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 T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S

CHAPTER 1 : 1985 : THE FIRST GSX-R

“Everything’s different now…”

CHAPTER 2 : GENERATION GSX - R

A spotter’s guide for GSX-Rs through the years

CHAPTER 3 : SUZUKI’S RACING DNA

The race track – the GSX-R’s birthplace

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 Revolutionary. It’s a perfect describer
of Suzuki’s first-generation GSX-Rs.
Because if ever there was a ‘radically
new’ motorcycle, or one that was ‘beyond
established principles,’ it was Suzuki’s
1985 GSX-R750 – and the GSX-R1100 that
followed in ’86.
As one motorcycle journalist wrote in 1985,
“Sportbikes will soon be divided into two
categories: before the GSX-R, and after.”
Nicely put.
The instant it debuted in late 1984 at
Germany’s Cologne show, the GSX-R750
electrified the motorcycle world. Few in
attendance, or those who read about the
bike in motorcycle magazines in later
months, could fully absorb the bike’s radical
full-fairing look, its astounding dry weight,
or the idea that careful and conservative
Suzuki had built – and planned to sell! –
what was basically a road racer with lights.
It certainly looked the part. With its clip-
ons, dual headlights, ultra-lithe aluminum
chassis and purposeful, business-only
stance, the GSX-R appeared as if it might
have rolled into the viewing hall after an
hour-long endurance-race session at
LeMans or Suzuka. Some wondered if the
narrowly focused GSX-R was too extreme,
too uncompromising. Others saw the
bike’s stripped-down, bare-knuckled and
track-spec look and rubbed their hands in
gleeful anticipation. But no one could miss
the obvious and unimaginable technical
and moto-cultural significance of the
GSX-R750. Here, in aluminum, steel, rubber
and plastic, was nothing
less than a completely new
way to design the sporting
motorcycle.
When the GSX - R750
appeared in showrooms

1985
Even today, the original Although available in and magazines across
GSX-R750’s look and stance Europe and Canada Europe in the first half of
brings goosebumps. It was light, in ’85, the first-gen 1985 (it was not available in
it was fast, it didn’t break, and GSX-R750 didn’t come
enthusiasts fell madly in love. to the US until ’86.
It quickly became the
class leader, however,
and proved to be a
track weapon.

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FORCE EQUALS MASS TIMES ACCELERATION
1986 also brought the GSX-R1100,
which re-wrote the rules for open-class
sportbikes. Nothing came close
performance-wise, on the street
and on the racetrack.
the U.S. until ’86, along with the then-new
GSX-R1100), it transfixed the motorcycling
public like few machines had. You knew it
was different the instant you laid eyes on
it, and just standing next to the bike was a
revelation. It was tall and thin, yet muscular
where necessary; beautifully conceived,
with luxurious paintwork and detailing;
purposeful, with huge brakes, lightweight
wheels and a minimalist racer’s cockpit.
And it had beautiful – and lightweight
– aluminum castings and forgings
everywhere you looked. No sporting
motorcycle had ever looked this focused,
this radical, this light, or this serious.
But the GSX-R750 didn’t just look light. It
was light. Amazingly so. At just 429 pounds
with an empty fuel tank, it weighed nearly
90 pounds less than Honda’s VF750F, and
more than 60 pounds less than Yamaha’s
20-valve FZ750, which debuted that same
year. Open-class sporting motorcycles of
the day were at least a hundred pounds
heavier than the GSX - R, and even
600-class middleweights outweighed it!
Indeed, drastic weight reduction was the
primary focus of engineers on the GSX-R
team. The racing-derived concept of
lightness with strength regulated every
sector of development, from individual
engine components to each and every
frame section and body part. Nothing
escaped scrutiny. In the end, the 750 and
1100 GSX-Rs that were ridden and raced
by enthusiasts in Europe, Asia and the
Americas during 1985 and ’86 changed the
design parameters and orthodoxy of the
entire sport bike category almost overnight.

