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After a post-breakfast briefing, Eastern Creek Raceway on the outskirts of Sydney, Australia, seems only slightly more inviting than a firing squad. But not by much. According to three-time Australian Superbike Champion Shawn Giles—who knows more about the place than most people—there were at least three unpleasant possibilities lurking in all 12 corners. You could A) carry too much speed, lose the front end and lowside on the way in, B) grab too much throttle, lose the rear and highside on the way out, or C) run out of pavement at various points between A and B or some nasty derivative of all three. And that’s on a dry day.
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Thanks to huge, lead-gray clouds, the track was anything but. In another 20 minutes, I’d start getting acquainted with Eastern Creek and the new 178-horsepower GSX-R…on street tires. No worries, mate. Thanks to Air New Zealand baggage handlers, my helmet and leathers have followed me halfway around the world again, so suit up. Don’t worry. Be happy. What could go wrong?
 The exhaust plumbing is all titanium for ’05, including yonder asymmetrical muffler. Aesthetic considerations notwithstanding, it never touches the track at crazy cornering angles. |
Segue to pit-wall garages that are somewhat less palatial than Phillip Island’s. That’s what happens when the MotoGP circus doesn’t come to town anymore. Inside, my GSX-R du jour wears a big number one. No pressure there. My assigned mechanics, John and Wayne, wear congenial, please-don’t-wad-our-bike-into-a-178-horse-chocolate-doughnut smiles. After a quick stroll through the press packet, it’s readily apparent that Suzuki aims to play yet another round of quantum leapfrog with its liter-class opposition—the same sort of game it won in ’01 and again in ’03. Stronger, lighter, quicker and sharper in every sense of the word, the third-generation GSX-R1000’s more menacing silhouette is designed to look the part as well.
 The new rear wheel is nearly a pound lighter than ’04’s. Allied with a slightly lighter front wheel, new hoops shave more than a pound of unsprung weight. |
After staring at pictures of the thing for the last six months, two things are clear: It’s better-looking in person, and it’s small. Imagine an angular, 7⁄8-size translation of the ’03/’04 bike. In every salient dimension but horsepower, there’s less to it this year than last. New ergos are correspondingly compact. New bars are mounted closer to the now-lower seat. Pegs are slightly lower and closer together to maintain cornering clearance at speed. That’s perfect if you’re 5 foot 6, but I’m 6 foot 3 with a 35-inch inseam that’s an interference fit. Ducking behind the lower, narrower windscreen is possible, but nothing like last year’s more spacious accommodations. The future, evidently, belongs to the short.
 The new trapezoidal radiator is narrower where it counts but better at shedding engine heat. |
Faced with an unfamiliar track and a persistent New South Wales drizzle, I have a few questions as I drop into the saddle and take in the sights. What coefficient of friction does a 215-pound, leather-wrapped human generate on wet pavement at 140 mph? Do Australian emergency rooms accept American health insurance? Does Mr. Bullhorn practice his “FIVE MINUTES TO STAHT” riff in front of the mirror back home in Japan? His enunciation is perfect.
 The new slipper clutch—aka back-torque limiter to mechanical engineering majors—prevents flamenco downshifting from locking the rear wheel, avoiding an embarrassing ride in the Eastern Creek crash truck. The new aluminum skeleton situates its steering head 3mm closer to the crankshaft centerline. |
Anyway, that’s plenty of time to inspect some of the new bits and pieces. There’s a new instrument pod in here, complete with an LCD gear-position readout and a red zone that starts at 13,500—1000 rpm to the right of last year’s. Blip the throttle to warm things up and the new 999cc four spins up effortlessly. That immediacy—and this year’s power increase—comes from the same strategic hot-rodding Suzuki’s engine guys rolled out with the ’03 bike: more compression, larger intake valves and a selection of lighter, freer-spinning internals. Bigger throttle bodies and revamped fuel injection admit a more strictly controlled fuel/air mix. Evolutionary enhancements to the servo-controlled Suzuki Exhaust Tuning (SET) valve modulate exhaust-gas pressure to dispense all that power smoothly, especially across the bottom half of the tach face. Easing out right behind our navigator—aka Suzuki test-rider Murata-san—I’m all about smooth.
 The Suzuki Exhaust Tuning (SET) valve, responsible for much of the GSX-R’s hydroelectric power characteristics, lives between the titanium collector and that oddball muffler. With the servo-actuated butterfly valve wide open, Suzuki claims 6 percent more torque at 3000 rpm. The exhaust system’s mass rides 45mm lower and 50mm closer to the bike’s centerline. |
Regardless of how many horsepower this thing eventually puts on our dyno back home, this is easily the friendliest liter-class four yet. Aside from a twinge of off-idle abruptness, it transcends all the usual clichés. Friendly power is the key to keeping Mr. Sphincter from inhaling the seat of one’s leathers while the rear Bridgestone tries to get a grip on the very wet exit of Turn Two. Gearbox ratios are strategically closer together in the ’05 six-speed, and mine is a little stiff getting in and out of third gear. Regale fellow GSX-R aficionados with the fact that only cog number two carries over from last year. I’m busy trying to keep from plowing a fresh 120/70-sized drainage ditch outside Turn Five. Murata disappoints no one by pulling into the pits after a few minutes and ending this first little exercise in panic control. It’s time for lunch and some Australian sunshine, in that order.
As it turns out, there’s dry pavement for dessert. Appropriately enough, Eastern Creek is all about flow. A bad line through Turn Three gets worse through Four, Five and Six. And the tighter ’05 riding position confines gangly arms and legs, which makes moving around on the bike a little tougher than it should be. Then there’s the flip-side of ergonomic progress. Suzuki’s lighter, quicker-turning package is reassuringly well-behaved in all 12 bends. An extra turn of spring preload in back makes steering a touch quicker and more precise. Once the fork internals warm up, a little more rebound damping keeps the front from popping up like warm Wonder Bread from the toaster and encouraging an uncomfortable proximity to the tarmac’s edge exiting Turn Four. When Mr. Sphincter is happy, everybody’s happy.
