Suzuki’s GSX-R750 brought endurance racer performance to the masses. It may not have been the first bike to use a full fairing wrapped around lightweight aluminum monoshock frame and a four-cylinder engine, but it was the first bike to make that formula accessible to ordinary mortals, and it popularized the format. Prior to the GSX-R’s…
Most buyers’ guides advise to purchase the latest edition of a particular model, capitalizing on improvements and technical advances. First built in 1986, the GSX-R1100 spanned twelve great sportbike years, and those interested in the model can choose from very different rides depending on the letter code. This late model has been hidden away with…
The 1986 Suzuki GSXR-1100 gave the world its first peek into the future of road-going superbikes, showing that big bore engines did not necessitate portly chassis and that outright speed did not preclude sharp handling. Based on the already cutting edge GSXR-750, the 1,100cc Gixxer cut the first mile of trail for today’s featherweight liter-class…
Look, here’s the thing. If you’re buying bikes [or cars, for that matter] that were hyped to be “instant classics” when they were introduced, thinking you can flip them for a profit… You may be waiting a while. Consider all the folks who bought the MV Agusta F4 750 Serie Oro when it was new,…
Suzuki’s RG500Γ “Gamma” is a modern classic, a bike from the tail end of the two-stroke sportbike era, at least here in the USA where lightweight, smoky strokers were gone by the mid-80s. At the time, it offered significant on-paper advantages over something like a GSX-R750: it was lighter and the 498cc engine made similar…
In a bit of reverse mission creep, Suzuki began work on the GSX-R1100R by seeing how similar it could be to their winning 750. The air/oil-cooled machine achieved great power-to-weight and many long burnouts along the way. 1986 Suzuki GSX-R1100 for sale on eBay Suzuki’s 1056cc four uses a two-chamber oil pump with the high…
A world away from the usual design-by-committee UJM, Suzuki’s original Katana set the stage and riding position for a new generation of road-going sportbikes. This largely original survivor is just across the northern border. 1983 Suzuki GSX1100S Katana ( Canada ) for sale on eBay Designer Hans Muth spent the 1970’s bringing aerodynamics and…
This time of year, really interesting sportbikes can be a little thin on the ground, so our online searches naturally take us farther afield. In this case, all the way to Japan for a 1983 Suzuki RGB500 that was the Grand Prix racing inspiration for the two-stroke RG500Γ. This Mk8 version was highly-developed, although the…