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2016 Suzuki L7 GSX-R 1000

Devastated by the financial crisis of 2008, Suzuki has The K5 Gixxer, from which the current model was
been forced to sit by and watch as its rivals dominate the developed, still stands proud as a truly awesome bike,
superbike class. But now the plucky Japanese company but times have moved on as they must, and Suzuki’s
is ready to step back on the dance floor and boogie with current GSX-R really can’t swing with today’s exotic
a brand new GSX-R1000, built from the ground up to put heavyweights. All the European brands have something
the Big Gixxer back in contention at the pointy end of on the showroom floor that punches harder, and with
the sportsbike market. Featuring a mechanical variable more finesse. Yamaha added fuel to the fire at last year’s
valve timing system, EICMA show with its
Suzuki is aiming to first 200-horsepower
engineer the L7 GSX- R1, dripping with
R so well it doesn’t MotoGP bits and
need top-shelf pieces. A new GSX-R is
electronics like an long overdue.
Inertial Measurement
Unit to compete. And here it is – a
concept version,
Suzuki GSX-R1000 L7: anyway. The GSX-
right side view Suzuki R1000 L7 will be a 2017
GSX-R1000 L7: won’t model with (we
be released until the assume) a mid-2016
second half of 2016 release date. And like
Suzuki GSX-R1000 L7: the K5, it’s been
brand new engine redesigned from
complete with scratch.
mechanically
actuated variable valve timing Suzuki GSXR1000 L7: re- Suzuki says the L7 will be the lightest, the most powerful,
developed from the ground up the most compact, the hardest accelerating and the
Last time Suzuki did a ground-up redesign of its flagship cleanest-running Gixxer ever to roll. The company makes
GSX-R1000 back in 2005, it broke no bones about its ambition: it wants to take back its
the superbike class right open. “proper title of the King of Sportsbikes.”
There was no question, the K5
Gixxer Thou’ was the baddest To do so, it’s going to need to get up and over the 200-
big-bore bitumen scalpel money horsepower mark, but Suzuki is making sure the new
could buy. I remember flipping Gixxer hits hard down low as well. The L7 will be the first
through the magazine reviews bike in the superbike class to feature variable valve
slack-jawed in wonder. My timing. The VVT system will use steel balls in grooves in the
favourite image of the bike intake cam sprockets that are moved outward by
looked a lot like this one: centrifugal force as the revs come up to retard the intake
cam timing at high rpm. Thus, cam timing is optimized
The copy said something like differently for low and high rpm, giving strong low-end
“we’ve just laid out the bits we torque but adding to the top-end rush. Peak rpm, and
changed,” thus throwing down thus top-end power is also higher thanks to a low-mass
the challenge to see if you could finger follower valve train.
think of a single bit that was
missing from the picture. It was all very droll, but it got the Electronics-wise, the Gixxer will get three drive modes
message across: this was revolution, not evolution. that change throttle response and fuel mapping. There’s
a 10-stage traction control system, an up/down