Inside every Hayabusa lurks a little evil

Inside every Hayabusa lurks a little evil. Hip-hop video director JJ Smith's Hayabeasta--with its custom, saber-toothed snout--releases the beast within

By Matt Polito

Talk about stealing the show. This stunning 2002 Hayabusa blew away all 90,000 attendees at last year's International Motorcycle Show at the Javits Convention Center in New York City, where it first debuted to the public. Forget waiting two hours to see the Orange County Choppers exhibit; the real buzz on the show floor surrounded J. Jesses "JJ" Smith's beastly 'Busa, built by North Bergen, New Jersey's Pit Stop Motorsports. In every aisle the comments were the same: "Did you see the monster Hayabusa with the mouth on it? You gotta check that out!"

Choppers? What choppers?

That's the Hayabeasta's owner, JJ Smith, kickin' it in the cramped workspace at Pit Stop Motorsports-the place where this beast was born.

In other words, everything at the Javits Convention Center went just as Pit Stop owner Dennis Vazquez planned. His goal was to step up the quality of his shop's custom bikes to show the motorcycling public that sportbike artisans like himself are capable of creating high-concept customs every bit as impressive as the overwrought theme bikes paraded out by the Teutuls and crew at O.C.C. The bike Vazquez built for Smith, appropriately dubbed the Hayabeasta, proved this point and then some.

Like every bike Pit Stop creates, the Hayabeasta was designed by Vazquez to express Smith's personality and lifestyle. But Smith had little input into the project other than selecting the base paint color-everything else was left up to Vazquez. "He said he had this wild idea and I told him, 'Go for it!'" Smith says. "I took the bike there and handed him a handful of money, and this is what I got back."

Open up and say ahh! The basic components of the Hayabeasta's terrifying visage came from a phony saber-toothed tiger head builder Dennis Vasquez sourced from a local theatrical prop shop. Vasquez cut out the jawbone, teeth and tongue and then glassed it all into the 'Beasta's old headlight opening. Driving lights acting as eyes finish things off.

Vazquez's goal with Smith's Hayabusa was to stick with the creative nature of Smith's professional life. Smith is the owner of Sandstone Films and has directed and/or produced more than 120 music videos, mostly with high-profile hip-hop artists. It was Smith, for instance, who directed rapper DMX's breakthrough Ruff Ryder Anthem video, which featured stunt rider Wink 1100 and introduced street stunting to the mainstream. In addition to DMX, Smith has also worked with Lil' Kim, Wu-Tang Clan, Master P and The Ghetto Commission, Redman and many artists on the rap label Murder Inc.

"As a director and video producer, JJ is always dealing with visual imagery in his work," Vazquez says. "So with his bike, I wanted to do something very graphic. I wanted to drop people's jaws."

It's fitting, then, that the main focal point of the Hayabeasta is an actual jawbone (plus fangs and a tongue) that forms the 3D sculpture filling the Hayabusa's original headlight opening. The teeth, tongue and other bits were cut out of a lifelike saber-toothed tiger head Vazquez bought from a theatrical prop store and then carefully molded into the upper fairing. Recessed eye sockets located above the gaping orifice hold a pair of HID driving lights that complete the facial illusion and give the Hayabeasta an utterly original (and slightly terrifying) visage. Sequential LED lighting from Signal Dynamics lines the inside of the maw to make it glow after dark for maximum visual impact.

Twin-tip slip-on exhaust cans are from Blue Flame. Vasquez recessed the stock Hayabusa taillight deep into the tailsection and further cleaned up the rear end with an ART undertail and hugger fender. The swingarm-mounted license-plate bracket is a Pit Stop original available through the shop's web site at www.xtremeridersweb.com.

"The Hayabusa is a serious bike-I wanted to take the beast out of the bike and project it outward for everyone to see," Vazquez says by way of explanation.

