the Savage and the Smooth

introduction

Why savage and smooth? Well, the GSX-R 750 on test here is the very first spec model that was notorious for its wild-handling chassis while the Yam is a non-UK specification FZR complete with race-ready chassis and fine tuned suspension set-up. The two are, in reality, like chalk and cheese in behaviour. The Yam engine, as a completely new concept and design, was born around the same time as the Suzuki oil-cooled mill but was far ahead of its time, and literally sat around for a couple of years or more waiting for a chassis competent enough to do it justice. The Suzuki engine is a fiery beast and suffers from its earlier family heritage, being directly developed from the late-70s and early-80s air-cooled GS models. Everything about the Suzuki screams excess, from the outdated brakes and handling to the more modern acceleration and performance, while the FZR just gets on with the job in hand without fuss or commotion.

Suzuki GSXR 750
In the mid-80s virtually every aspect of the motorcycling future was accurately predicted and the die for the superbike category had been well and truly cast when the first Gixxer took to the roads. In reality the Gixxer was a real racer on the road with styling cues taken directly from the track machines of the day, and the 100-plus horses that the engine produced were more than capable of doing the biz. The aluminium chassis and magnesium engine covers looked trick and, hitting the scales with an all-up mass of 179kg, was certainly lightweight, but every component that makes it up appears to twist tortuously and warp with the extreme forces on tap. The early model was a lively beast that took some taming even though it was light years better than any road machine previously seen.

The long-stroke engine configuration of the first model enabled the Gixxer to take on the hooligan mantle so ably held previously by the LC350 and gave it a completely new meaning with adrenaline-filled acceleration and serious treble-figure performance. The maximum power was found halfway between the 10 and 11 digits on the dial while the redline arrived a further 500rpm up the scale making what was for the day, a real screamer. The way the engine delivered its 106 horses to the rear wheel was certainly exciting, with very little low-down steam below 7000rpm and a heady rush up to the top of the tacho with the needle hitting the vertical right on the limit of power.
For the unwary, if the power was impressive pottering around, then it must have been positively shocking once the revs rose above the 7000-mark. The Mikuni flat slide carbs do help the low-down driveability but it still gets the blood pumping when the two-stroke-like power band kicks in for real.

The dash is pure race stuff with the three large readouts mounted in a foam surround, the tacho taking pride of place in the centre, exactly where a race bike’s would be. The speedo sits slightly to the left and the fuel gauge, the same size as the other two, flanks the right. The Gixxer is a real gas-guzzler, especially as large amounts of right wrist are required to get it going, making the bike a regular at the petrol station and an unpractical machine to ride over any long distances.
The very first F model introduced in March 1985 was the shortest of the time with a wheelbase a mere 1435mm long. This, coupled with the square section aluminium tubing frame’s inability to keep the wheels in line under power, exacerbated the flighty handling, and the following year the machine was given an extra 20mm of swing arm in an attempt to steady it down a bit. It certainly helped and the 1986 G spec Gixxer became the machine to have if fast riding and track use was your bag.

The wheelbase remained lengthened for the next two years before being drastically reduced with the introduction of the 1988 J model, which had a GP race bike-like 1410mm between each tyre’s contact patch as well as a sharp head angle and trail, potentially adding up to a flighty and difficult machine to control. The handling was kept well in check with a radically beefed-up frame along with the latest in radial tyre technology and improved suspension, in particular the thicker-walled 43mm fork stanchions. GSX-Rs continued to gain weight through their life with thicker and strengthened frame sections in an attempt to get them to handle better.
From 1988 onwards the engine was calmed significantly with the introduction of a shorter stroke engine giving, strangely, more mid-range torque and driveability with some important gains in power and a rev ceiling higher up in the range.

Classic Motorcycle Mechanics November 2004 edition
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