Stripped bare, the

GSX-R750’s minimalist,
light-is-right design is
obvious. Every part was
rethought, and designed
to be as light as and
strong as possible, so
durability and strength
wouldn’t suffer.

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 Racing Forward
Suzuki’s light-is-right GSX-R concept came directly
from racing, and racing had coursed through Suzuki
Motor Company’s veins since the early 1950s, when
its 60cc Diamond Free won the company’s first race in
1953, and its 90cc Colleda won the Mt. Fuji Hillclimb in
’54 – just 24 months after Suzuki introduced its very first
motorized two-wheeler, the 36cc Power Free. Grand Prix
wins and championships in the 50cc and 125cc classes
followed in the 1960s, including prestigious Isle of Man
victories and Grand Prix championships in both ’62 and
’63 with Ernst Degner and Hugh Anderson. And when
The engine-equipped,
36cc Power Free bicycle
was Suzuki’s first powered
two-wheeler, and set the
stage for the 60cc Diamond
Free, which captured Suzuki’s
first race win in ’53. The
90cc Colleda came next,
and won the prestigious
Mt. Fuji Hillclimb in ’54.
Barry Sheene won the 1976 500cc Grand Prix world
championship on a fearsome RG500 two-stroke, it was
clear to anyone paying attention that Suzuki was at the
top of the racing game.
As Suzuki’s two-stroke streetbikes began to be retired
during the middle and late 1970s due to ever-stricter
emissions regulations, four-strokes became a priority. In
’76 and ’78, respectively, Suzuki launched the legendary
GS750 and GS1000, which became class leaders in
their very first year of production. Suzuki’s roadracing
efforts began to be more four-stroke oriented as well,
and with help from legendary tuner Hideo “Pops”
Yoshimura, Suzuki built the GS1000R, aka the XR69,
a TT F1 Endurance racer that featured a unique frame
Yoshimura Suzuki’s Wes Cooley won the ’79 and ’80 AMA Superbike championships
aboard radically modified GS1000 Suzukis. Here he’s shown exciting turn one at
Daytona during the ’81 Superbike race, which he won. Cooley was bested in the ’81
championship by Eddie Lawson and Freddie Spencer. But Cooley would go on to put
on a dazzling show aboard the beautiful blue and white GS1000S all season long,
and help establish Superbike racing as the class to watch from then on.
design straight from Suzuki’s XR23 500cc GP effort – a
double-cradle steel-tube assemblage with dual rounded
tubes running over the engine and curving down to the
swingarm pivot.
The 130-horsepower GS1000R won many international
races, including the prestigious Suzuka 8-hour in
1980 with Wes Cooley and Graeme Crosby aboard. It
was eventually replaced in late ’82 by the XR41, which
used an aluminum frame of similar shape, but with
square, extruded members intricately welded together.
This alloy frame wasn’t only lighter than the steel unit,
but also more rigid, as it tied the steering head and
swingarm pivot areas even more directly together. The
XR41 continued where the XR69 left off – winning races,
including Suzuka again in ’83 with Frenchman Herve
Moineau and Belgian Richard Hubin in the saddle.
Suzuki knew it was onto something special with its
alloy-frame design, and moved quickly to implement it
into its sporting streetbike lineup. First came a couple of
Japanese-market trial balloons: the alloy-framed 1983
RG250 Gamma, and a year later the very first GSX-R, a
400cc inline-4 that blew away its 400-class Japanese
competition, and set the stage for what would come in
’85 and ’86 – 750cc and 1100cc versions.

