1995 AMA Superbikes: Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R750

The year 1995—when Yoshimura was supposed to sit back, lick its wounds, get slaughtered and pray for 1996’s new GSX-R. Too bad nobody told them, because this team has raised eyebrows and gained respect throughout the season, including third-place finishe<$>s at Daytona and Mid-Ohio, and a third-spot qualifying position in Phoenix. We couldn’t wait to sample Flyin’ Fred Merkel’s “old underdog” GSX-R, the best Superbike Yoshimura has produced since Jamie James won the championship in ’89.

We rode Merkel’s bike with the exact setup he qualified on (Fred was injured in the 750 SuperSport race and didn’t run in Sunday’s main event), discovering a chassis balanced on the knife-edge of performance matched to one of the most ridable engines we’ve sampled. Merkel likes his bikes firm and quick-steering, running lots of rear ride height to load the front Dunlop at the entrance, and both Jason and I noted the firm setup (Merkel outweighs us by 50 and 40 pounds, respectively), though Lance Holst found Merkel’s suspension choices just right for his 168 pounds. Merkel’s GSX-R reacted instantaneously to rider input, jerking right if we weren’t smooth while hanging off, tightening its line with the lightest inside bar pressure, doing the rider’s bidding with little more than a nudge of input. The Suzuki reacted so immediately we wondered if it knew the track better than we did! During the first few laps it was borderline nervous, but as we adapted to its immediacy we learned to relax, and the Yosh bike responded with racetrack brilliance.

The No. 27 bike’s biggest surprise was the engine. In previous Yosh tests, we found a high-strung light switch of a powerband with nothing in the middle, but not this time. We all noted the strong acceleration, and when we said as much to Crew Chief Don Sakakura, he smiled and said in his cryptic way, “Yeah, it’s different,” and admitted to a torque peak at 10,750 rpm with maximum horsepower at 13,500. It’s the last year for this GSX-R and it goes out with a bang—not the whimper many expected—and fuels our hopes for next year’s GSX-R Superbike. If the old underdog’s this good…

Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R750 #27:

Check out the other AMA Superbikes here:
Overview
Fast by Ferracci Ducati 955
Harley-Davidson VR100
PMH Racing Kawasaki ZX-7R
Vance & Hines Yamaha YZF750

This article was originally published in the February 1996 issue of Sport Rider.