Suzuki's GSX-R1000 leaped into the top rank of litre-class rocketships when it was first released in 2001 and easily out-powered Yamaha’s R1 and Honda’s FireBlade. Since then both competitors have been updated and the Gixer lost out in the handling department.
It was time for a new, improved Suzi, so here it is – the GSX-R1000 K3.
The changes to the bike's class-leading 988cc, twin-cam motor are subtle. It keeps the 73 x 59mm bore and stroke and its compression ratio is still 12:1 but ventilation holes have been drilled between adjacent cylinders so the crankcase pressure build-up under a descending piston can be vented to the rising slug next door.
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This reduces crankcase pressure and drag and improves efficiency and torque.
| There's more power than most street riders can use all the way from eight to 12000rpm. |
“Dual throttle valve" electronic fuel-injection remains but twin double-barrelled throttle bodies replace the four singles of the K2. The engine control module now has a 32-bit processor (up from 16) and two complete fuel maps for each cylinder.
The "light" program uses revs and inlet vacuum to calculate how much squirt each injector needs while the "heavy" mapping uses rpm and throttle opening (at high revs in fifth and sixth gears only).
The result is an increase peak engine power to 122kW and a smoother spread of mid-range torque – a genuine benefit in real terms. The latest version of Suzuki's big gun accelerates smoothly from as low as 2400rpm in the lower gears, begins to get muscular at six and above 8000 revs all hell breaks loose as it begins to vibrate and the air box begins to howl.
The bike has more power than most street riders can use all the way from eight to 12000rpm, the front end gets light on every gearchange and the thing hauls ass like a jet off a carrier.
So powerful is this motor that the only time I ever had the throttle all the way open was on the top end runs and even then I was cautious not to let it off the leash until it was already in top gear and well settled. The test bike howled up to a genuine 287km/h, making it the fastest litre-class machine IOL has yet tested, at which point the motor was spinning at 11500rpm, a grand short of the red line but well past the 10 800rpm power peak.
| The all-alloy frame is lighter and simpler than before and completely new for 2003. |
(If you must know, Cyril, the record is held by Suzuki's Hayabusa at 307km/h.)
Although the bike shakes its head every time on hard-throttle upshifts – which I think is more a function of too little weight on the front wheel than a chassis fault – once settled in top it was rock steady all the way to flat out despite a slight quartering wind.
The screen is also high enough to prevent the rider’s head being buffeted by the slipstream (once you've draped yourself over the tank like melted cheese). Messrs Honda and Ducati to please note.
Suzuki has a reputation for outstanding gearboxes and this bike has one of its best; the shift is light, slick and entirely positive with a commendably short lever throw. I never missed a shift and neither did anyone on the recent Suzuki African Tour, where this particular bike was abused by experts from all over Europe.
Even after that, the test unit’s transmission was superb except for excessive lash in the final drive that made it jerky in traffic and occasionally unsettled the chassis just before the apex of tight corners.
The all-alloy frame is completely new for 2003, lighter and simpler than before, with a more crash-friendly rear sub-frame. The extruded main spars are lighter but stiffer, with three internal ribs, while the swing-arm also has a stiffener running down the inside of each side member.
The suspension has also been updated, with black "diamond like carbon" coating on the 43mm Kayaba upside-downies replacing the proven TiN coating. It works; there's no detectable stiction in the front end, but only time will tell whether its durability will equal or better the industry-standard titanium.
And on the downside...
The steering-head angle has been steepened by a half-degree to 23.5, reducing trail from 96 to 91mm. This should make the bike more twitchy (something for which Suzuki's crotch rockets have a well-deserved reputation) but in this case raising the swing-arm pivot and fitting a decent steering damper have steadied the chassis dynamics impressively.
The only downside is that the bike tends to fall off line at low speed in traffic, making rush hour on a Gixer an exercise in intense concentration. The rest of the package copes amazingly well with the urban crawl although it looks and feels out of place, like a caged animal.
The suspension is firm but supple and does its job in the real world better than I had expected. It held the Suzuki on line on my 90km/h "suspension test track" (a bumpy, twisty back road north of Cape Town) without loosening my fillings and kept the rear wheel in touch with the tar without pattering or skipping, even under acceleration.
On the faster "dynamic" section of the test route, the bike rapidly engendered confidence, holding its line with gratifying accuracy and swooping through the difficult downhill sweeps as if designed for them. The steering is dead accurate, the bike quick and responsive on initial turn-in and firm in mid-corner.
The brakes proved little short of phenomenal; Tokico has taken the one-piece, radial-mount Brembo GP calliper and successfully copied it for the street. Add to that braided stainless-steel brake lines and the results are superlative.
No brake fade
The Tokico four-pot radials, while not as powerful as the Brembos (thank goodness), are almost totally linear and have superlative feel and feedback. Two fingers are all you'll ever need and the more you squeeze, the more you stop.
