Cooper Podiums On New GSX-R1000 At Thruxton BSB
Team Suzuki Press Office – August 5.
Richard Cooper took another podium finish for the Bennetts Suzuki team and the new GSX-R1000 at Thruxton, finishing in second place in today’s National Superstock 1000 race at the seventh round of the MCE British Superbike Championship. Cooper qualified on the front row, and led for periods of the race. Sat in third towards the closing stages, he made a move for second, as Danny Buchan began to pull away at the front. He bridged the gap, but towards the end of the race, tyre wear became an issue and he was unable to mount an attack, instead taking second place.
Cooper also made a wildcard appearance in the British Supersport class onboard the team’s GSX-R600. He qualified in ninth place, but a problem on the warm-up lap meant he had to start from pitlane. He recovered to 11th.
In qualifying for tomorrow’s opening British Superbike race, Sylvain Guintoli posted the 14th quickest time on his first ever visit to the super-fast circuit, while Taylor Mackenzie will start from 18th on the grid.
Michael Dunlop, who is racing in the British Superbike Championship for the first time since his Senior TT, Southern 100, and Armoy road race wins, will start from 25th, as he continues preparations for the forthcoming Ulster Grand Prix.
Richard Cooper:
“I’m disappointed really, in the end we ran out of tyre – it’s worn down to the canvas. We all had a few turns at leading, then Danny [Buchan] started to edge away. I passed [Michael] Rutter and caught him back up, but with about five laps to go, every time I shut the throttle, the rear kept coming round on me and I struggled to get into corners. It’s frustrating because I feel we could have won the race, and should have won. The bike’s been working well all weekend, the speed’s been good and I’ve been comfortable. We’ll make some setup changes tomorrow to try and help with tyre life, and hopefully go one better.
“I had good fun on the little 600, too. We qualified well, but had to repair the gear linkage after the warm up lap and start from pitlane. But I enjoyed it.”
Sylvain Guintoli:
“This is my first visit to Thruxton and it’s a very unique track. It’s very fast and you can pick different lines to do the lap times. We are improving all the time and have made steps forward; and I’m learning the track more and more. We have two races tomorrow and tyre life is important here, so hopefully we can have two good races and make more progress.”
Taylor Mackenzie:
“I was a bit annoyed with qualifying; for one reason or another we didn’t get the one lap in we needed in Q2. But I’m feeling good. We’ve made some progress with the electronics and the engine braking. And the bike’s a rocket ship. It’s so fast, and I’m topping the speed traps more often than not. I think our race pace is quite good. We’re going to make a couple more changes for warm-up, do some work on the front to help with corner entry. The rear’s good; we’ve been working on tyres. The plan is to try and be smooth, be patient, save the tyre, and try and make some progress as the race goes on and hopefully come through.”
Steve Hicken – Team Manager:
“It’s been a solid day today. We’re disappointed with the Superstock result as believe we could have won the race and it was important for our championship to try and get the 25 points. We just ran out of tyre in the end, without that I think we could have had a go. But it’s another podium and shows how well the bike is working. In Superbike, we’ve made progress. Sylvain’s seeing the place for the first time, and we’ve taken some steps with Taylor’s electronics and setup. He didn’t get the lap in in qualifying but I think, come the race, we’ll have good pace and can do the full distance. With Michael, this weekend is just more bike time for him and a chance to try some different things before the Ulster Grand Prix.”
Superstock 1000 race result: 1. Danny Buchan, 2. Richard Cooper (Bennetts Suzuki GSX-R1000), 3. Michael Rutter.
Supersport 600 race result: 1. Keith Farmer, 2. Jack Kennedy, 3. Alastair Seeley, 11. Richard Cooper (Bennetts Suzuki GSX-R600).
Superbike qualifying result: 1. Jake Dixon, 2. Josh Brookes, 3. Peter Hickman, 14. Sylvain Guintoli (Bennetts Suzuki GSX-R1000), 18. Taylor Mackenzie (Bennetts Suzuki GSX-R1000), 25. Michael Dunlop (Bennetts Suzuki GSX-R1000).
