Street Bike With Style
Newcastle Herald
Wednesday December 21, 2005
SUZUKI has taken the covers off its all-new GSR600 street bike in Japan, and the word is that we can expect to see it here in the second quarter of the new year. This all-new naked street bike, variously described as a "middleweight street fighter" and a case of "modern art meets race technology", is also described as a new breed of motorcycle for the company, one blending high tech sports bike componentry with advanced chassis technology. What that means is the GSR takes the liquid-cooled, 600cc, in-line four-cylinder, double overhead camshaft, 16-valve engine from the GSX-R600 sports bike, but with some subtle tuning changes designed to give the engine a wider powerband with more low- and mid-range torque for smoother power delivery. Coupled to this modified motor is a six-speed transmission with primary and internal ratios developed with a street bias, with relatively low first and second gear ratios designed specifically for city riding. As with other Suzuki sports bikes, the GSR600 has an alloy frame with rear progressive link swing-arm suspension complete with a single rear shock absorber with adjustable spring pre-load and rebound damping. At the front, the suspension duties are handled by KYB front forks with 43mm stanchion tubes. Front spring pre-load is also adjustable. Braking duties are handled by a pair of 310mm diameter, full-floating front discs with four-pot calipers and a 240mm rear disc with a single-piston caliper. Dimensionally, Suzuki's new naked is quite modest with a 2090mm overall length, 1400mm wheelbase, 775mm width, 785mm seat height and 130mm ground clearance. Fuel capacity is a useful 16.5 litres and the bike weighs 183 kilograms. Stylistically it is a stand-out, riding on three-spoke, 17-inch alloy wheels and with a centre-mount muffler running through a unique tail carrying dual light-emitting diode (LED) tail light lenses. To misquote a very old phrase, buyers can have the bike in any colour they want so long as it's candy blue. At this stage the pricing is unknown. Buyers can have the bike in any colour they want so long as it's candy blue. IN SATURDAY DRIVE: THE DOLLAR-SAVING HOLDEN VIVA
© 2005 Newcastle Herald
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