite monoshock and calipers. Brembo monobloc front brake. Its electronic equipment includes an up and down shifter (to up and down gears without touching the clutch), a launch control for MotoGP-style starts, a Motion Track TCS traction control, all controlled by a control unit. six-axis inertial, the must for contemporary sports cars. Today we have reached such a level of power (over 200 hp) with these monsters that electronics have become essential. Even official endurance riders say they cannot harness the power of their bike (which should approach 220 hp) without the help of high-flying sensors and processors. The flea replaced the horse as man’s best friend.
Suzuki GSX-R 1000 R engine
Let us return to earth, that of our neighboring roads and in the temporality of normal beings. The GSX-R has a passenger seat, but it only has leather and looks. Under said saddle, do not expect to accommodate anything other than an Allen key, or even two …. The sportswoman does not care about the practical aspects. The dashboard reflects the presence of electronics, a sum of all kinds of parameters are placed there (selection of S-DMS engine modes, launch control, traction control adjustable on ten levels, etc.), so that the tachometer sees its place reduced. The super good idea in this area comes from BMW which, on its new dashboards, has decided to show a simplified screen (speed, tachometer, clock, fuel gauge, temperature) very readable and requires entering sub -menus to adjust the rest.
Suzuki GSX-R 1000 R speedometer
The overall finish is correct, nothing more, it is very plastic but well made. The tank is given for 16 liters of capacity. All that’s left to do is refuel.
In the saddle
Pleasant surprise, the apparently large tank is nicely indented at the crotch. You have to be able to grip a sport worthy of the name, especially a 1000, to hold it under braking. The driving position makes you smile less, the wrists are not spared. The legs fold up, but taller ones won’t suffer too much. My friend Cedric, a Norman stuck with GSX-R, drives daily with a 1000 R on which he fits his meter ninety without wincing. If he hadn’t told me, I couldn’t have guessed it, from my six-foot-tall…. He also told me that the bubble protection was not designed for this kind of giant, although I find it suitable. When will the custom-made motorcycles ?
The screen of the Suzuki GSX-R 1000 R
I choose mode A, which does not regulate the arrival of power and opt for the third level of traction control, the time to get to know each other. The smoothness of the controls, from the clutch to the gearbox to the throttle, accompanies the first turns of the wheel. But damn it, you’re lying on it when you’re not grown up! This attitude does not help, at low speed, to handle the GSX-R R. Because if it is not clumsy, it still makes us feel its weight, although contained according to the technical sheet, of 203 kg. But the overall balance remains very healthy. No perverse front end that takes you inward, no impromptu mass transfers under braking or acceleration. You immediately feel a stable, reassuring motorcycle on the road.
Suzuki GSX-R 1000 R Akrapovic silencer
The four-cylinder growls gently, helpful, always there, whatever the speed. And it brakes hard, so no restraint when the horizon clears, in traffic as in suspicion of radar, the sport’s worst enemy. The more these bikes have progressed in handling and braking, not to mention the tires, the more radars have flourished. We have reached the paroxysm of the paradox. Here I am with those inane reflections when my senses bring me back to life. Nice this big engine! It makes you want to know more, but between the sound and the few variations of mash (I say mash for four cylinders and more and potato for three cylinders and less, the image seems adequate) depending on the revs pleasing. More than a Kawasaki ZX-10R for example.
Highway
It’s the A4 this time that rolls out its carpet for me to take off. Direction east, not far from Coulommiers, a hotspot for proto sports from the late 1970s, just before the Carole circuit opened. An old aerodrome was then used as an outlet for the rabid hunted from Rungis.
Suzuki GSX-R 1000 R on the road
I pull the second as much as the traffic allows me, I finally cross 8000 rpm. It’s towing in a hellish train! The VVT system (variable distribution according to a system of balls movable by centrifugal force, placed inside the drive sprockets of the timing chain) seems effective, the GSX-R has two faces. Solid torque down to mid-range (7,000 rpm), followed by time-traveling power. The brain gets used to it slowly, acceleration conditions it. Obviously, after 6,000 rpm in second gear, I’m going illegal. The reports are linked, wrist screwed, the shifter does not flinch. I lay down on the tank, the helmet in the bubble, aerodynamic by necessity. Because it would be stupid to look up at certain speeds…. How do GP drivers come out of their bubble when braking, at 340 km / h on the Mugello circuit? Their cervicals are not human (neither are their brains).
150 kilometers later, the reserve light shouts panic. He will have to resist another 25 bounds before he calms down. When I get to the station, the reserve trip shows me a remaining range of 15 kilometers, we should not be far from the end of the reserve. However, at the pump, I can not put more than 13.4 liters in the tank.
Departmental
The D 934, which leads to Coulommiers, lacks bends. I left it to prefer the D 44 then the dented D 19. The suspensions are surprisingly comfortable. They collect gradually, the trigger retains the return of the sag, we are of course on a top-of-the-range sports car. The first turns encourage you to add a little mash, the guessed stability is confirmed. But you have to prepare your entries, follow a determined trajectory, the Suzuki does not like improvisation. In rolled-up, quiet mode, it is still distinguished by this form of rigidity. The GSX-R 1000 R is not a dragonfly, rather it looks like a mighty drone. A Yamaha R1 spins much more easily. You also have to get used to its geometry, with a weight more on the front, probably carried a little high. Braking lacks progressiveness and power at the end of the course, when the attack gets nervous. At a calm pace, no problem. The front ABS (linked to the inertial unit) hardly ever activates, even when braking bears.
