Back In The Game

Suzuki’s built a real contender; a bike that’s got more than enough fight in it to cause a few black eyes among the litre sector’s elite. And for a tasty price too.

- Bruce Wilson

There was never any question as to whether the new GSX-R was going to be special, it was more a question of just how special it would be. To be fair, it needed to be pretty exceptional to bridge the cataclysmic divide which had seen the one time king of sportsbikes slip lethargically into the shadows of too many pesky litre bike newcomers. Outdated, out-gunned and appearing about as technologically advanced as a typewriter, time had not been kind to Suzuki’s flagship. If ever a revolution was needed, now was the time.

That’s a call to arms that’s been answered with the delivery of the all-new GSX-R1000 and higher spec R-version. In a bid to wipe the floor with the opposition, Suzuki brought out the big guns with the development of its new Gixers, utilising the latest design software, production techniques and the company’s smartest brains in a no holds barred approach. Handed a blank piece of paper and told to build a bike that bettered all of the opposition, without excuses, was none other than project leader Shinichi Sahara; the man largely responsible for Suzuki’s audaciously impressive MotoGP comeback.