The Intermot this year marked a big change. The Gixxer and the Fireblade were the last litre-class flagship superbikes free from the plethora of electronic riding gear aides – but 2017 models of these motorcycles follow the trend!
For Suzuki, the new 2017 GSX-R1000 is a very important product. This time the bike is a cracker on paper – Great output figures, lots of performance upgrades and… tons of electronics.
So what Suzuki thinks about it? In an interview to MCN, Mr Shinichi Sahara, Chief Engineer of the project, says that the new GSX-R1000 has the potential to be the best in the segment. Here are a few quick pointers he reveals about the 2017 GSX-R and its development…
- Majority of the work went into making the performance figures match the expectations of the public.
- Initially, the IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit) was to be fired only in the performance oriented R version. However they chose to provide it in both the versions as it is easier to develop two versions together. Different specifications would have costed more R&D and expenditure to the company.
- Once the idea behind the motorcycle was charted the engineering team at Suzuki took just three years to develop the bike! That’s really fast for a flagship.
- The bike has drawn a lot of inspiration from their MotoGP machine. No surprises there since Sahara San was the Project Leader of their racing team.
- He also informs that the team tried various engine configurations which also included an uneven firing order on an inline-four configuration but based on various tests they discarded it and chose the conventional firing system.
- While on the dyno the GSX-R1000 has the highest peak power, the company has not gone far from their heritage of an incredible midrange. He claims that the new GSX-R has more torque and better midrange than its rivals thanks to its Variable Valve Timing (VVT) system. The new (massive!) exhaust system also plays a significant role in this.
In a word with BikeAdvice, as we told you earlier, Suzuki has already communicated that the new 2017 GSX-R1000 will be launched in India soon after its international deliveries commence. A few units of the performance variant GSX-R1000R may also trickle down into our market (not a confirmation on this however).
Also Read: Suzuki GSX250R Unveiled; Power & Torque Figures Revealed
Apart from this Sahara San also gave subtle hints that Suzuki might bring a MotoGP replica on the likes of the Honda RC213V-S! Now thats interesting… But for now we are hooked onto the development of this DL250 adventure and its prospects of coming to our shores….