Yamaha YZF-R1 vs. Aprilia RSV4 RR vs. Suzuki GSX-R1000 vs. Honda CBR1000RR On The Street Review
Cycle World 2017 Superbike Shootout Part 2: Street
Rain is the only thing that could put a damper on a 350-mile day aboard the latest crop of literbikes. And it’s raining. Not hard. But strong enough to have us second-guessing our ride plan. “Maybe if we ignore it and just keep riding, it’ll go away,” I think. It works. Or at least the sky starts to play nice during our run down the 5 freeway then completely clears by the time we finish our (late) breakfast and prepare to head inland. A little suffering for a full afternoon of fun. We can live with that.
Keys get tossed around quickly as we regroup. A few wide-open back roads cutting through Santa Ysabel are all that separate us from the tighter sections of asphalt crisscrossing their way up Palomar Mountain, and already, it’s clear that the winner in this final stretch of straight road will be anyone on the Suzuki GSX-R1000 or Honda CBR1000RR—the two most forgiving bikes of the group.
Cycle World 2017 Superbike Shootout Part 1: Track
The GSX-R is the more accommodating motorcycle—ergonomics-wise. With a neutral seating position and relatively plush seat, it offers some reprieve to wrists and bottom ends, especially when compared to the R1 (which puts more weight on your wrists) and RSV4 (which has a more firm, sharp-edged seat). The problem? Suzuki has ditched the balancer shaft on this latest engine, and as a result, the bike has a propensity to vibrate your extremities at anything higher than 6,000 rpm. This was more noticeable on the track, where you sustain higher revs for longer, but still a frustrating point on the street—a blemish in an otherwise very street-friendly package.
Honda’s CBR1000RR is velvety smooth by comparison. Most of the aggressive on/off throttle transition that we felt at the track is gone due to the less-aggressive nature of our riding here, and while the clip-on angle feels a little more assertive, the seat is plush enough to be considered comfortable. The only real downside is a lack of bottom-end grunt that’s felt when ridden alongside the throaty RSV4 or R1, with Mark Hoyer going on to add that: “The riding position, seat comfort, and engine smoothness made a two-hour freeway drone perfectly tolerable. My all-day sportbike for sure.”
Sean would argue that the RSV4 fits well, while Hoyer countered that the ergonomics are too compact. One thing everyone could agree on is that the Aprilia has the most seamless fueling of the group and is the most emotionally stirring motorcycle here. Similarly, everyone agreed the RSV4’s new dash and switches were a nice touch but took a bit longer to work around. “I could figure the Honda display out on my own, right away, whereas the Aprilia I still can’t quite figure out how to change settings,” Aaron Colton says. We should add that standard cruise control is more of a benefit than you realize, and that suspension is supple enough to make racetrack performance seem manageable on the street.
Rider-aid adjustments on the rest of the bikes—Suzuki and Yamaha—are done easily, with the difference being the Suzuki’s dash appears a touch less glamorous. It fits the bike but not the group. A common theme: You’re almost always wishing for a touch more nicety from the Suzuki.
The CBR’s lightweight handling sets the bike apart when a road turns tight, making it one of the easiest bikes to hustle up a hill. The RSV4 feels heaviest in any part of the corner, while the Suzuki and Yamaha feel slightly heavier through a transition (the Suzuki more so here) and at corner entry (the Yamaha more so there). Fortunately for these two bikes, the chassis are so sure-footed that you can get more aggressive and close the gap to the Honda rather quickly. You will miss having a quickshifter on this Suzuki and be wishing for an auto-blip downshifter on the Yamaha as well. Things to come?
Parked at the top of the hill, attention turns toward the Honda and Yamaha. The R1 is, without doubt, the most capable motorcycle of the group. You simply have to sacrifice a little comfort. The CBR is a gentler animal. It feels and looks more refined than the GSX-R yet tackles public roads with a sense of user-friendliness that the more potent RSV4 and R1 can’t match.