That sounds simple, but in the real world braking that hard is rarely that straightforward; the Suzuki makes what would be kamikaze late braking on any other big bike not only possible but perfectly safe.
Not only that, but the improved chassis geometry means you can pitch it into a turn with the stoppers hard on and use the brake lever to adjust the bike's attitude all the way to the apex while their intrinsic stiffness reduces pad wear rates and eliminates fade.
The rear brake is a much more conventional Nissin twin-pot number, essentially unchanged from the front brake on a 1972 Yamaha RD250, which shows you how long it has been since there has been any radical advance in brake technology. Nevertheless, it works; I used it to set the bike up for fast corners and almost exclusively in traffic to reduce handlebar input.
The styling of the latest edition shows clear links to the previous GSX-R1000, notably in the pointed, beak-like nose and the broad, flat tail piece. An important innovation, however, is the over-and-under mounting of the headlights to move the ram-air intakes closer to the centre of pressure.
Refreshing lack of fibre
The narrower tank lets the rider tuck in better and allows the rider to use his legs as a secondary steering mechanism, making the bike a lot more nimble than its predecessor.
The whole look is well integrated and very stylish, a vast improvement on the late-1990s Hayabusa look, with a refreshing lack of faux fibre – at one stage it seemed that no Japanese sports bike was complete without a bit of fake carbon fibre somewhere in its cockpit.
The seat is broad and flat, better padded than the average sport bike's plastic plank, and relatively low by race replica standards. In conjunction with neatly mounted clip-ons, this makes the Suzi more comfortable than most in this performance-above-all-else class. I was quite at ease during a more than two-hour stint in the saddle.
The rear end of the bodywork is all knife edges in the modern idiom, with a cluster of LEDs replacing the conventional tail-lights; having followed this bike all the way from Pretoria to Nelspruit I can tell you that there's no ignoring them.
The number plate and rear indicators are mounted on a plastic bracket that’s clearly intended to look like the afterthought that it is – this is common on the latest generation of sports machines and a surprising number of them are running on the street, particularly in Gauteng without them, which looks a lot neater.
A gremlin, perhaps?
The instrument pod is all new, with a neat, white-faced rev-counter containing the usual warning icons and an LCD panel for speed, distance and coolant temperature – plus a huge blue-white shift light that didn't work.
Just to check it I ran the bike slowly up to the rev-limiter in third a couple of times with no result, yet it came on with the rest of the test circuits every time I switched the bike on.
When I asked Nibs Cragg of Cape Town dealer Suzuki South about it he explained that the light needed resetting, as it had been set too high. OK, but that doesn't explain why the "low oil level" light came on a couple of times during the test period (although the sump was in fact a little overfilled) but could be made to go off every time by simply switching the bike off and on again.
Methinks this particular Gixer had an electrical gremlin.
The standard of fit and finish on this, Suzuki's sports flagship, is impressive, especially on the small cycle parts, foot-pegs and the like. The plastic body panels fit neatly into each and are firmly mounted with very little play while the paintwork, in this case a gorgeous metallic silver, is just as good - although I was disappointed to note that there's no clearcoat over the graphics, a common failing on Japanese bikes.
Proof is in the riding
The proof of the bike is in the riding and the K3 has better mid-range, a little more top end, vastly improved handling and seriously better brakes than its older sister. Its dry weight is down to a very competitive 168kg and it's once again a leading contender among the litre-class sport bikes.
Thanks to Suzuki South Cape Town for the test machine. A new one will cost about R130 000.
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Specifications:
Motor: Liquid-cooled four-stroke transverse four.
Capacity: 988cc.
Bore x stroke: 73 x 59mm.
Valvegear: DOHC with four overhead valves per cylinder.
Compression ratio: 12:1.
Power: 122kW at 10 800rpm.
Torque: 107.5Nm at 8400rpm.
Induction: Suzuki dual throttle valve fuel-injection with four 42mm throttle bodies.
Ignition: Digital transisitorised electronic.
Starting: Electric.
Clutch: Cable-operated multiplate wet clutch.
Transmission: Six-speed gearbox with final drive by 525 chain.
Suspension: 43mm Kayaba Diamond Like Carbon-coated inverted cartridge forks adjustable for preload, compression and rebound damping at front, Kayaba monoshock with temperature controlled damping, adjustable for preload, compression and rebound damping at rear.
Brakes: Twin 300mm discs with Tokico four-pot radially mounted opposed piston callipers at front, 220mm disc with Nissin twin-pot opposed piston calliper at rear.
Tyres: Front: 120/70 -ZR17 tubeless radial. Rear: 190/50 - ZR17 tubeless.
Wheelbase: 1410mm.
Seat height: 830mm.
Dry weight: 168kg.
Fuel capacity: 18 litres.
Price: Approximately R130 000.
Click here to use IOL Motoring's repayments calculator.
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