Suzuki offers a friend in your corner

As appeared in Motoring
The Brunei Times - May 2, 2007

OK, SO I like motorbikes. And I like big bikes even better. Especially ones that look like they're going fast when they're standing still. Like the new Suzuki GSX-R1000.

It's big, though not as bulky as its 1,300cc compatriot also known as the Hayabusa, and it goes fast. Not that fast is a good thing, of course, so I'm not going to mention that the GSX-R1000 can go 300kph and has proven in tests to be the fastest production sports bike in the world, taking the title from Yamaha's R1.

So if we're not talking about speed, let's talk about all the new technology that has gone into the GSX-R1000, starting with the one most important to riders who love corners.

Face it, which road in the world doesn't have corners? You're bound to come across a few, unless you're only riding on straight highways and trust me, that's not something you want to do if you don't want your $300 to $400 tyres wearing out only in the middle.

Having ridden a few (smallish) motorbikes myself, I can appreciate the equation of powerful bike + tight corner + not so perfect conditions = slide. The GSX-R1000 deals with this by offering an adjustable engine setting controlled by a switch on the right handlebar.

This system, says Jeffery Yong of Suzuki distributor Shariff Auto Services, allows the rider to choose a lower horsepower setting for difficult situations like corners. "The GSX-R1000 is a powerful bike," Yong says, "and in a situation where the rider feels that tweaking the throttle will give the bike too much power and cause a slide, he can choose a setting with less horsepower."

Less horsepower, explains Yong, gives the bike more traction, not unlike traction control found in good cars. The ABC setting, he says, corresponds to the horsepower of a 1,000cc engine, a 750cc engine and a 600cc engine, respectively.

Another advancement for curve-lovers -- understandable, really, since Suzuki's catchphrase is "Own the Racetrack" -- is the electronically controlled steering damper system. As Yong explains, motorbikes going at faster speeds tend to wobble, thus needing a "hard" setting for steering. This setting, however, makes it difficult for the bikes to turn at lower speeds.

The steering damper system allows the bike to automatically create more damping force at higher speeds and lower damping force for lighter steering at slower speeds.

The bike's heavier body, standing at 172kg, compared to the 2006's 168kg, also makes for better handling, says Yong, especially as the model carries more horsepower than its predecessor.

The GSX-R1000 also has a dual exhaust with titanium tips and vertically-stacked headlights with a more compact projector high-beam.

The 2007 GSX-R1000 is the best that Suzuki currently offers, says Yong, as its 750cc counterpart has only made a superficial colour change for its 2007 line-up (Suzuki makes engine changes only every two years, he explains, and this is the year for the 1,000cc), while the 2007 Hayabusa is actually the limited edition model from 2004.

Shariff Auto has one more model of the GSX-R1000, the other, in a cool electric blue, being already booked. It is priced at $24,800 OTR. There is also one each of the Hayabusa, priced at $24,600 OTR, and the GSX-R750 ($20,800 OTR), just waiting for a rider.