Suzuki Gsx-R600
CW FIRST RIDE
JUST PUSHING IT OUT FROM THE GARAGE AND INTO PIT LANE tells you most of what you need to know about Suzuki's new 2011 GSX-R600. It's very light. As well it should be: Suzuki has put its supersport baby on a crash diet to the tune of 20 pounds.
To get an idea of just how much 20 pounds is, the next time you’re bored, put four bags of flour in your backpack and hold it out in front of you with one arm; you won’t be like that for long! It’s a credit to Suzuki’s engineers that they pulled off such a feat and ended up with a claimed curb weight of 412 pounds, especially for a bike weighed down by Euro 3-necessitated catalyzers and sound-deadening materials. But ounces were shaved from almost every part, and most of the bike is changed from the previous model, with precious few parts that can interchange. In fact, the only parts carried over from the previous GSX-R600 are the fuel cap, ignition coil, alternator, license-plate light, fuel pump and triple-clamps.
So, before I’ve even flicked the ignition on, the prospect of riding the newly anorexic GSX-R600 is mouth-watering.
Throw into the mix the new, 41mm Showa Big Piston Fork (BPF), Brembo Monobloc radial brake calipers up front, close-ratio gearbox and a hot, dry and sunny Almería circuit, and I can barely contain myself.
The current supersport weapons are closely matched around a track—usually a second covers the lot of them. They all have different character, though.
You’ve got the single-minded, track-
focused ones like the YZF-R6, ZX-6R and Daytona 675 on one end, and the softer, more road-biased GSX-R600 at the other. The CBR600RR is somewhere in the middle.
The Suzuki has always been the easiest to get on and ride hard straight away, because of the almost “squidgy” feel it has through its chassis and suspension, which gives you bags of feel and confidence. For that reason, it’s never felt that fast, although it really was, and has stood as proof that ultra-stiff isn’t always best.
SUZUKI GSX-R600
Faster, lighter, better. and still the same as always
MICHAEL NEEVES
“An overwhelming sense of feel is transmitted, and you can almost directly sense through the bars the front Bridgestone BT-016 digging hard into the tarmac.”
On paper, it looks like the new GSXR600 is going to be a whole lot sharper and more exciting. Let’s find out.
Roll down the pit exit and thread into Almeria’s downhill Turn One and it’s familiar GSX-R600. The riding position is comfortable; you sit well “in” the bike and feel right at home. For a six-footer with bashed-up knees like me, it’s not cramped, even with the adjustable pegs on their highest setting. GSX-Rs have always been surprisingly good milemunchers, and this one won’t be any different.
On the warm-up lap, other GSX-R traits are immediately clear: The throttle response is flawless, the gearbox and clutch are smooth and the ride quality is nice and plush. You can sense the new fork and brakes immediately—both are firmer and more solid-feeling.
Almeria is long, littered with technical left and right turns, and has exceptionally grippy tarmac, so you only need to do one lap before the tires have enough heat to let you start going for it.
Exit the last turn in third gear and flash past the pits for the first time at full speed, then quickly up to fourth before plunging downhill back into Turn One again, but this time considerably faster than on the out-lap. It’s only here and the penultimate right-hander after the back straight where you have to brake truly hard. It’s the first time to try out the new brakes and see how the new BPF fork stacks up.
Swinging left and running well into the pitlane exit gives you a wider line into Turn One. Here, the Brembos bite hard and confidently, and the fork offers a pleasing amount of resistance as it dives. An overwhelming sense of feel is transmitted, and you can almost directly sense through the bars the front Bridgestone BT-016 digging hard into the tarmac. Drop it down a gear to third and the extra engine braking helps rein in the speed further, while the slipper clutch stops the GSX-R600’s rear end from chattering. It’s quickly “eyes right” and flick it hard into the right-hander.
From here on out, it’s third gear for almost all of Almeria’s “infield” twists and turns. Thanks to the Suzuki’s light weight and the engine’s newly found extra flexibility and willingness to rev, there is an impressive (for a 600) degree of punch out of the corners. Claimed output is 126 horsepower at 13,500 rpm and 51.4 footpounds of torque at 11,500 revs, which doesn’t hint at the newfound boost in the midrange. With the extra torque available, it simply isn’t necessary to row up
and down through the gears to keep it on song, and I was surprised with the way it accelerated so cleanly, even with the needle hanging low in the GSXR’s new tach
If it is kept in one gear, the Suzuki turns into a kind of supersport-powered scooter. It’s a case of leaving the clutch and gear lever alone, relaxing and pointing where you want to go, and just twisting the throttle back-and-forth up through the circuit’s blind crests and sweeps. There’s plenty of room to move about in the saddle as the Suzuki glides from corner to corner.
With a couple of extra turns of preload on the new shock to help the bike keep a tight line, plus a turn more compression and rebound damping on the BPF fork (both adjusters are on top of the fork legs) to make it more stable on and off the brakes, the GSX-R600 still doesn’t have the iiber-stiff, knife-edged stance of some of its rivals; but it has loads of trademark GSX-R feel and goes exactly where you want it to, without fuss. It’s got to be one of the friendliest 600s to ride on track, but it’s still a serious piece and will take a better man than me to find its true limit.
“Throttle response is flawless, the gearbox and clutch are smooth and the ride quality is nice and plush. You can sense the new fork and brakes immediately—both are firmer and more solid-feeling.”
Even the Bridgestone road tires handle the circuit admirably. I’d loved to have tried the GSX-R600 on stickier, faster-steering rubber to see what it could really do, but the BT-016s always gripped predictably, never did anything nasty and seemed to last forever.
The first time I had the chance to feel the new close-ratio box in action was exiting the corner onto the long back straightaway. There’s enough oomph from the engine and the cogs are spaced closely enough that fourth and fifth are quickly dispensed with, and the bike is deep into sixth gear before it’s time to brake.
With knees squeezed hard into the fuel tank, the Brembos get an even harder squeeze than they did at Turn One and grip the twin 310mm discs like a vise. The braking force is severe, but the support from the BPF fork at this point is exceptional. The stability it imparts to the chassis overall allows you to brake very late with only the very slightest of swaying from the rear wheel. Bang down through the gears from sixth to second; again, the slipper clutch stops the rear wheel from misbehaving and helps glide you smoothly into the corner.
The final left-hander onto the front straight is bumpy, and under hard acceleration, the electronic speed-sensitive steering damper does little to control a light shake from the bars. The front end never threatens to get out of control, but it will be interesting to see what happens on race-spec tires. One could foresee serious track addicts needing a topquality manually adjustable aftermarket steering damper.
Suzuki has addressed the GSX-R600’s main problems: its soggy fork and brakes, which weren’t up to heavy track use in standard form. More impressive still, this new 600 has reversed the recent trend of ever-bulkier sportbikes by shedding so much weight.
All of this has made the new GSX-R600 more exciting, easier to ride and more effective around a track. Its traditional character remains intact, however, and it still has a soft edge compared to its more track-focused rivals, which should ensure that it continues to be a great streetbike, too.
Now, off for another lap? □