Development
During the early 1980s, production motorcycle technology
began to percolate more strongly. Racing pushed the
changes, as did retail-sales competition, which heated
up dramatically at the time. Honda’s V-fours of ’82 and
’83 – including the radical V45 Interceptor – were the first The 130-horsepower GS1000R endurance
racer (top) was a powerhouse, winning
major advances in the full-sized streetbike arena, with prestigious TT F1 races all over the globe
Suzuki captured its first Isle
of Man victory and world
Yamaha and Kawasaki adding fuel to the fire in ’84 with and helping Suzuki establish itself as
championship in 1962 with the FJ1100 and ZX900 Ninja. a legitimate four-stroke player. The
German Ernst Degner riding alloy-framed XR41 racer (middle) came
a works-spec 50cc machine. Suzuki soldiered on with what were basically traditional next, with the Japanese-market GSX-R400
(bottom) utilizing the XR41’s basic frame
Degner defected from East machines in those years, GS750s and 1100s and layout to good effect just a year before
Germany and helped Suzuki
develop its 50cc, 125cc and 1150s with not a lot of all-new technology over above its the GSX-R750 debuted in late 1984 at
250cc grand prix racing Germany’s Cologne show.
machines.

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 Here, Yokouchi uses a
garden hose to show his
team how their unique
oil-cooling system would
flow enough oil to keep
engine temperatures
in check.
Twin Swirl Combustion Chamber technology (TSCC). GSX-R750: 100 PS (about 98 horsepower), a top speed
The exceptions were the ’81 Katana 1000, which of 235 kph (or 146 mph), and a dry weight of just 176 kg
was mostly a styling exercise, and the alloy-framed, – roughly 380 pounds. Although the engine and chassis
domestic-market 250 Gamma and GSX-R400, which teams would work separately, each was responsible
few in Europe or America were aware of. for the highest degree of performance and weight-
reduction.
But behind the scenes
in Japan, something Many of those engineers were
new and unique was already racing, part of an inside-
happening, something Suzuki engineering effort
very different than what called Team Titan that
Honda, Kawasaki and was made up of about The GSX-R’s project leader
was Etsuo Yokouchi, a fan
Yamaha were doing. 20 streetbike-side of racing and an engineer
Those companies engineers. “Because who knew how the crucible
introduced all-new we built frames of racetrack competition
– win or go home – could
big-bore streetbikes in and engines,” improve a streetbike’s
’83 and ’84, ones with remembers performance. That idea
new-tech frames and A k i n o r i formed the grounding
principle of the entire
liquid-cooled engines. Honma, a GSX-R series.
But while performance improved, those new bikes were longtime engineer who’s
complex and heavy. worked at Suzuki for nearly
45 years, “someone on the
GSX-R Project Leader Etsuo Yokouchi wanted none race team said we should
of that complexity or weight. Yokouchi was a racer at enter an endurance race. So
heart, and understood more than most the benefits we entered one at Suzuka.
a racebike’s light weight and dedication to focused The team was made up of
performance could bring to a streetbike. “A motorcycle engineering guys and also some
doesn’t know whether it’s on the road or a racetrack,” test riders.”
Yokouchi-san said at the time. In other words, good
handling on the track translated to good handling on “At the time,” says Tateshi Shimizu,
the street. Boiled down, this would become the GSX-R a 40-year Suzuki engineer with
credo: Make the entire machine as light as possible, and many years of race-team experience,
good things will follow. The GSX-R400 had shown that “Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki and Yamaha
a 15-20% weight reduction was possible versus one’s all had company teams staffed by
competition. “I felt we should be able to do the same engineers, which were different than
with a 750,” Yokouchi said later, and pushed his engine the official ‘professional’ factory teams.
and chassis teams hard, urging them to challenge the But since we – the engineers – were
status quo and do something really special.
To help them see the light (so to speak), Yokouchi had
his engineers completely disassemble an ’83 GSX750,
and mark each engine or chassis part in either red or
blue – red for parts that
wore quickly or failed,
and blue for those with
no breakage or durability
issues. “When we brought
all the parts together,” For this project, Suzuki brought
a number of first-generation
Yokouchi remembers, GSX-R engineers together
“they were almost all to discuss the development
blue! We were building process and reflect on the
bike’s stunning legacy of
the bike too well, being performance. Left to Right:
too conservative.” Tetsuro Matsumura, Hidetoshi
Arakawa, Yuji Ishioka, Tateshi
Yokouchi then set the Shimizu, Chiaki Hirata, Akinori
teams’ goals for the Honma. Top: The GS750, aka the
GSX750, was the precursor to
the first GSX-R750, and helped
engineers learn how to make
the GSX-R lighter and faster.