The custom bodywork was covered with equally mind-blowing images created by Pit Stop collaborators Neso Graphics. Done in purple, silver and black over a metallic blue basecoat, the graphics evoke a sci-fi/underworld feel and reinforce the beast theme with sinewy, tendonlike patterns that occasionally morph into curvaceous female forms.

The immaculate paintwork is accented with plenty of polished aluminum (done in-house by the Pit Stop crew) and show-quality chrome (farmed out to Globe Plating in Newark, New Jersey). Beneath the brightwork Vazquez kept things pretty mild. Twin-tip slip-on exhausts from Blue Flame are the only modifications to the 'Beasta's 1300cc four-cylinder motor. Other big-ticket appearance mods include a set of Performance Machine's Gatlin forged wheels carrying Braking Wave rotors and blue-colored tires from Tomahawk. Pro-Tek rearsets and frame sliders were both bolted up upon reassembly, and the stock controls were chromed out and paired with a set of chopper-builder Eddie Trotta's Thunder Cycle Design handgrips to add a bit more bling and improve feel and feedback at Smith's contact points. The undertail area was cleaned with the addition of Pit Stop's own swingarm-mounted license-plate carrier, plus an aftermarket rear hugger fender from ART.

Gorgeous paintwork is courtesy of Neso Graphics in Paterson, New Jersey. The large X on the tank is symbolic, marking the Hayabeasta as the property of a member of Xtreme Riders-all club members incorporate Xs into the graphics on their bikes.

Smith was so impressed with Vazquez's work he made a place for him in his latest business venture-a motorcycle-based heist film called 305 Outlaws (named for the area code in Miami, Florida, where the story is set). Smith calls the film a modern-day Western featuring stunters on sportbikes in place of cowboys on horseback, holding up Brinks armored trucks instead of stagecoaches.

What will Vazquez's role in the film be? He's the hold-up gang's go-to bike builder, of course. "His character builds the bikes," Smith says. "His shop looks like a dive from the outside, but you go through a trapdoor and it leads to a state-of-the-art workshop with all this high-tech shit-it's just like the Bat Cave. He makes bikes specifically for the job, fast and quiet so you can't hear them coming, with modified cowls to hold the money and special holsters to hold the guns."

Sounds cool. Maybe not as cool as a snarling, saber-toothed Hayabeasta, but cool nonetheless. And who knows-perhaps Smith will write in a cameo for his own ride, maybe in the final scene. He tells us the movie is going to have a happy ending, where a sexy, bike-riding female FBI agent pinches the bad guys. Maybe she can swoop down on the crew, straddling the fearsome Hayabeasta. It's just the sort of bike, we think, that would scare a group of stick-up artists straight.

The underworld graphic theme is carried over onto the tailsection of Smith's bike, with claws and melting faces done in purple, silver and black over a metallic blue basecoat.

