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Monday, 08 September 2003 |
Royal Pantomime by Mike Emery ~ Photos lost backstage
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| So, the open class is in. With Honda, Kawasaki and Yamaha debuting some serious
big CC' machinery for 04', I figured it was time for us to go revisit the
benchmark and see what to expect for 04'. The benchmark? Obviously the
big Suzuki mopped up in AMA superbike last year and somewhat in the sales
championship too, especially with that cheeky "Own the Racetrack" campaign.
Saying that it's a big, fast powerful bike is a bit like saying Ron Jeremy's
shagged a woman or two. Understated, to say the least. However, it's currently
in the crosshairs from next years open class supermodels. Let's see why
this is the bike today... |
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Well,
the last time I rode a Gixxer Thou' I ended bouncing along on my
head, this time I'm grabbing the tiger by the tail and I'm not letting
go. I've come to appreciate this job as a professional nit-picking
career, after a ride or fifteen on the 2003, I have to admit the
nits are few and far between. Have I rolled over and allowed the
Gixxer to tickle my belly? Yes - and for good reason. This thing
is the absolute shit.
Being
the lucky git I am, I have a bunch of new (and different) motorcycles
tucked away in my plush, nay, swanky California garage. The one
bike that garnered the most finger pointing interest and ooh-ahhs
was the Gixxer One Thou', most of the time its morbid curiosity
- this bike is the open class version of a good-looking party gatecrasher.
It swaggers in, drinks your beer, eats all the sausages-on-a stick,
grabs ya' girlfriend's arse and leaves. Partially because they're
rude, and mostly because they can. Nothing can touch it under most
conditions. |
| First off, it's gloriously license bustingly fast. Secondly, and something I've
learnt to appreciate, especially after riding Damon Buckmaster's FX bike,
is that this latest 1000 can be the proverbial pussycat until you are good
and ready to twist the loud handle. Making big power is obviously the point
of this big motor, but making that power usable and linear throughout the
rev range, emphasizes that point. That loud handle, by the way, is deliciously
easy to twist for forward velocity - it doesn't matter what gear you're
in, just twist and go - and very fast too. |
| The
Carburetion on this bike was particularly clean and I had no problem
picking up the throttle regardless of angle of lean. Obviously with
140+ BHP on tap that's a major issue. A few things contribute to that
creamy smooth Carburetion, one being the new dual double-barrel throttle
bodies. Those throttle bodies incorporate Suzuki's own dual throttle
valve (SDTV) system seen on prior Gixxer Thou's. Each throttle body
throat also carries a single fuel injector precisely positioned at
a steep, 60-degree angle relative to the throttle-body centerline.
The result is never seen, only felt. This bike also maintains the SET
(Suzuki Exhaust Tuning) butterfly valve located in the pipe between
the collector and the muffler via a servo motor. That valve nicely
matches exhaust system back pressure to engine speed, throttle position
and gear selection via some sophisticated electronic wizardry - Welcome
to the new millennium my PDA clutching chums. |
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| For
fast street work, and I mean fast, the easiest way for forward motion
is to lug an extra gear and let the loopy midrange pull you through
any set of twisties, PDQ. On a weekend sortie down Angeles Crest Highway
a couple of guys got a little fruity with me, in the nicest possible
sportbike way, of course. The triple O' just gets going quick and
without any fuss, an easy rhythm is obtained and even though I could
hear the chappies behind me chopping and changing gear, I just eased
away using mostly one gear and one finger (brake)… too easy.
That
nice one fingerability is due to those ever-so-posh radial-mount,
four-piston front brake calipers like those used by those MotoGP
and World Superboys. A radial-mount caliper attaches to the front
forks with bolts positioned radially, or aligned with the caliper
centerline, instead of using transverse mounting bolts. These are
said to be more rigid, with less flex in the mounts and in the caliper
body itself. Basically, like six million dollar Steve, they're better
stronger and lighter. No complaints here, Guv. |
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The
front end, which had previously been a problematic area for me
from the very first year, now feels very confidence inspiring. These
43mm inverted forks tubes featured a Cool Beano Coating (CBC) that
Suzuki saw fit to call Diamond Like Carbon (DLC), three way adjusta-bubble,
of course. The only adjustment I made was a little more rebound on
the front which made it feel a little more composed coming off of
the brakes, when setting up for turns. And, whilst tools in hand,
a tad less compression to smooth up the initial action. The rear I
left alone. The rear tire wear always looked good, especially after
a hard ride so I didn't feel the need to adjust it. Initial stroke
was a tad harsh on the rear and some freeway bumps had me popped out
of the seat a couple of times, but I'll gladly sacrifice that for
the great job it was doing in the hilly bits. |
| The 03'
offers some "racing use only" adjustability with its adjustable
swingarm. No use for this canyon blaster, but nice to point at, whilst bench
racing, and telling filthy lies on a Sunday morning anyway. The beefier braced swingarm assembly
feature an internal reinforcing rib, dividing the arm into two lengthwise
sections and contributing to more torsional rigidity. More cake. |
| It
wasn't all plain sailing though, the bike had previously had a tip
over and the front triple clamp was a tad off. I don't really need
encouragement to wheelie and one of the first times I goosed it, I
had a particularly nasty tank slap after coming down a tad cock-eyed
and under power. The stock steering damper calmed everything down,
but only after I'd calmed down too, released my grip and (I think)
shut my eyes. No harm done and it was self induced - better than
a cup of coffee methinks for a wake up call. Note to self: Watch
your P's and Q's.