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 building the racebikes for both sides, the bikes for each
company were pretty much the same. We started with
the GS1000, but then changed to our GSX750E when the
race regulations changed.”
“That 750 racer,” says Chiaki Hirata, a 33-year veteran
from powerplant engineering, “became one of the
prototypes for the GSX-R. We learned a lot about the
limits and strengths of engine and chassis parts through
our racing efforts.”
At the time of Yokouchi’s power and weight orders, Suzuki
was already able to make close to 100 PS with 750cc
of displacement. The problem, however, was heat (too
much) and durability (not enough). “To me,” remembers
Hirata, “it was unrealistic for a production 750 to make
100 horsepower. We’d achieved 97 hp in ’83 on a short-
stroke GSX750E engine with special air cleaner and
exhaust, but the cylinders would flex and loosen, and
the plugs would melt. We could make the power, but we
couldn’t put it on the market for sale. Too many things
would go wrong.”
Water-cooling wasn’t an option at the time due to the
added weight it would bring, as casting techniques
weren’t yet optimized. So Yokouchi and engine group
leader Tatsunobu Fujii came up with the novel approach of
an enhanced air/oil-cooling system. First, the pair turned
to a fix they’d used a couple years earlier on the XN85
Turbo in order to cool its overheating pistons when under
boost pressures: special jets that squirted cooling oil to
the undersides of each piston. Further, engineers routed
more oil than normal to the valve train, and added extra
oil capacity as well, nearly 5.5 quarts total. Dual pumps
would move all this lubricant, and special ducting kept the
oil moving quickly to dissipate heat optimally. This new
lubrication system – Suzuki Advanced Cooling System,
or SACS – maximized oil’s own cooling properties, and
allowed the GSX-R’s all-new engine to keep cool during
the stresses of extended high-rpm running and the
above-average state of tune needed to achieve 100 PS.
Every part of this all-new engine got scrutinized for weight
savings. Compared with the air-cooled GSX750E engine,
for instance, the GSX-R’s pistons were lighter by 10%; the
connecting rods by 25%; the crankshaft by nearly 20%;
the cast magnesium cylinder head by 22% ; and the block
by another 17%.

The GSX-R’s ultra-light alloy frame It worked. The all-new 749cc engine weighed significantly
(just 8kg!) is a study in simplicity, less than the GS750s mill, and engine temperatures were
using only five cast pieces and kept in check even while reaching Yokouchi’s power
21 square-shaped tubes. Compare
that to the nearly 100 pieces of the goal through clever bore/stroke and valve-train designs.
GS750’s cage! Wheelbase was What’s more, durability was superb, engineers running
56 inches, while rake and trail the bike at redline for more than 24 hours at a time during
were 26 degrees and 4.2 inches,
respectively – seriously radical for development with no breakage issues whatsoever.
the time. Wheels were 18-inchers,
with ultra-light radials fitted, just
like the GS1000R/XR41 racer.

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 Chassis & Body
The chassis team, led by Hiroshi Fujiwara, worked to
design and build a stronger and more agile version of the
excellent alloy frame used on the GSX-R400. Simplicity
was a key to keeping costs in line, so the 750’s frame
would be a combination of castings and extruded pieces,
and the fewer the better. “We tried hard to reduce the
number of components,” Suzuki remembers. “This way,
the number of welds is reduced. Fewer welds mean less
weight, and reduced labor costs.” Amazingly, just five alloy
castings and 21 extruded aluminum tubes were used on
the GSX-R750 frame, while the GS750 frame’s had nearly
100! The end result was unbelievably light, just over 8 kg,
less than half the weight of the GS’s steel frame.
Other chassis parts were similarly rationalized for
lightness. The thin-wall 41mm cartridge fork weighed no
more than the 37mm tubes on the GS, while the new-
generation Full-Floater rear suspension had fewer parts
and mated to a box-section alloy swingarm. Lightweight
18-inch wheels spun on hollow axles and were stopped
by drilled 300mm rotors. The triple clamps were alloy, as
well. Suzuki clearly had all its suppliers working from the
same playbook.
The GSX-R’s bodywork would follow the shape of the
XR41 racer’s wherever possible. “We wanted a racebike
look,” says styling chief Tetsumi Ishii. “We spent a lot of
time in the wind tunnel to determine the best shape. The
small wings on the fairing, for example, came directly from
the racebike, as did the bubble windscreen.” Another key
takeoff from racing was the GSX-R’s instrument panel,
basically a tachometer, speedometer and fuel gauge set
into a foam – just like a GP or Endurance bike’s clocks. It
was a constant reminder to riders what this bike was, and
where it came from.

