Sizzling Hot Suzuki GSX-Rs: Box-Stock GSX-R750

The overwhelming impression we got from riding the stock bike was that of untapped potential. The bike is hamstrung by flawed carburetion that had us sputtering out of a few of Willow Springs’ critical corners and struggling through high-rpm stumbles down both straightaways. Never known for its midrange power delivery, the stock GSX-R doesn’t start accelerating truly hard until it’s above 9000 rpm, but our ’95 test unit suffered carburetion problems at as low as 10,500 rpm. Curiously, our ’94 test bikes never displayed this shortcoming, and the straightline performance numbers of the ’95 bikes we tested, pulling a 600-like 149 mph top speed, were well down from last year.

Before we went out on the track, Suzuki fitted the stock machine with fresh Dunlop D364s (the same as on Yoshimura’s SuperSport racer) to give it equal traction. Our tester wasn’t confident pushing the bike past or even up to the tires’ limits due to the stock suspension rates, rather soft spring rates and a curious mix of too little low-speed compression damping and too much high-speed compression. The combination feeds bumps into the chassis, then doesn’t provide the low-speed damping to keep the bike<$> from pitching on its soft springs. The result is a chassis that bobs and weaves slightly through many of Willow’s critical high-speed corners, feeling unbalanced front to rear and preventing the rider from carrying the speed necessary for a quick lap. Our tester clocked a 1:33.20 lap at his comfort limit before moving on to the racers.

Compared with its Kawasaki and Yamaha competitors, the GSX-R’s frame and engine design are both a bit dated, but that’s not what keeps it from being the best in its class. The competition is ahead because Suzuki doesn’t make the most of the package it’s got; if it did, Kawasaki and Yamaha would have their hands full, as evidenced by the number-one plate on Yoshimura’s SuperSport machine. No doubt the cure is but a proper jetting change and suspension revalving away, but we’re in the business of testing machines as they’re delivered, and in that state the ’95 GSX-R comes up short.

Check out the other Suzuki samples here:
Overview
Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R750 SuperSport Racer
Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R750 Superbike

This article was originally published in the February 1996 issue of Sport Rider.