Although some might have been expecting a complete overhaul of Suzuki’s flagship GSX-R1000 for 2012, the bike returns with refinements, rather than a massive redesign. The changes are significant, however, and include new radial-mount Brembo Monobloc front brake calipers, a switch back to a single muffler system, and engine refinements that slightly bump compression and reduce intertia.
A claimed weight savings of over 4 pounds is part of the new package, as are lighter pistons and other engine internals (such as valve tappets).
Styling changes include black coating on the forks and red pinstripes on the wheels. Suzuki states that acceleration is improved, as well as fuel economy as a result of the engine changes. The high-end Brembo brakes might be biggest story, however.
U.S. Suzuki dealerships should begin receiving the 2012 GSX-R 1000 in early 2012. The two paint schemes available in the U.S. are pictured.
Don’t take this the wrong way because I think this motorcycle is an engineering marvel. Especially for the price. My god what a machine…. but… what a waste of time for those folks who want to ride in the real world. A amazingly uncomfortable and narrowly focused, machine that a few things very well and so many others so poorly. And no I’m not against the power. I just think that a performance based chassis like this are wasted for all but a very few capable and serious riders. The rest of us would love to have this power in something with taller bars and a seat/peg combo with more than 45 minute ergos. And I DON”T mean the B-king pig. Come on Suzuki don’t let the Speed Triple have all of the market to itself.
don’t overlook race tracks also make up part of the real world. a decade now into the 21st century even AMERICA can lay claim to having more than a few, with still more new ones under construction. northwest, northeast, southeast, southwest, midwest, etc. ya can’t “throw a rock” i’m tellin’ ya.
Superduckz, sounds like you’re talking about the Suzuki Bandit. Real world power with decent handling at an affordable price. You may even have a hard time using all of the Bandit’s performance on the street as every time you whack the throttle open you are immediately breaking the speed limit wherever you are. It’s a bike that made for the real world with a seating position that is good for 800 mile days if that’s your thing. I need to ride a bike more than 45 minutes before the pain in my wrist and shoulders act up and it’s great that there are options out there.
The BMW S1000rr is still the king in this class, king of unreliability…:)
Good points, and I hope that you’re right about Suzuki’s future survival…
I highly doubt using bike updates and revisions should be the barometer for them canning their moto category. They just released totally revised models in different categories so I dont see this as being indicative of them pulling up stakes
The best superbike hands down. I know Hayes won on a Yamaha, by luck. What racing class do the bmws race. Id like to watch them as well. Anytime I watch ama or dmg or whatever you call it now I dont see the bmws up front. Same for world superbike. Are they in the same class?
It’s easy to expect more horsepower every year, but I’ll gladly take less weight and better handling instead.
That’s what made the old Yamaha FZR-400s (go Google it) so desirable back in the day. They had less power in a tinier package but the handling was stupendous compared to the 600s around then.
I’ll always choose handling over horespower, even in the liter class.
with no mladin or spies in ama, one bike in GP, and one bike in WSBK there was never going to be anything more than this coming out of suzuki. this is the same company who didn’t even import models for ’10. they are hunkered down and weathering the recession just like the rest.
It’s sad though. History has quite often shown that companies that take risks during times of economic strife tend to come out in better shape, while those that “hunker down” tend to go off the map entirely. Being a fan of Japanese engineering, these are quite worrying times.
true indeed. all suzuki needs then is a valuing consumer base and they’re off to the races (pun intended).
How can Suzuki release a new model and have it,somehow,look ten years old?
bc is still a good design ?
not a bad set of updates in these tough economic times…
Wow- this Gixxer looks dated, stale, and third rate compared to the competition. Suzuki is seriously sucking these days, and rumors of them abandoning motorcycle production altogether seem more and more beleiveable…sad.
What rumors? Sources please…
That’s just old stuff dating back to 2008 when they bought back their stock from GM. Suzuki had to hunker down just like everybody else in these hard times but they must be doing pretty good if they’re going to introduce a very updated 650 Vstrom and even bringing the 1000 version back. I do notice that they have changed their lineup for 2012, though. The old GS500 is finally gone, just in time to be absent for the coming quest for bargain bikes. But I’m told it’s because it will no longer pass EPA regs.
Nice!! I want one.
Wow-sah!
Will there be any changes to the suspension? BPF?
I guess BMW owns the superbike class.and it dosent look like its gonna give it up for some time.
In what way? Sales? Race wins? I have seen exaclty one BMW S1000 in the wild since their release. I can’t keep track of all the Suzukis. The BMW is a great bike but this is a huge stretch.
Because in no time at all the moto press hyped the BMW to no end leaving some to think the game was over for competitors. People need to stop bench racing and go ride them all. That’s the only way to tell if a bike fits or it doesn’t.