Above, left and immediate right:

The heavier (by 30 pounds) and more
powerful GSX-R1100, which was first
ridden by the world’s press at Laguna
Seca Raceway (left) in early 1986,
looked very similar to the GSX-R750,
but was a totally different machine. Its
frame was of similar shape, but used
thicker alloy members and was quite
a bit stronger than the 750s 18-pound
cage in order to handle its prodigious Also introduced in 1986 was the
horsepower. Its engine, also narrow and GSX-R750 Limited, which offered a
extremely light for an open-class pow- number special tweaks not available on
erplant, was much more than a bored the standard GSX-R750. Among these
and stroked GSX-R750 engine. When was the GSX-R1100’s electronic anti-dive
tested, it was immediately the fastest fork assembly, unique paint and a
production open-classer, and nothing race-derived dry clutch, which rattled
could come close on the racetrack. like a racebike’s but gave the bike a
serious personality.

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Testing, Launch, Legacy
During prototype testing, Yokouchi told test riders
and engineers repeatedly to try to break the bike,
hoping the abuse would highlight weak systems or
parts, which could then be strengthened. “I wanted
to find the weak spots,” he remembers. “We had to
pretend we were making a streetbike. At the end of
development we had a racebike, and then had to make
minimal changes to prepare it for the street.”
After many months of frantic work, the GSX-R was
finally ready for its debut at the Cologne show in late
1984. And as we know, it created a worldwide stir almost
the instant the cover was pulled off. Months later,
when GSX-Rs arrived at various media headquarters
to be tested, and in customers’ garages, there was
amazement, and near universal agreement that this
was a monumental two-wheeled achievement, one
that would literally change the course of motorcycle
development in a thoroughly meaningful way. Sport
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“The GSX-R is a symbol of what
being an engineer is all about.
With this motorcycle, Suzuki
bikes that simply looked like racer replicas would be laughed
at. This, everyone knew, was the real deal.
achieved the impossible, and it
Of course, it all happened again a year later at Laguna Seca connected the entire team, and
with the world press introduction of the GSX-R1100, an open-
class sporting motorcycle that pushed the GSX-R formula the company, together solidly. The
to almost unheard-of levels. Very quickly, the GSX-R1100
established itself as the fastest, quickest, hardest-stopping, GSX-R definitely made Suzuki
best handling open-class sport motorcycle ever built.
Although it shared very little actual hardware with its 750cc a stronger company.”
sibling, it remained true to the GSX-R design credo of extreme
lightness and a racebike’s focus on ultimate handling and Chiaki Hirata,
performance – no excuses, and no holds barred. 1985 GSX-R750 Engineer
“For me,” remembers Chiaki Hirata, “the GSX-R is a symbol
of what being an engineer is all about. With this motorcycle,
Suzuki achieved the impossible, and it connected the
entire team, and the company, together solidly. The GSX-R
definitely made Suzuki a stronger company.”
With that sort of legacy and bond, is it any wonder why
GSX-R has become the last word in sportbike performance
over the years?
7/27/15 11:34 PM
 1985-’87

he original GSX-R750 appeared in ’85 in Europe and Canada, and a year later
in the U.S. along with a similarly new GSX-R1100. Both bikes stunned the
motorcycle world, and forever changed the way sportbikes would be designed
and built. The two were substantially lighter than their competition, which paid
dividends everywhere.