This is Somthing for me" Suzuki Hayabusa" Mehdi Asghari

Blown Busas 550 or 440 horsepower? Blue or Orange? Take your pick of these WAY serious Suzukis built by Velocity Racing Barry Henson knows 'Busas. Never mind that bitchin' Bimota featured a few pages back-that's just Henson's play bike. When it comes to his business, Velocity Racing, he builds almost all Suzuki Hayabusas, and he builds them fast. In fact, the Hayabusa that Henson raced in the AMA/Prostar Streetbike Shootout competition last season is the fastest and quickest Hayabusa in the world, at 7.82 seconds at 190.67 mph in the quarter-mile. Above: 31 Flavors, Velocity Racing-style: The orange is a rookie-friendly, palette-pleasing, 437-horsepower, 225-mph treat, while Velocity's blue one is something stronger-as in a ball-bearing turbocharged, 550-horsepower, 240-plus-mph shot of nasty! The blue bike hides its horsepower well, as most of the bits-obviously none of the motivators-remain stock. Not so for the orange bike, which sheds major poundage via titanium everything and Marvic wheels. All this speed and power doesn't come easy, however, and Henson is constantly developing new technology and testing products both on the dyno and the road. There is no such thing as customer beta testing at Velocity-everything Velocity sells is proven technology. And if it's a 'Busa part you are buying, chances are the prototype was put through the paces on one of these two bikes, Velocity Racing's Hayabusa test mules. Henson's new ideas are experimented with on these bikes first, and as such, these are probably the two trickest Hayabusas on Earth. Henson owns the orange bike and rides it regularly on the street. The blue bike belongs to a good friend of Henson's, Jeff Steinberg, and is also a dedicated street machine. Both are 2000 models, and both are turbocharged by Velocity-but that's where the similarities end. Steinberg's bike has been through multiple evolutions over the past three years. When he first brought the bike to Henson it was for one of Velocity's basic Stage One turbo kits, but today it is equipped with the most radical turbo system that Velocity offers, a full-blown, 550 hp (!) race package featuring Velocity's stand-alone fuel-injection system. The turbo itself is the latest GT35 model from Garrett, a highly efficient dual ball-bearing unit with an external wastegate (the second, smaller dump pipe exiting the fairing) to reduce back pressure and heat on the turbo. This is paired with Velocity's own water-injection system in place of a heavy, restrictive intercooler-which uses a shot of water into the intake tract to cool the intake charge. The stand-alone fuel-injection system is built to Velocity's specs by Autronics, and is completely programmable via an integrated datalogger. The wiring harness has been gutted and the entire bike has been rewired from scratch by Henson to run through this data-gathering system. It's exactly the same setup that Henson runs on his Shootout racebike. Turbo and fuel-injection systems aside, the rest of Steinberg's bike is surprisingly mild. The bike is stock bore and uses the stock head, and internal engine mods are minimal: Falicon rods, JE turbo pistons and Web cams. "I'm not a believer in displacement," Henson explains. "A lot of people believe bigger is better, but I build my engines to stay together. Keeping stock bore means the cylinder walls are thicker and there's more distance between the cylinders on the head gasket, all of which allows me to make power with more boost. The little bit that you gain from larger displacement isn't worth the reliability costs. I'll take more boost." Above: It's one loud f****n' party on either bike thanks to Velocity Racing's turbo-dump/external wastegate-dump "exhaust." Both of these wicked 'Busas get their boost on courtesy of Garrett ball-bearing turbos-a GT35 on the blue bike and a GT25/30 hybrid on the orange. Madness abounds.... Steinberg's chassis is stock except for the swingarm, which is from Trac Dynamics. The fork is stiffened, as is the spring on the shock, and RC Components wheels are fitted, but otherwise the chassis is as Suzuki intended. A sleeper package, if you will, camouflaging the 550 hp lurking beneath. Not so with Henson's orange bike, which is fitted with nearly every weight-reducing component he could find: Marvic wheels, Brembo GP-spec front calipers and master cylinders (brake and clutch), Ferodo front rotors, a Yoyodyne titanium rear caliper, rotor and hanger, and titanium hardware throughout, all of which keeps the wet weight down to 475 pounds-feathery for a 'Busa. The chassis on the orange bike is significantly modified, with a headstock raked back five degrees, Mikuni triple clamps (and rearsets) and another Trac Dynamics swingarm. The rear shock is a stocker reworked by the crew at GMD Computrack, who also shortened and stiffened the stock fork.

