Cheer up, says Suzuki. After a couple of dismal years in which sales plummeted 70 percent, things are looking up. A corporate shakeup of its U.S. operation, aggressive new marketing operations and cool new products are all designed to make it so. One of those products is a revised GSX-R1000 for 2012. Having sold more than 390,000 GSX-Rs since the model’s inception 25 years ago, Suzuki “will move heaven and Earth to keep the lead in sportbikes,” says National Sales Manager Rod Lopusnak.
2012 GSX-R1000
The engineers didn’t really go that far with this new GSX-R, but the bike did get some serious attention. Most of it is not visible from the outside except for the new Brembo Monobloc brake calipers up front (the same ones used on the 600 and 750 GSX-Rs) and the switch from dual exhausts to a single stainless/titanium system responsible for most of the bike’s 4.4-pound claimed weight reduction.
Inside the engine, the pistons are 11 percent lighter, thanks to new materials, and their tops are slightly reshaped; compression is up one-tenth of a point to 12.9:1; the MotoGP-derived exhaust cam provides reduced valve overlap; the ECU has been reprogrammed; and bigger ventilation holes in the engine-block webbing below the cylinders reduce crankcase pumping losses. It all conspires, we’re told, to bump up and fill in the big GSX-R’s low-end and midrange power while also resulting in even more top-end output.
Induction is still via Suzuki’s SDTV (Suzuki Dual Throttle Valve) semi-fly-by-wire system wherein the rider controls one set of butterflies and the ECU the other. But if you were hoping for traction control on the new big Gixxer, you’ll be disappointed. Suzuki explains that omission by saying that the absence of traction control keeps the cost down, and that there are good aftermarket TC systems available for those few GSX-R buyers serious enough to need it.
Then again, the 1000’s MSRP is still $13,799, which Suzuki thinks is justified by a bunch of premium bits and pieces. New Sunstar-supplied brake discs complement the expensive Brembo calipers, and the Showa Big Piston Fork got a slight retune for increased plushness in the beginning of the stroke. And the latest in Bridgestone sport rubber—its new S20—will endow the GSX-R1000 with better traction.
2012 V-Strom 1000 and Adventures
If you’ve been paying attention to motorcycling over the last year or so, you already know that big adventure bikes are what all the cool kids are riding these days. So, the big V-Strom—absent from Suzuki’s lineup since 2009—is back for 2012, complete with its fuel-injected, 996cc, 90-degree V-Twin engine, a 5.8-gallon fuel tank and a $10,399 price tag.
For those who really want to live the dream, Suzuki now offers what it calls V-Strom Adventures in either 650 or 1000cc sizes. The bikes are delivered pre-rigged with some of the equipment you’d add to circumnavigate the globe; adventurous-looking hard bags, engine guards and numerous other items are all part of the deal. The 650 version lists for $9799, the 1000 for $10,999.
2012 C50T
Gangster whitewalls, a throwback attitude and a $7999 price tag are intended to give the new C50T stronger appeal to the 30 percent of us who dig cruisers.