 In the eternal quest for lighter reciprocating bits, Suzuki’s newest brute inhales through 16 titanium valves. Exhaust valve diameter is status quo at 24mm, but each Ti version is 6 grams lighter. New 30mm Ti intake valves are five grams lighter than the 29mm steel versions of ’04. |
Armed with the sort of power delivery you’d expect from an Ohio-class nuclear submarine, there’s enough thrust to cruise around the track without leaving the relative comfort of fourth gear. But that gets old after a while. Especially when Kevin Schwantz rolls out for a few laps. Sent along with the rest of the Los Angeles contingent via the corporate largess of American Suzuki, the world’s fastest Texan is here to provide his inimitable blend of expert advice, moral support and comic relief. It’s like going for a jog with the Santa Monica Track Club. Watch. Learn. Number 34 is here to help. Just keep your ego holstered and don’t try to keep up if he checks out. You’ll hurt yourself.
OK, so Kev could play a solid game of five-card stud on the gas tank at this pace. I’m finally on the right line through the weird downhill kink they call Turn 11. Pulling the trigger out of 12 onto the main straight, the GSX-R has my full, undivided attention. If you liked the ’04 GSX-R’s capacity to compress space and time like the Millennium Falcon with its hyperdrive running at full honk, brace yourself for more of it once the tach needle nudges 7000 rpm. The shift light would be easier to see if it lived above the speedo instead of underneath. Still, self-preservation usually motivates more expedient upshifts. The revamped four sprints to its 11,000 power peak quicker than you can say expletive deleted. On the way, it makes enough instant-on thrust to A) ignite that 190/50 Bridgestone on demand, B) turn where you were into where you are whether you’re ready or not, and C) carry lurid wheelies between corners. And if your initials are K.S., all of the above.
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Turn One—a 130-mph left—takes more testicular mass than hard braking. When it’s time for Turn Two, new quad-piston radial-mount calipers go to work on big 310mm rotors, burning off everything the new engine can dish out with two fingers on the lever. And heartfelt thanks to the minds behind the new slipper clutch that keeps last-minute downshifts from unsettling me or the motorcycle. In a perfect world, I’d wish for another week here and a tall stack of race tires, a little more feel from the rear brake and Cate Blanchett’s cell number, but let’s not get greedy. I’ve flown halfway around the world—surviving Vegemite, jet lag and belligerent Australian bar floozies—for the chance to watch Kevin Schwantz defy various laws of physics at close range. And all without tearing up anything but four tires and a set of knee-sliders. Various unpleasant scenarios could have materialized. But thanks to God and this wickedly-fast-but-easy-to-ride GSX-R1000, I’m watching I, Robot at 36,000 feet somewhere over the Pacific Ocean, wondering if any other liter-class projectile can beat this thing. Only time and an ’05 GSX-R1000 in the Motorcyclist garage will tell, so keep in touch. MC
| 2005 SUZUKIGSX-R1000 | |
| MSRP | $10,849 |
| Engine | |
| Type | l-c inline-four |
| Valve arrangement | dohc, 16v |
| Displacement | 999cc |
| Transmission | 6-speed |
| Chassis | |
| Weight | 366 lb. claimed, dry (166kg) |
| Fuel capacity | 4.8 gal. (18L) |
| Wheelbase | 55.3 in. (1405mm) |
| Seat height | 31.9 in. (810mm) |
 Basic engine architecture is the same as last year’s: horizontally split crankcases with the upper half doubling as the cylinder block. However, squeezing an alleged 178-horsepower and another 1000 rpm put an assortment of new parts inside. New three-ring pistons bump displacement to 999cc—taking full advantage of current World Superbike rules—and compression to 12.5:1, but thanks to shorter, narrower skirts, each one is 8 grams lighter. Chrome-nitride–plated oil-control rings cut friction as well. Larger vents at the base of adjoining cylinders further reduce pumping losses versus the ’04’s engine. |  |  The valve angle is unchanged in the ’05 GSX-R1000’s cylinder head, but recontoured combustion chambers are more compact, and there are larger intake ports to match those new Ti intake valves. | |  Taking a cue from the new frame design, the ’05 swingarm’s forward section is cast as one piece. The inner wall and axle-carrier plates have been combined into another casting, while the outer wall on either side is stamped from a separate sheet of aluminum. | |
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 New four-piston radial-mount front brake calipers are everything the ’04 edition’s weren’t: strong, marvelously linear, and man are they strong. Credit larger internal pistons (30mm/34mm versus 27mm/32mm) along with larger (310mm versus 300mm) front rotors. A new radial-piston front master cylinder makes all that power much easier to wield. | |  Michael Jordan won’t be entirely comfortable here. There’s 1.7 inches less real estate between the seat and the bars, which are also angled back more sharply than before. A narrower 4.8-gallon fuel tank means there’s a bit less GSX-R between your knees—footpegs are closer together as well—which is good. However, there’s also less overall legroom, which is bad for Jordan, Carrithers and most anyone else but compact Suzuki test pilots. The whole package is 6.7-feet long,1.7 inches shorter than its immediate ancestor. | |  The new instrument pod includes an LCD gear-position display: handy, though getting around the Creek didn’t require much shifting. Accommodations are compact, so tucking is difficult if you’re not. Those angled-back bars don’t make muscling the thing around any easier, but it’s more composed in the corners than the ’04 edition. | |
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