Blown Busas (continued...) ...if it's a 'Busa part you are buying, chances are the prototype was put through its paces on one of these two bikes.... The motor in the orange bike began life as one of Henson's Shootout engines, fitted with JE pistons, Falicon rods, Yoshimura cams and an MTC lockup clutch. Like Steinberg's bike, Henson's is stock bore and still uses the stock head-basic, simple and durable. It's presently fitted with Velocity Racing's Stage Two street turbo kit, which pairs an upgraded Garrett GT25/30 hybrid dual ball-bearing turbo with Velocity's innovative water-injection system. This combo is good for a robust 437 hp, Henson reports, or nearly 1 hp per pound of bike weight. Yikes! Henson's orange bike was a '01 land-speed record holder at the East Coast Timing Association's Maxton speed trials, where it completed the standing mile at 225 mph-the top speed of any vehicle, two wheels or four, that year. Steinberg's blue bike is no slouch either-Henson says that in unofficial, "nine-tenths" racing (an impromptu speed trial held at a top-secret, nine-tenths-of-a-mile-long stretch of highway deep in the Florida Everglades) he has gotten Steinberg's bike up to a blood-boiling 233 mph. And this was with a previous turbo system installed, one that made 100 less hp. Henson says he and Steinberg are planning to return to Maxton this coming September for another land-speed attempt, now that the new motor is dialed in. Henson is predicting a top speed of at least 240 mph, if conditions cooperate and the customary Maxton headwind isn't in effect. Given his history of high numbers from hot Hayabusas, we wouldn't bet against him.

This orange 'Busa vies with the hellacious Bimota on page 62 (Fall 2003 Super Streetbike) for owner/builder Barry Henson's attention-both (well, all three if you count Henson) are insane and see regular street duty. Marvic magnesium wheels, Brembo GP-spec front calipers, a Yoyodyne titanium rear brake, and a full compliment of titanium nuts and bolts allow this 437-horsepower Suzuki to sport a power-to-weight ratio of nearly 1.0:1! In short, it's stupid fast....

Motorcycle of the year- Mehdi Asghari

Motorcycle of the Year
Suzuki GSX-R1000
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Photography: Kevin Wing


You've heard it from your Mom, your guidance counselor, your significant other and your Sunday-school teacher: Can't have everything. Step away from the Krispy Kremes. Finish your cauliflower. Go wax the minivan. Evidently, nobody told any of this to the brain trust responsible for Suzuki's 2003 GSX-R1000. For the sportbike aficionado with sufficient skills and cranial composure, the price of having it all is currently $10,499, plus tax, license and dealer prep.

Check this: The latest GSX-R1000's 444-pound wet weight is exactly one pound less than a CBR600RR. While you're letting that sink in, consider that the 152 rear-wheel horses thundering forth at 11,000 rpm outnumber the output of all but Suzuki's 162-horse Hayabusa and Kawasaki's 161-horsepower ZX-12R, both of which outweigh the GSX-R by more than 100 pounds. Still, the big-picture implications are bigger than the 2.9 pounds of GSX-R pushed by each one of those horses.

The previous-generation GSX-R1000 was also a beast. It was a little rough around the edges, too. A raft of subtle and major changes makes its heir more formidable and much easier to live with. Handling from the revamped aluminum chassis is predictably agile. Suspension is more compliant at both ends. Radial-mount four-pad calipers make the brakes as good at eliminating speed as the engine is at creating it. Massaged engine internals cut friction and pumping losses to let the 998cc four spin up faster than anything breathing through 16 valves. Whiners will find little to whine about here.

2004 Suzuki GSX-R600

Suzuki strikes back with what might be the best GSX-R ever

Photography: Kevin Wing

Suzuki strikes back with what might be the best GSX-R ever

2004 SUZUKI GSX-R600 - ROAD TEST

To today's young riders, there's never been a world without GSX-Rs. But 19 years ago, when the first, 1985-spec GSX-R750 was unleashed, it was nothing short of a revelation. Suzuki simply rewrote the book on race-ready street motorcycles, giving us huge power, 550-class weight and Daytona-ready handling in one neat, number-plate-ready package.