On the other hand, I suffer even more from the driving position. Between bumps and sporting inclinations, my wrists are crying out for a break. I crutch near a bar, give in to the ritual of photo-smartphone-postage-social-media and gaze at the stallion. If the line has changed a lot since the first 1100 in 1986, it has retained its massive, spectacular appearance. We approach a GSX-R with respect.
Suzuki GSX-R 1000 R road test
Circuit
I finally arrive at La Ferte-Gaucher, where Margot Laffite and her Porsche GT3 RS of the day are waiting for me. She had the audacity to challenge us, GSX-R and me, which resulted in a V6 show. I’ve only had the Suzuki for two days and I’m new to this circuit (I’ve only ridden it once, in the wet, with a supermoto), it’s going to be tough. Margot has been running for an hour on the track. I’m going for it. And it becomes obvious that handling is not the strong point of the GSX-R R. Too bad on a circuit where the second part is more than twisty. It obviously needs wide open spaces, long, sharp and fast turns where its stability works wonders. Here I am stuck in this trap, no more choice. After about twenty laps, I chase the stopwatch, after hardening the suspensions. I miss the rope a bit in the first corner, raise the bike to accelerate early and, surprise, the traction control reacts less quickly than me! I cut before it went off. The torque load on the rear tire doesn’t take a bite out of it, but that’s what it is for. Same reactions at the back of the circuit, where the turns are closing. Anti-wheeling is more effective, but it lacks progressiveness. While the electronics on the road are not faulted, on the track they are not up to par, which explains the modifications made to the machines entered in the endurance world championship. But this mill turbines and sends a thick and heavy mash, more than any other, it deserves to be contained by the chips and their queen, the inertial unit surrounded by processors.
I fail a second from the Porsche, upset like a louse. Certainly with a Yamaha R1 or a Ducati Panigale V4 the verdict would have been different on this track. To be added to the schedule for the next test.
Suzuki GSX-R 1000 R in town
City
Return to the Paris region. The 130 kilometers help to pass the pill of defeat. The smoothness of the engine and controls compensates for the driving position. Like any sports car, the GSX-R has little taste for town planning, but it gets along with it. Its stability can be appreciated on the Paris ring road, it is also a guarantee of precision. A little pressure on the footrests relieves the wrists. At a red light, the heat of the engine is not felt. But here’s the reserve light flickering again. Re-pump, re-13.5 liters…. Is the tank really its 16 liters ?
Part-cycle
As I mentioned before, the Suzuki is more stable than handling. Her excellent quality suspensions come to her aid: you don’t hesitate to brutalize her a bit, because you don’t fear an unhealthy reaction. It’s a bike you have to dominate, lead with the baton. We’re on it, we don’t blend in with it. The front axle, fortunately, reassures. The same GSX-R with ten kilos less would show a different face. And a more balanced distribution of masses. All the experience Suzuki gets in MotoGP will probably end up in the production sports car, but we can see that the racing bike has come a long way, optimism is in order. Ditto for electronics. Let’s not forget that the brand had dark hours in the late 2000s and early 2010s, let’s give it time to find the path it had previously succeeded in taking to take it to the firmament of the world endurance championship..
Suzuki GSX-R 1000 R 2019
Braking
It’s Brembo, with 320mm diameter discs, like everyone else, but you can’t find the power and progressiveness of the Ducati Panigale V4’s Brembo system (M50 calipers). This feeling is only valid on offense, of course. In normal use, this impression disappears completely. But why do we buy a sports car, already…. ? The rear brake shows more progressiveness and is very pleasant in town. ABS is always discreet in the dry.
Front brakes of the Suzuki GSX-R 1000 R
Comfort
In addition to the rather restrictive driving position, the comfort is rather decent for a sports car. The saddle does not hurt the buttocks, the suspensions are perfect (return to the original settings), you can change position on the saddle to relieve the legs or the back…. Once again, the duo only envision themselves under the guise of masochism or troubleshooting…. or mad love. The lack of grab handles doesn’t help. They existed, formerly, on the first sports. Aesthetics have taken precedence over practicality.
Suzuki GSX-R 1000 R passenger seat
Consumption
It is therefore impossible to put more than 14 liters in this tank, even at the theoretical approach of running out of fuel. Two options: either the reserve trip unlocks, or the tank does not contain 16 liters. Otherwise, my consumption calculations, between city, highway and departmental, arrive at an average result of 7.4 liters per 100 km, during the 600 km that I have covered on the handlebars.
Video test
Conclusion
The GSX-R 1000 R holds its rank as a top-class road sports car. But the R struggles to justify its almost € 3,000 difference from the GSX-R. Both visually and practically: the day on the track did not reveal a racing beast, far from it. Why not have played the game to the fullest on the R version, as for the 740 in 1989? With an even more elegant line, a different decoration and above all a significant reduction? Too bad, because the GSX-R, more than any other Japanese sports car, has the legitimacy to afford this kind of madness. At 19,599 euros, we are addressing enthusiasts who are not within 1,500 euros if it comes to acquiring the exceptional GSX-R 1000 R.
The Suzuki GSX-R 1000 R
Strong points
- Stability
- High level suspensions
- Engine box
- Power at high speeds
Weak points
- Electronics on circuit
- Braking
- Driving position
- Maneuverability
Suzuki GSX-R 1000 R technical sheet
Test conditions
- Route: 600 km between the Paris region and the Marne, but above all in daily use
- Weather forecast: good weather 10 and 25 °
- Motorcycle mileage: 1,800 km on the clock at the start
Test equipment
- Spidi Garage Jacket
- Araï Profile-V Helmet
- Gloves Helstons Corporate
- Vanucci Tifoso VTS4 Shoes
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