GSX-R1000A

It started with a goal: Reclaim the GSX-R1000’s sportbike performance leadership.The discussion went from there. The fundamental capabilities that make a great sportbike were distilled down to three words: Run. Turn. Stop. Make the GSX-R1000 run better, turn better and stop better than any other sportbike.Run: Build a more compact and lighter engine with class-leading power, delivered smoothly and controllably across a broad rpm range, equally suited for driving hard out of a racetrack corner or accelerating effortlessly onto a public highway.Turn and Stop: Design a more compact chassis delivering nimble handling with excellent front-end feel and braking, as useful for trail-braking on the racetrack as for rolling into tight corners on a country road. Add advanced electronics that aren’t too complicated to actually use, plus bodywork with refined aerodynamics that reduce drag at top speed on the racetrack and improve rider comfort on brisk street rides.In short, develop an unmatched combination of reliability, durability, usability and overall performance with excellent racing potential in a package that works as well for street riders as it does for track-day riders and amateur or professional racers.The work was in the details. Engine dimensions, shape, and positioning affect wheelbase and swingarm length and overall handling, as well as the room available for the fuel tank and air cleaner box and ram-air intake ducts and the width of the frame itself. The frame and chassis design can equally affect engine design, packaging and positioning, including cylinder angle and the throttle body downdraft angle–which in turn can affect combustion efficiency and throttle response and overall performance. It’s all connected.Cue the Suzuki Integrated Design approach, with a dedicated team of talented engine, chassis, electronic and aerodynamic engineers working together on the overall design of a groundbreaking sportbike.

Broad Power SystemBroad Power SystemSR-VVTSET-AS-TFI074-stroke, 4-cylinder,liquid-cooled, DOHC 999.8cm3VVT low rpmVVT high rpmThe design team quickly settled on basic engine design goals. The engine would rev higher and make more peak horsepower, while maintaining excellent low-to-mid-range power and drive. It would be a compact and lightweight Inline Four, DOHC with chain cam drive and four titanium valves per cylinder set at narrow angles, with a more over-square bore/stroke ratio, a higher redline and a higher compression ratio.The details started with bore and stroke of 76 mm x 55.1 mm and 999.8 cm3 of displacement. Followed by a valve train developed in MotoGP competition, using thinner-wall, hollow camshafts operating lighter, F1-style pivoting finger followers. Each finger follower is 6 grams lighter than a conventional bucket tappet (10 grams vs. 16 grams), and because each follower pivots on a fixed shaft, its moving mass is just 3 grams. The lighter moving mass allows maximum engine rpm and valve lift to be increased while improving valve response and maintaining accurate valve control. Each finger follower in the GSX-R1000 is designed based on the actual followers used in the GSX-RR MotoGP racebike, including a DLC coating to increase durability.Finger followers positioned between the valves and the cam lobes are by nature thicker than the top of conventional bucket tappets. To minimize the resulting increase in overall cylinder head height, conventional aluminum valve spring retainers are replaced with thinner, steel valve spring retainers.The exhaust valves are made out of titanium instead of steel, are slightly smaller (measuring 24 mm instead of 25 mm) and are lighter (by 8.2 grams each). The reduction in exhaust valve weight contributes to the engine’s ability to reliably turn higher rpm, and slightly larger (31.5 mm instead of 30 mm) titanium intake valves help add high-rpm power. But exploiting the higher engine speed and increasing the high-rpm power without affecting lower and mid-rpm power presented a challenge. The valve timing needed for higher peak power also reduces mid-range and lower-rpm pow