Sure, there are dozens of other great supersport motorcycles available now, from Europe as well as Japan. But they all owe their existence to that first, stunning, absolutely uncompromised GSX-R. While other companies worried about centerstands and passenger seats, Suzuki went straight for the throat, rolling out a bike that was clearly a racer first and a livable street motorcycle second. The riding position was right on the edge of sadistic: Kevin Schwantz, Yoshimura-Suzuki's AMA Superbike hero at the time, raced his with special high-rise bars. If the stance was too radical for both the street and the track, what was it good for? Evidently, for selling motorcycles to enthusiastic masochists, as GSX-Rs leaped out of showrooms just as quickly as they jumped off the line at racetracks all around the country. But that-as impatient 19-year-olds born after the GSX-R750 are muttering to themselves-was then. Way then. What has Suzuki done for me lately?

Suzuki is still resisting the high-center exhaust craze that's swept Honda, Yamaha and Ducati supersport machines-but at least you still get to spend money on a cool carbon-fiber canister and actually have people see it. Ergonomics are more rider-friendly than on the GSX-R1000; a shorter reach to the bars tilts the torso more upright, taking weight off the wrists and putting it on the legs.

The '04 GSX-R600 is the only all-new bike in its class this year, so Suzuki knew it had to swing for the cheap seats; the last GSX-R600 debuted in '01, so this one would have to fend off the advances of Honda, Yamaha and Kawasaki until at least '06.

Well, there's this all-new '04 GSX-R600. It's a bike that shares almost everything but its internal whirly bits with the equally swell, equally new GSX-R750 you'll find racetrack-tested in this issue (see Up to Speed, page 26). And while we can't quite say this machine represents the same kind of Great Leap Forward as the original, it is not because of any lack of effort on Suzuki's part. It's just that its competition, 19 years later, is equally focused. Due in no small part, we submit, to that first GSX-R.

If you read every road test of every new race-replica motorcycle this year, you'll hear about the same design goals again and again. Make it lighter, the engineers are told. Concentrate the mass in the middle to make the machine more responsive and easier to correct when it does get out of line. Move the rider forward, not just for better comfort and a more athletic stance, but also to centralize his mass and put more weight on the sky-hungry front wheel. Make the fairing smaller and lighter. Make everything more rigid to instantly turn rider inputs into racetrack outputs. Make more power by reducing friction and spinning things ever faster. To hold the engines together at these crazy speeds, lighten everything inside that touches oil. And while you're at it, spread the newfound power over a more usable range to make the rider's job easier.

Everybody knows what to do. It's the doing part that's tough.

The '04 GSX-R600 is the only all-new bike in its class this year, so Suzuki knew it had to swing for the cheap seats; the last GSX-R600 debuted in '01, so this one would presumably have to fend off the advances of Honda, Yamaha and Kawasaki until at least '06. Last year's stunning GSX-R1000 would be an excellent blueprint; it walked away from its competition like a politician evading hard questions during a press conference.

The GSX-R600 is the quickest stock 600 we've ever tested, running a 10.77-second quarter-mile ET at 128.16 mph. The previous best was the '03 Kawasaki ZX-6R at 10.87/128.42. The '03 GSX-R1000 would be the benchmark, but the Hamamatsu boys learned some new tricks from their experience in dominating the open class. They used the same weight- and size-saving engine design, with the cylinder block cast as a unit with the upper crankcase half, and the same vents between the bearing webs, letting air move more freely as the pistons rise and fall. But the 600 would have to spin faster-much faster-in order to gain enough horsepower to equal, let alone beat, the reigning 600 competition. Lighter cams and pistons, astronomical 12.5:1 compression, lower-friction chrome-nitrided rings, shorter rods, lighter valve buckets and springs, and even titanium valves were brought to bear. Redline went up to a Formula 1-like 15,500 rpm, and horsepower to a claimed 120, with six more on tap as velocity brought the ram air system online. Our dyno results back that up: We usually see a 15 percent drop from claimed horsepower stats to our real-world rear-wheel results, and the GSX-R falls right into place-103.6 at 14,000 rpm. This slots the GSX-R a couple of horses behind its competition in peak output, but to get the whole story you have to pay attention. Overlay the dyno trace of, say, the Yamaha YZF-R6, and new neurons begin to fire. The Suzuki is down a couple of horsepower at its peak, but it makes almost as much at 11,000 rpm as at 14,000, and it continues to make more than 100 horsepower as it winds all the way past 15 grand. Many readers will see the GSX-R's two-horsepower deficit and dismiss it out of hand. They shouldn't make that mistake at a stoplight, or on a road course-not if they want to keep their pink slip, that is. The GSX-R600 is the quickest stock 600 we've ever tested, running a blinding 10.77-second quarter-mile ET at 128.16 mph. The previous best was the '03 Kawasaki ZX-6R at 10.87/128.42-a performance boosted by an extra 36cc of displacement. The GSX-R launches beautifully, but that's not the whole story. Its long, broad powerband keeps working when the other, flashier bikes trail off with increasing revs. It works, because having an impressive single peak, no matter how high, is less important to actual speed production than making a whole lot of power a whole lot of the time. How do the other contenders fare? The '03 Honda CBR600RR finishes in 10.94 seconds at 127.13 mph, and the '03 Yamaha YZF-R6 wraps it up in 11.01 seconds at 125.27 mph. Score 1 for Suzuki.