If
you like your wheelies and you have the competence to control
them, then this bikes for you. If you don't like wheelies you'll
soon acquire the taste, 'cause like poo; it happens. Sometimes
when you want it; sometimes when you don't. But then we all wanted
light and we wanted powerful, didn't we? This bike is both. The
bike's not unstable or anything, but with the right combination
of bumps and throttle input, the front gets light in a hurry. Note
to you: Watch your P's and Q's. |
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Cosmetically,
Suzuki has now seen fit to differentiate this model from its smaller
kinfolk. The revised nose section gives it a rugged and unique look
as does the slimmed out tail section. The tank is more testicle friendly
with it's slimmed down resize. The paint-job difference is still quite
subtle between the 03' 750/600's and looks pretty nice with the blacked
out lowers. The frame and swingarm are blacked out too for a nice
good-looking overall package.
I
was split on the comfort issues. At low speeds and lane splitting
it's a little wrist-heavy. This comes as a surprise especially as
the clip-ons are reasonably high in relation to the top triple clamp.
However, at speeds over 65+, the wind takes the edge off of that
feeling and you can cruise through a tank of gas pretty easy, especially
as you've got some room on that seat to move your butt around to
help find that last ounce of comfort. I can't decide if that low
speed pain is because my bum is tipped up or because it's a healthy
reach to those bars - the juries still out. |
| One thing
that helped significantly was rotating the levers down to help ease the
wrist ache - maybe I'm just getting old. |
| When
I went through my on-bike-video phase, I noticed that I have a habit
of letting out whoops of joy after a challenging set of bends. I've
never noticed this whilst riding, only on listening to my onboard
footage - sad and true, but hey, I'm having fun. I've since heard
Mike Metzger do the self same thing whilst kicking arse on a supermotard.
I can hear him as he goes by, shouting out aloud with fun. This bike
does that to you too. It's extremely rewarding to ride and it compensates
you grandly for the efforts that you put in.
You
can't really ask for a better bike, or reason to ride one. If this
bike is anything to go by, next years models are going to have to
be pretty damn good to topple this bike from its position as the
open class king Dick.
Mike Emery
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| Specifications |
| Engine:
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988cc,
4-stroke, four-cylinder, liquid-cooled, DOHC, 16-valve, TSCC |
| Bore
Stroke: |
73.0
x 59.0mm |
| Compression
Ratio: |
12.0:1 |
| Fuel
System: |
Fuel
Injection |
| Lubrication:
|
Wet
Sump |
| Ignition:
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Digital/transistorized |
| Transmission:
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6-speed,
constant mesh |
| Final
Drive: |
#525
chain |
| Overall
Length: |
2045mm
(80.5 in.) |
| Overall
Width: |
715mm
(28.1 in.) |
| Overall
Height: |
1135mm
(44.6 in.) |
| Seat
Height: |
830mm
(32.3 in.) |
| Wheel
Base: |
1410mm
(55.5 in.) |
| Ground
Clearance: |
130mm
(5.1 in.) |
| Dry
Weight: |
168
kg (370 lbs.) |
| Suspension
Front: |
Inverted
telescopic, coil spring, fully adjustable spring preload, compression
and rebound damping |
| Suspension
Rear: |
Link-type,
gas/oil-damped, fully adjustable spring preload, compression and rebound
damping |
| Brakes
Front/Rear: |
Dual
hydraulic disc/Single hydraulic disc |
| Tires
Front/Rear: |
120/70-ZR-17/190/50-ZR-17 |
| Fuel
Tank Capacity: |
18
liter (4.8 gal.) |
| Color: |
Blue/White or
Silver |
| Price: |
MSRP
$10,599.00 |
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