If you’re of the opinion that a little suffering is worth the added fun you'll experience in return, then the Yamaha is absolutely the bike for you. And if not, consider that the Honda is the most polished and formidable streetbike of the group.
More photos from the Superbike Shootout on the Road:
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Smooth street missile
Its headlamp is slightly larger than a man's palm. Its mirrors lack coverage, just like its pillion seat. As for its boxy titanium end can, you will either love it or loathe it.
Given its aggressive riding posture, your lower limbs will ache even if your journey is a short scoot to a nearby cafe.
Despite these flaws, the 2017 Suzuki GSX-R1000 ABS could strike a chord with track-day junkies and riders who yearn to reconnect with their youth.
Typically, before any GSX- R1000, often referred to as a Gixxer, goes on a circuit, its standard-issue pipe would be replaced by a sleeker, free-flowing one.
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The mirrors and headlight would be removed before a fibreglass fairing is installed.
Without its number plate holder, the short-tail Grand Prix look is complete.
The new GSX-R1000 retains much of its DNA, having evolved from a long line of superbike inspired machines.
Price: Around $42,000 with COE
Engine: 999.8cc water-cooled, inline-4
Transmission: Six-speed manual, chain-driven
Power: 199bhp at 13,200rpm
Torque: 117Nm at 10,800rpm
0-100kmh: 3 seconds (estimated)
Top speed: Over 295kmh (estimated)
Fuel consumption: 7 litres/100km (tested)
Agent: Guan Hoe Co
The latest 999.8cc inline-four cylinder Suzuki is more refined with improvements made to its performance, handling and user- friendliness. It also has a new chassis and a new engine that has the most horsepower - about 200bhp - in the Gixxer family.
Worldwide, there are three versions of the six-speed GSX-R1000 - a base model, a circuit-ready version with better suspension and more electronic wizardry (read: more expensive), and a version with anti-lock braking system (ABS), which The Straits Times tested for this review.
The on-the-road price tag for the 203kg GSX-R1000 ABS is about $42,000.
If I have to use one word to describe the Gixxer, it would be smooth. This does not suggest weakness or a lack of excitement.
The fuel-injected GSX-R1000 is powerful. It performs the 0-100kmh dash in about three seconds - quicker than you can say "Is that the Traffic Police I see in the rear view mirror?"
Its smoothness manifests in its predictable and linear power delivery. The bike offers a wide spread of power from low in the rev range to about 14,000rpm, especially in ride Mode A, where throttle response is the most instant compared with its other two modes.
As you accelerate from 4,000rpm, there is a strong surge to its 14,500rpm redline. Its speedometer reads 90kmh when cruising in sixth gear at about 4,000rpm.
The current model is compact. It has a lower fuel tank height and a smaller and lighter engine with a higher compression ratio.
On our street test, the Suzuki's size made it easy to squeeze past stalled traffic. Like most litre-bikes, the Gixxer gets hot when caught in start-stop traffic.
Without making adjustments to its Showa Big Piston Forks and Showa rear shock, the agile Gixxer takes to bends like an eagle swooping down on its prey. The fluid transition from an upright stance to a lean is also stable.
While braking duties are handled by radial-mounted Brembo monobloc callipers up front, front-end braking is less polished than on some of the Suzuki's rivals. More input is required at the lever to stop instantly.
Its selectable traction control processes data from a three-axis Inertial Measurement Unit. It is a mouthful, but the system works, kicking in when I gave the Gixxer too much throttle during two corner exits.
Luckily, my test bike's rear wheel did not protest by spinning out of control. All I noticed was a blinking "TC" light on the LCD instrument panel.
The bike's large dashboard displays traction control settings, gear and shift indicators, and even an average distance per litre of fuel.
At best, I achieved about 14km to the litre. The Gixxer can theoretically cover around 220km between fuel stops with its 16-litre fuel tank.
Road review of the agile 2017 Suzuki GSX-R1000. Go to str.sg/4zDc