Handling on the GSX-R600 is not quite R6-immediate, but plenty quick enough for both back-road bad-boy antics and racetrack recalcitrance. The standard steering damper helps you keep a shake-free head while others about you are losing theirs. The only penalty comes at lower speeds, where it sacrifices some quickness and on-center feel. Below left: The GSX-R's tidy new data pod combines a stepper-motor-powered analog tach and an LCD digital speedometer. Center: A narrower nose cuts frontal area and adds intake efficiency, moving ram-air ducts toward the center. Right: That radial master cylinder drastically improves front-brake feel.

Lightness-and more-compact packaging-have been added just about everywhere. The engine combines the block and upper case half for better rigidity and less weight; lighter oily bits and titanium valves help in reaching the 15,500-rpm redline. The braced swingarm is stiffer, and the new frame is 15mm narrower.

But a 600-any 600-is a peaky, demanding beast, fit only for a prepubescent squid/human hybrid, say the real men among us. Not so, Harley-breath. Our GSX-R600 did a top-gear roll-on from 60 to 80 mph in an effortless 3.70 seconds. This shreds its 600 competition-even the cheater-big Kawasaki 636-by four-tenths of a second. It also romps on such revered torque monsters as the Kawasaki Vulcan 2000 (4.10 seconds), the '00 Honda RC51 (4.94 seconds), any Harley (the V-Rod is fastest, at 4.05 seconds) and even the previous Suzuki GSX-R750 (4.11 seconds).

So much for twins-at least the two-wheeled kind. And so much for midrange torque as a measure of roll-on performance. Every now and then we get a call at the palatial Motorcyclist offices that goes something like this: "I weigh 200 pounds, and I'm wondering if a 600 would have enough power to let me and the missus keep up out on the interstate." If this is the 600, the answer is an unqualified yes. Especially if your idea of interstate travel involves neck-snapping acceleration and 150-mph cruising.

The new frame uses extruded main spars instead of the welded stampings of yesteryear; rigidity is up, but width is down by 15mm between the spars and 10mm between the pegs.

But life is more complicated than posting the biggest numbers. How does the GSX-R600 work out on public roads, where we all have to go now and then?

The new 600/750's riding stance is a considerable improvement over the GSX-R1000's, even though its numbers are not so far off. The main difference is in the reach to the bars, which is about an inch less than the 1000's. Doesn't sound like much, but it makes a world of difference. Instead of leaning forward with your weight on your wrists, you sit more upright, with more weight supported by your legs. As any rock climber can tell you, your legs are much stronger and longer than your arms. You can see better, move better and recover from slides, slip-ups and cell-phone-impaired Cadillac Escalades better. With less weight on your arms, you can steer more precisely without affecting your balance on the bike. And you get better grip at the front-though with 103-plus horsepower churning at the rear, there's still no guarantee the front wheel and the ground will have a long-term relationship. Meaningful, yes. Long-term, no.