The first-gen GSX-R750 was

available in iconic blue/white
and red/black color schemes,
as was the GSX-R1100. Al-
though they looked similar, the
bikes shared very few parts.

1988-’91

ust three years after the ’85 original came a total rethink of the GSX-R
line. Both the 750 and 1100 featured revised engines and completely new
frames, suspension and bodywork. The 750 was particularly radical, with
a shorter wheelbase, steeper geometry and wider 17-inch wheels with
low-profile radials.

With help from Kevin Schwantz

and Yoshimura, Suzuki made
the 1988 GSX-R750 even
more purposeful. The 1988
GSX-R1100 was softer-edged
than the 750, with a longer
wheelbase and higher-mount
bars for added comfort.

1985 I 1986 I 1987 I 1988 I 1989 I 1990 I 1991

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 1992-’95
uzuki switched to liquid cooling for the 3rd-generation GSX-Rs, which
now included three bikes: 750, 1100 and a new 600, based on the 750.
Liquid cooling was a necessity for the increased power the all-new engines
produced. And while the frames were totally new and more rigid, they
retained the same basic over-the-top layout as before.
The overall shape of the
3rd-generation GSX-R750
wasn’t much different from
Gen-2 bike, but every chassis
and engine component was
new. The GSX-R1100 continued
to appeal to a slightly more
GT-oriented customer.
1996-’99
he 4th-generation GSX-R750 was nearly as revolutionary as the 1985
machine – and that’s saying a lot. With it, Suzuki returned to the concepts
of ultra light weight and max power. A new-generation spar frame linked
the steering head and swingarm more directly, and was possible due to a
narrower engine. A 600cc version appeared in ’97 and,
like the 750, ruled the class.
Looking like Kevin Schwantz’s
RG500 GP machine, the 1996
GSX-R750 reset the perfor-
mance parameters for a 750,
nearly achieving 900-class
numbers. That year’s
GSX-R1100 was a carry-over
from the previous generation.
1992 I 1993 I 1994 I 1995 I 1996 I 1997 I 1998 I 1999
GSX-R 30 VERT A4 book 7.27.15 r2.indd 20-21
2000/’01-2002/’03
our years after the groundbreaking GSX-R750 of 1996 came the amazingly
competent 5th-generation, 2000-spec GSX-R750, at the time the best
750 sportbike ever built. A year later came the amazing, 145-horsepower
GSX-R1000 – a motorcycle the sportbike world had been eagerly
anticipating for years. An ultra-competent 600 also appeared in 2001.
The frames on all three Gen-5
bikes are very similar, with the
incredibly powerful GSX-R1000
using thicker-walled tubing.
Amazingly, the 1000’s power-
plant is no wider and only 15mm
taller than the 750’s.
2003/’04-2004/’05
hen a reworked GSX-R1000 appeared just 24 months after the original
debuted to worldwide acclaim, the sportbike world shifted on its axis.
Because not only was the ’03 GSX-R1000 faster, lighter and better
handling than the original (amazing to consider), it established Suzuki’s
commitment to upgrade its GSX-Rs every two years instead of four.
All-new 600 and 750s were introduced a year later, with
less weight and sharper handling.
Lighter and more powerful, the
’03 GSX-R1000 pushed the
open-class performance bar
up yet another notch. The ’04
GSX-R600 and 750 were very
similar, and extremely capable.
2000 I 2001 I 2002 I 2003 I 2004 I 2005
7/27/15 11:34 PM
 2005/’06-2006/’07 2009/’10 – 2010/’11

he redesigned ’05 GSX-R1000 was a styling breakthough, Suzuki designers
penning a dynamic and distinctive shape. A heavily revised engine with
lighter moving parts, plus an all-titanium exhaust and slipper clutch, made
the ’05 bike an enthusiast’s favorite. 2006 brought all-new GSX-R600
and GSX-R750s, both with more powerful engines and new frames and
suspension.
or 2009, the GSX-R1000 got another round of refinements, most aimed at
reducing weight and improving horsepower, rideability and handling. A new
short-stroke engine featured a stacked transmission layout that allowed it
to be considerably shorter for optimum positioning and swingarm length. A
new frame, revised banana-shaped swingarm and Showa Big Piston Fork
were also featured.

