eNewsletter | Contact  

Mild or wild: New GSX-R1000 lets you decide with the push of a button

By Grant Parsons, photos by Brian J. Nelson

Generally, I like to think that there is no such thing as too much power. More is always better.

Just maybe not always, always.

Like maybe not when I'm riding a Suzuki GSX-R1000 on a rain-slick road. Or maybe not when I'm on an ultra-twisty backroad strewn with gravel. Or even, for that matter, not right now, when I'm making my first-ever laps around a dusty California Speedway on cold street tires.

Here, what I really want — you might even say need — is well-modulated power that doesn't come on too strong, spin up the rear wheel and inject way too much drama into the situation. Later, when I've got the track figured out and the tires are warm, the part of my brain that's connected to my right wrist will be ready for all the War Emergency Power you can dream up.

Luckily, the 2007 Suzuki GSX-R1000 I'm riding makes riding at either end of the spectrum as easy as flipping a switch. Its secret is a three-position control called the "Drive Mode Selector." A pair of buttons on the right handgrip allows the rider to toggle among A, B and C maps for fuel injection and spark control and a display on the instrument cluster (right), just beside the gear indicator, reminds you which setting is selected.

In practical terms, C, which I'm using right now, is the softest setting. It makes the thou' feel kind of like its 750cc stablemate, but a bit softer in the middle of the rev range. It takes a pretty ham-fisted throttle hand to break the rear loose, which is, as former 500cc Road Racing World Champion Kevin Schwantz told us earlier, exactly the idea.

So there I was, chasing down Kevin Schwantz, expertly setting him up for the pass... At least that's what I'll say years from now when I've forgotten the truth —  that he passed me like I was parked.

"I think the C should maybe somehow be associated with ‘cops,' " he said. "It's for when you don't want to be attracting too much attention."

Or, when I'm sorting out a new-to-me-track and trying to get a feel for the host of changes Suzuki has made to the production version of the bike that has won eight out of the last nine AMA Superbike Championships.

But the selector switch is one of several tweaks and upgrades that Suzuki has made to the '07 GSX-R1000, which is 2 years into a full engine makeover.

Power is up 4 percent, with the horsepower peak moved 1,000 rpm up the rev band to 12,000. The titanium valves are larger. Gear ratios are juggled to match the new power delivery.

New, smaller fuel injectors have 12 holes instead of 4. Ventilation holes in the crankcase between cylinders reduce power losses from internal pumping pressure. The radiator and oil cooler are larger. Warm-ups and cold starts are less frenetic thanks to a new idle-speed control system.

A new frame and swingarm are said to improve chassis ridgidity and handling. Footpegs are adjustable. Brake discs get an extra two mounting pins to help dissipate heat. The fully adjustable front and rear suspension now sport high- and low-speed compression damping controls.

Other high-tech upgrades include a hydraulic clutch in place of last year's cable-actuated unit, and a servo-controlled electronic steering damper that takes its cues from the engine control computer.

A couple of technologies that worked really well remain. A servo-controlled valve in the exhaust tract communicates with the engine computer to improve low-end torque. And the bike's super-sweet back-torque-limiting clutch gets another spring and reshaped cam profiles for smoother operation.

The biggest downside to the '07 model is weight. Mainly thanks to a larger catalyzer and extra exhaust, the new GSX-R weighs in at a claimed 379 pounds dry. That's a whopping 13 pounds heavier than last year's model in a part of the market where only a few pounds of weight savings are a huge deal.

There may be a lot of tweaks to an already complex motorcycle, but on the track it all…just…works. And works very nicely, thank you very much.

On the C setting, the bike's power is extremely manageable, with both peak ponies and overall power reduced, and there's no drama whatsoever. It'd be my choice for cold tires or a wet commute.

Switching to B, I start to get a feel for the monster power Suzuki built into the engine. Rear-wheel slides on hard acceleration are easier to induce, and my speeds are higher all around the track. On B, power remains below max throughout the rev range, except for the final 2 percent, when it allows full power. You can hear the exhaust pitch change when the throttle reaches WFO.

If B is good, though, A is freaking addictive. It would take an extremely well-controlled throttle hand to get the most out of the full-power setting, but, at least on the ultra-tight California Speedway, A must stand for "Albert Einstein," since it warps both time and space. There's no doubt it makes the distance between California Speedway's corners shorter.

You can switch between settings on the fly and feel the change instantly. Coming onto the banked front straight at mid-rpms in C, I pin the throttle and cycle through the options. It feels like someone kicks the bike's tail section each time I hit the switch, and the power boosts feel like mini-NOS rushes.

Because of that hit, there are times when it's probably not a good idea to punch the button —  such as when you're heeled over in mid-corner, for example. But you do have the option of switching settings at any time. My only question is why the switch is controlled by my right hand, which already had more duties than the left before the switch was added.

As for the electronic steering damper, it works so well I don't even notice it. Constantly adjusting, it allows for light steering at parking-lot speeds, and no headshake at all when I take the fast line through an infield kink that actually runs you off the track and back on through a pavement transition. Impressive.

You get all these changes for an additional four Ben Franklins over '06, with the MSRP coming in at $11,399.

Altogether, it's a host of improvements to one of the most impressive sportbike platforms out there. And far from being a gimmick, the three-position mapping switch makes the bike more usable in more places, from a damp morning commute to track-day fun to full-on racing.

2007 Suzuki GSX-R1000
Engine	Liquid-cooled, 16-valve, inline four-cylinder
Displacement	999cc
Bore x stroke	73.4mm x 59.0mm
Carburetion	Fuel injection
Compression ratio	12.5:1
Transmission	6-speed
Tires	120/70ZR-17 front; 190/50ZR-17 rear
Front brake	Dual 310mm discs, radial-mount four-piston calipers
Rear brake	Single 220mm disc, single-piston caliper
Front suspension	Inverted 43mm cartridge fork, adjustable for rebound damping, compression damping (two-way) and preload
Rear suspension	Single shock, adjustable for rebound damping, compression damping (two-way) and preload
Seat height	31.9 inches
Wheelbase	55.7 inches
Dry weight	379 pounds
MSRP	$11,399