Running gear is all top-notch, from the standard steering damper, to the inverted fork and radial calipers, to the curved, tapered radiator, to the lightweight rear caliper. The result is predictable; racebike response and rigidity at a streetbike price.

The dual-throttle-plate injection system works just short of perfectly, and the gearbox is typically smooth, slick and cooperative. Power feels admirably linear, with usable grunt all the way from 4000 rpm-this is one 600 you can ride without stirring the gearbox every half second, which is great for commuting in city traffic. Steering isn't as potato-chip light as the Yamaha R6's, thanks in part to the Suzuki's standard steering damper, but out in the world of canyons and corners the geometry works beautifully, arcing in on the brakes with minimal standup, staying responsive but stable at full lean and powering out with good feel for rear-wheel traction. The steering damper's only downside appears at parking-lot speeds; the bars want to stay turned when cranked full over, making for an awkward dab or two until you acclimate.

Where the GSX-R1000 feels a little like work out in our favorite asphalt playgrounds, the 600 is all play. And its engine is a true gem, making great power and all kinds of lovely Formula 1 noises. Good low end and midrange give way to a wonderful rip above 10,000, and the rush just keeps on coming all the way to the 15,500 redline. Vibes remain well-controlled at any rpm; you can feel how fast the engine is spinning through the pegs and grips, but the sensation is more pleasure than pain. "C'mon, let's go," it seems to say.

Cheers and Geers

Suzuki GSX-R600 Engine 9 Smooth, revvy power from 5000 to 15,000 Drivetrain 8 Slick shifting, clunk-free Handling 9 Nimble, stable, lively. What's not to like? Braking 8 Everything's great but the pads Ride 8 Not bad for a Willow-ready racer Ergonomics 7 More upright than the GSX-R1000 Features 7 Good gauges, bright shift light Refinement 8 Great injection, nicely finished Value 9 More go per cc than just about anything Fun Factor 9 The Joy of Six Verdict: With a great powerplant (big midrange) and humane ergos, this may be the one to beat in 2004.

The brakes are not the grippiest at first squeeze, but they are plenty solid and powerful owing to the new radial-mount front calipers and radial master cylinder. Suzuki brake pads have not been the best of late, lacking in feel and initial bite-they're well worth wearing out, but we'd suggest going elsewhere when they do.

Suspension compliance is fine, especially considering the bike's rock-solid stability. The totally adjustable preload, compression and rebound damping let you set 'er up soft, stiff or in between-but it would be nice not to have to haul out the tool kit to make adjustments. The new frame, Full Floater rear suspension, braced swingarm and nearly flex-free inverted fork work as well as, if not better than, full-on racebikes of just a few years ago, delivering a big dose of implied confidence with every corner entry, every bump, every control movement. Good stuff here.

This is, after all, a GSX-R, and that always seems to imply a certain amount of long-haul discomfort. That said, the new 600 is perfectly livable on rides of an hour or less, with a reasonable seat, smooth air management from the narrow fairing and no objectionable vibration.

So where does that put us? The new GSX-R600 is a great street/track motorcycle, the fastest in its class, with the light weight, responsive handling and bank-vault stability it needs to succeed on the track. It's also smooth, refined and tolerably comfortable on the street. We'll have to gather the players for the inevitable comparo later this year to make a definitive judgment; after all, a really good, really useful comparo takes time.

But for now, we'd have to say the new GSX-R600 is the odds-on favorite for '04 600-class supremacy.