Rated at 175 horsepower, the All-new wind tunnel-

’05 GSX-R1000 was the most designed bodywork gave
powerful GSX-R ever at the the ’09 GSX-R1000 an
time. The GSX-R600 and 750 exotic and unmistakable
featured an all-new frame with look, while a radical new
fewer pieces and optimized frame and swingarm kept
rigidity. it on the leading edge.

2007/’08’ – 2008/’09 2011/’12 - CURRENT

xtreme refinement was the name of the game with the 2007 GSX-R1000.
From engine to chassis and from body to brakes, engineers improved
performance, durability and owner satisfaction. Suzuki’s Drive Mode Selector
(S-DMS) allowed riders to choose one of three power-delivery modes, while
dual titanium-core mufflers replaced the single
unit of the previous bike.
ew versions of the GSX-R600 and 750 appeared in 2011, each of which
received revised engines with more midrange. New frames and suspension
helped improve handling even more, while Brembo-built monoblock calipers
helped slow things down. The GSX-R1000 got a makeover a year later,
getting more midrange and a refined chassis featuring Showa’s Big Piston
Fork.

A longer wheelbase and

updated suspension front
and rear were important
pieces of the 2007-2008
GSX-R1000.

The stunning, 2015 GSX-R1000.

The GSX-R750 offered riders a

bike with (almost) open-class
power in a 600-sized chassis.
Revised GSX-R1000 got lighter
and faster – again! – for 2012.

2005 I 2006 I 2007 I 2008 I 2009 2009 I 2010 I 2011 I 2012 I 2013 I 2014 I 2 0 1 5 ... T O BE CONTINUED

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 Well before project leader Etsuo
Yokouchi helped develop the 1985
GSX-R750 and Suzuki’s race-on-
Sunday, sell-on-Monday concept,
racing and competition flowed briskly
through Suzuki’s corporate veins. From its
early racing efforts in the 1950s, to its early
50cc and 125cc GP successes in the 1960s,
to its 500cc world titles in the ’70s, ’80s, ’90s
and ’00s, and to all the World Superbike, AMA
Superbike, World Endurance and National
Endurance wins and titles over the decades,
Suzuki has been on racing’s leading edge.

And it’s precisely those racetrack successes,

and that finely honed competitive edge, that
created the GSX-R line – and what has kept
GSX-Rs at the top of the heap in the sportbike
world.

Suzuki sharpened its racing edge in the

decades after the 1950s. Ernst Degner’s
dramatic win at the Isle of Man in 1962, and
his 50cc world championship that year, was
a stunning confirmation that Suzuki had
done the unthinkable in GP competition.
More success in the 125cc class followed,
with Hugh Anderson piloting his RT63 to a
win at the 1963 Isle of Man TT, and taking the
125cc world championship in 1965.

Race on Sunday, sell on

Monday. Far left: Suzuki’s
re-entry into MotoGP with
the radical GSX-RR bodes
well for Suzuki streetbikes
in 2016 and beyond.
Left: The successful
XR41 endurance racer
led directly to the first
GSX-R750.

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 Above: 1993 500cc World
Champion Kevin Schwantz
never won at Suzuka, but
he was always a favorite,
and always in contention.
Left: Schwantz’s 1993
RG500 racer.

