Suzuki unveils new
GSX-R1000 for 2005








On October 17, Suzuki unveiled its flagship GSX-R at the Road Atlanta roadrace course in Braselton, Georgia, with a host of Suzuki officials from Japan on hand as well as former World Champion Kevin Schwantz and Suzuki-backed AMA Pro Racing competitors Aaron Yates and Ben Spies.

The GSX-R1000 faces strong competition in the literbike market from Honda's CB1000RR, Kawasaki's Ninja ZX-10R, and Yamaha's YZF-R1. But Suzuki officials proudly point to their race-winning tradition over the 20-year history of creating high-performance GSX-R sportbikes, especially rider Mat Mladin's record of five AMA Superbike titles.

"The GSX-R range is the most important line of Suzuki motorcycles because it showcases what we can do," said Hiroyuki Nakai, manager of the sportbike group of engineers at the Suzuki Motor Corporation in Japan.

"Suzuki will always believe the purpose of the GSX-R is to own the racetrack,'' Nakai said. "The 2005 GSX-R1000 is a totally new machine. While we are pushing ourselves to innovate, we will never sacrifice performance for something new."






Suzuki's Morgan Broadhead, who briefed the press corps on the technical aspects of the 2005 GSX-R1000, said the new bike incorporates many innovations developed on the racetrack.

The new powerplant has a displacement of 998.6 cc and pumps out a claimed 176 horsepower at 11,000 rpm, up from 988 cc and 162 hp for last year's model.

The inline-four, double-overhead cam, 16-valve GSX-R1000 engine boasts larger intake and exhaust ports and has titanium valves. The compression ratio has been bumped from 12.0:1 to 12.5:1.



The new trapezoidal-shaped radiator increases cooling capacity by 17 percent without increasing frontal area. A radiator-type oil cooler transfers heat to the air, instead of to the engine coolant.

The all-titanium exhaust doesn't look as big in person as it does in photos, but it can still take some getting used to.

In other improvements, Suzuki engineers say closer transmission ratios improve racetrack acceleration, and a redesigned clutch and shift forks make racetrack starts and shifts feel more positive.

Suzuki engineers decided to build ramped engagement cams into the clutch hub to increase pressure on the clutch plates under acceleration and decrease pressure under deceleration. They say this acts as a back-torque limiter and contributes to smoother downshifts.

With a claimed dry weight of 365 pounds, the new bike weighs 5 pounds less than the 2004.

Suzuki also did a lot of wind-tunnel testing to reduce the frontal area by 4 percent and cut aerodynamic drag by 5 percent.

In addition, the bike is a little shorter front-to-rear, shorter from the top of the windscreen to the pavement, and a little narrower from side to side.

The all-new frame allows for, as Suzuki officials said, "balanced flex."



The front and rear suspension is fully adjustable for spring preload, compression damping and rebound damping. The wheels are redesigned with thinner spokes. The rims are 3.50 x 17 up front and 6.00 x 17 in the rear.

The GSX-R1000's fully floating front brake discs now measure 310 mm instead of 300 mm. Opposed, four-piston, radial-mount front brake calipers are controlled by a radial-piston master cylinder that Suzuki says more efficiently translates brake lever travel into stopping power, and delivers better feel and feedback.

The new GSX-R1000's stacked multi-reflector headlights include a 55-watt H7 halogen low beam above and a 65-watt HB3 high beam below.





The new reshaped taillight/brakelight now has a clear lens with red LEDs underneath.

The instrument cluster includes an analog tach, LCD readouts for the speedo, odometer, dual tripmeters, clock, coolant temperature and a new gear-position indicator.

The swingarm pivot shaft location can be adjusted up and down—changing the swingarm downslope for racing—by inserting optional race kit spacers.

The new GSX-R1000 is available in Pearl Suzuki Deep Blue No. 2/Glass Splash White, Solid Black/Pearl Flash Yellow; or Solid Black/Metallic Oort Gray.

Suggested retail: $10,849.

Look for the 2005 GSX-R1000 at Daytona International Speedway in the AMA Superbike races in March, as well as at your local Suzuki dealer.

From: http://www.motorcycledaily.com/13sep...4_gsxr1000.htm


2005 Suzuki GSX-R1000


Suzuki released a full media kit for the 2005 GSX-R1000 today, and the changes to the company's flagship superbike are extensive. After dominating its class until 2003, the big Gixxer was surpassed in 2004 by new 1000s from the other Japanese manufacturers, particularly the 2004 Kawasaki ZX-10R. Suzuki has changed just about every component on the bike for 2005, and it should be back in the fight for top honors in the ultra-competitive 1000cc market.

The 2005 GSX-R1000 is a much more compact bike than the 04 - the bike is 40mm (1.57 inches) shorter from front to back, 45mm (1.77 inches) shorter from the top of the windscreen to the ground, and 5mm (0.19 inches) narrower from side to side. The seat is 20mm (.78 inches) lower, and the reach to the handlebars is 40mm (1.57 inches) shorter. The footpegs are also 17mm (.67 inches) closer together.

The all new frame is lighter than last years and 6mm (.24 inches) shorter from steering head to swingarm pivot. The frame, along with the new (also lighter) swingarm, was designed for different amounts of vertical, horizontal, and torsional rigidity to improve feedback and feel during hard cornering.

Despite the smaller dimensions of the new bike, the wheelbase is unchanged from 2004 at 1405mm (55.315 inches). Rake and trail have been increased to 23.75 degrees and 96mm (3.78 inches) respectively.

New cast-aluminum wheels with thinner spokes reduce unsprung weight by 300 grams (0.66 pounds) per wheel.

The engine receives a host of changes as well. Starting from the top, an all-new cylinder head features larger intake and exhaust ports, filled by larger 30mm titanium intake valves and 24mm titanium exhaust valves. The new titanium exhaust valves save a total of 99.2 grams (0.22 pounds) over the steel valves found in the 2004 model, which allows the new motor to rev 1000 rpm higher.

The flat-faced titanium valves combine with a more compact combustion chamber design to increase compression to 12.5:1 (from 12:1 last year).

The cylinders feature a small (.4mm) increase in bore, which bumps the displacement from 988cc up to 998.6cc. The forged pistons are redesigned and are lighter than those of last year's model. The bottom end has been strengthened to deal with the higher redline, with sturdier rods and a reinforced crankshaft.

In the intake tract, 2mm (0.079 inches) larger throttle bodies feed each cylinder, and each throttle body now features dual injectors. The secondary injector activates under high-rpm/high-load situations, providing better fuel atomization for more power.

Downstream, the new all-titanium muffler is shaped to decrease aerodynamic drag and provide increased cornering clearance.

And finally, the transmission features closer ratio gears and a back-torque limiting ("slipper") clutch.

The 2005 GSX-R1000 looks to be significantly improved. We can't wait to ride it!