Off the Record boehm Age: 41 Height: 6 ft. Weight: 225 lb. Inseam: 32 in. With all the 12,000-rpm buzz surrounding the two new astounding open-class hyperbikes this month, it would be easy to forget about the all-new GSX-R600. Easy, that is, except for the fact that it's a phenomenal sporting motorcycle, one that ranks right up there with the other three ultrasport 600s from Honda, Kawasaki and Yamaha. In fact, with its way-beefy midrange, reasonably comfortable ergos, great saddle, crisp control feel and typical GSX-R flickability and high-speed stability, I'm thinking it may be the 600 to beat this year, especially for middleweight buyers who want a helping of livability with their track-ready main course. Its slight horsepower deficit doesn't bother me at all; all of these things make over 100 horsepower at the rear wheel, which is plenty. My main problem with the new Gixxer Six is its fairing, specifically the rearmost section that surrounds the rear of the engine directly in front of the rider's feet. I don't know if it's me or what, but I bang my shins on it every time I stop at a light or a stop sign, and I have to consciously think about it to not do it. Take a look at the "from above" photo on page 80 and you'll see what I mean. But hey, if that's my only bitch, then Suzuki did a heckuva good job. -Mitch Boehm ford Age: 50 Height: 6 ft. Weight: 235 lb. Inseam: 32 in. Boy, this thing is a hoot. I've been riding mostly bigger bikes lately, and climbing off a 500- to 600-pound machine and onto a good modern 600-and they don't get no gooder or more modern than this-is like having a shot of hot-pepper Stoli after a few years of drinking nothing but Guinness stout. Even though the similar literbikes from each Japanese maker are close in weight to their 600 sisters, they're not so close in sheer liveliness and response-something about all that extra mass whirling away down in the crankcase slowing down the big bikes' reflexes. No such problem here, though. Other engines may make more power, but there are few that make as much silly fun. This thing screams like Howard Dean with a jalapeٌo up his butt. It pulls well right off the bottom-it'll leave a Vulcan 2000 for dead in a roll-on-and goes absolutely freakin' nuts on top. There's also something to be said for anticipation; believe it or not, it almost gets boring riding a literbike that has too much power. But this thing has great, usable power from 4000 to 11,000 and a wonderful, yee-ha rush-and I do mean rush-from there on up. -Dexter Ford

MSRP: $8099 Warranty: 12 months, unlimited miles Colors: blue/white, yellow/black • • ENGINE• • • • • • • Type: l-c inline-four • Valve arrangement: dohc, 16v • Bore x stroke: 67.0 x 42.5mm • Displacement: 599cc • Compression ratio: 12.5:1 • Carburetion: electronic fuel injection • Transmission: 6-speed • Final drive: # 525 chain • • CHASSIS• • • • • • • Frame: aluminum-alloy twin spar • Weight: 429 lb. (wet), 402 lb. (fuel tank empty) • Fuel capacity: 4.5 gal. • Suspension, front: 43mm inverted cartridge fork adjustable for spring preload, rebound and compression damping • Suspension, rear: single shock adjustable for spring preload, rebound and compression damping • Brake, front: dual four-piston calipers, 300mm discs • Brake, rear: single two-piston caliper, 220mm disc • Tire, front: 120/70ZR17 Dunlop D218 • Tire, rear: 180/55ZR17 Dunlop D218 • • details, details... • • • • • • • Rear cowl pops off for storage or passenger seat • Big, bright shift light tells you when • Stacked headlight narrows fairing, leaves more room for ram-air ducts • Side pipe leaves room to customize • • PERFORMANCE• • • • • • • Corrected 1/4-mile*: 10.77 sec. @ 128.2 mph • 0-60 mph*: 3.13 sec. • 0-100 mph*: 6.71 sec. • Top-gear roll-on, 60-80 mph*: 3.70 sec. • Correction factors (time/speed)*: 0.985/1.015 • Power-to-weight ratio**: 5.78 lb/hp • Fuel mileage (low/high/average): 33/38/35.5 • Cruising range (exc. reserve): 128 miles

مهدی اصغری-2005 Suzuki GSX-R1000

Up the Creek with Suzuki’s new 366-pound, 178-horse paddle

By Tim Carrithers , Stephen Piper , Keith Muir

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.

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.

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.
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.