A total of eight World Motocross Championships Main image: 1980s AMA

followed in the 1970s with Joel Robert and Roger Superbike phenom Kevin
Schwantz salutes the crowd
DeCoster, while 500cc roadracing titles – Barry after winning the 1988 Daytona
Sheene’s in 1976, Marco Lucchinelli’s in 1981, Kevin 200 aboard his Yoshimura-
Schwantz’s in 1993 and Kenny Roberts Jr.’s in 2000 prepped GSX-R750.
Upper left: Wes Cooley wheelies
– provided still more proof of Suzuki’s racing acumen. his Yosh-prepped GS1000S out
of Daytona’s West horseshoe
Racing, of course, is worth much more than trophies en route to winning the 1981
Superbike race.
and championships. Because without racing success Below, top: In its racing debut
on a grand scale, as Suzuki enjoyed from the 1950s the GSX-R750 finished one-two
to the middle 1980s (and beyond), Suzuki and its at the 1985 LeMans 24-hour.
Below, bottom: Jamie James
engineers could not have produced the magical backed up Schwantz’s win at
GSX-R750 of 1985. Or the GSX-R1100 of 1986. Or all Daytona with an AMA Superbike
the legendary GSX-Rs that came in the following 30 title in 1989 aboard another
Yoshimura-prepped GSX-R.
years – and they are legion.

As production-based, 4-stroke sportbikes, GSX-

Rs have been wildly successful in many forms of
Superbike, Endurance
and production-
spec racing over
the last 30 years.
In fact, Suzuki has
won more than 50
National Superbike
Championships since
1985, and thousands

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 Right: Mat Mladin won the AMA Superbike
Championship a record seven times during
his run with Yoshimura Suzuki. Above:
John Hopkins, the 2001 Formula Xtreme
champion. Left: Ben Spies, a three-time
AMA Superbike champion. Suzuki
knows championships!
of superstock and stock-production races during that
period.

In the U.S. between 1999 and 2009, Suzuki won 10 of

11 AMA Superbike championships, with Mat Mladin
and Ben Spies riding 750cc and 1000cc versions of
the GSX-R. In total, Suzuki has won 13 AMA Superbike
titles, with Jamie James and Wes Cooley grabbing the
other three.

In the World Endurance Championship, where speed

and durability are key, Suzuki has won 10 titles in the
last fourteen years, including 10 wins in the LeMans
24-hour, and thirteen in the Bol dor 24-hour.
Between the series’s debut in 1975 to 2014,
Suzuki captured a total of sixteen World
Endurance titles.

The bottom line? No other single

motorcycle has won more races
and championships than the
Suzuki GSX-R. Not one.

That rich legacy continues

in 2015 with Suzuki’s
re-entry into MotoGP
competition with the
Suzuki Ecstar Team and
riders Aleix Espargaro and

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Maverick Vinales, both aboard the all-
new GSX-RR MotoGP machine.
Team Ecstar, Suzuki’s official 2015 MotoGP effort, celebrated
Suzuki’s – and the GSX-R750’s – legacy recently with period-era
graphics that reminded the world of the machine’s – and the
company’s – amazing record of race wins and championships
over the last 30 years. Team riders are Maverick Vinales (left) and
Aleix Espargaro (right). Their bikes? Suzuki’s amazing new GSX-RR.

“When we began the MotoGP

project,” says Team Suzuki Ecstar
project leader Satoru Terada, “we had
in mind it would be named GSX-RR.
This name at Suzuki means a lot, as
it has a strong heritage, and a direct
connection to the road version. The
two bikes are real sisters, not only
because of their styling, but also
because the technical innovations
developed in racing have a direct
application on production models.”
Just as before, racing directly affects
Suzuki streebikes. It’s the Suzuki way.

The team has done very well for a

first-year effort, and has paved the
way for great things going forward.
More MotoGP success, almost
certainly. But also great things for
fans of the GSX-R line. Because very
soon, Suzuki is set to debut all-new
street-going sportbikes, ones that Just as it was during the early 1980s, World Endurance
Racing remains a powerful attraction to Suzuki, and GSX-Rs
will surely carry the GSX-R torch continue to perform superbly there. Many of the technical
proudly in the coming years… just as advances Suzuki learns during these grueling races trans-
the original GSX-R did 30 years ago. late directly to the GSX-R streetbikes you can buy.

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GSX-R 30 VERT A4 book 7.27.15 r2.indd 32 7/27/15 11:34 PM