A monster in more ways than one!
The famous GSXR 1100. Very rare in the Philippines but what a great machine. A motor that was so strong that huge power was able to be attained without turbo or supercharging. Standing 1/4 mile time in the low 10 second bracket and a top speed of between 165-175 was and is dam fast. A truly great bike.
The ones I have listed are the main model changes during its lifetime
Suzuki GSX-R1100 model history 1986—1999
Suzuki year code: G A Year after the presentation of the GSX-R750, a big brother with a 1100cc engine was born. Like its older brother, the GSX-R1100 had a box-frame (steel, not aluminum), full fairing, Full-floater rear swing and a four-cylinder four-stroke engine.
GSX-R 1100 1986 Overall Length: 2 115 mm (83.2 in) Overall Width: 720 mm (28.3 in) Overall Height: 1 235 mm (48.6 in) Seat Height: 810 mm (31.9 in) Dry Weight: 197 kg (433 lbs) Engine type: Air/oil-cooled 1052 cc inline-four, DOHC, 16 valves.
128 hp/ 9500 rpm, 10,3 kg-m/ 8000 rpm.
GSX-R 1100 1987 Suzuki year code: H
Overall Length: 2 115 mm (83.3 in) Overall Width: 745 mm (29.3 in) Overall Height: 1 215 mm (47.8 in) Seat Height: 810 mm (31.9 in) Wheelbase: 1 460 mm (57.5 in) Dry Weight: 197 kg (433 lbs) Engine type: Air/oil-cooled 1052 cc inline-four, DOHC, 16 valves. 130
hp (95,7 kW)/ 9,500 rpm, 103 Nm (10,5 kpm)/ 8,500 rpm.
GSX-R 1100 1989 Suzuki year code: K
GSX-R 1100 1989 Overall Length: Overall Width: Overall Height: Wheelbase: Dry Weight: 210 kg (462 lbs) Engine type: Air/oil-cooled 1052 cc inline-four, DOHC, 16 valves. Slingshot carburetors. Aluminum-alloy frame. 5 speeds. 143 hp (105 kW)/ 9,500 rpm, 112 Nm/ 7,500 rpm.
The 1990 year's GSX-R1100 was upgdraded in the suspension, tires and the swing arm. The inverted Showa front forks together with the new 130/60ZR17 Michelin front tire gave the bike better stability in the front fork and better handling. Even the rear shocker was new, and the rear tire wider (180/55 ZR 17). The swing arm was made longer, giving the bike 35 mm (1.4 in) longer wheelbase and better high-speed stability.
Overall Length: Overall Width: Overall Height: Seat Height: 810 mm (31.9 in) Wheelbase: 1 465 mm (57.7 in) Dry Weight: 210 kg (462 lbs) Engine type: Air/oil-cooled 1127 cc inline-four, DOHC, 16 valves. Slingshot carburetors. Aluminum-alloy frame. 5 speeds. 143 hp/ 9,500 rpm, 117 Nm/ 9,000 rpm.
GSX-R 1100 1991 Suzuki year code: M
Overall Length: 2 090 mm (82.3 in) Overall Width: 755 mm (29.7 in) Overall Height: 1 150 mm (45.3 in) Wheelbase: 1 465 mm (57.7 in) Weight: 226 kg (497 lbs) Engine type: Air/oil-cooled 1127 cc inline-four, DOHC, 16 valves. 145 hp/ 10,000 rpm, 11,6 kg-m/ 9,000 rpm.
GSX-R 1100 W 1993 Suzuki year code: P
Overall Length: 2 130 mm (83.9 in) Overall Width: 755 mm (29.7 in) Overall Height: 1 190 mm (46.9 in) Seat Height: 815 mm (32.1 in) Wheelbase: 1 485 mm (58.5 in) Ground Clearance: 130 mm (5.1 in) Dry weight: 231 kg (509,3 lbs) Engine type: Water-cooled 1074 cc inline-four, DOHC, 16 valves. 155 hp (113 kW)/ 10,000 rpm, 115 Nm (11,7 kg-m)/ 9,000 rpm.
Information and pics come from the really great www.suzukicycles.org
the first truly fast bike i rode was an 86 GSXR750, it blew my tiny little mind, i'd only just graduated from scooters onto 250's and then a GS750, but that gsxr.....
i took it for a ride out of my friends bike shop and ended up heading for the freeway ( as you do) and on the way there ended up on a slip road alongside a main road, looked over my shoulder and saw i needed to get a move on if i was going to beat traffic to the end of the slip road and merge
i gave it a bit of a handful of throttle, up went the front wheel and i steered it out of the slip lane on the back wheel...brown trousers very nearly but felt well proud of myself for that one
turned onto the freeway and really hammered it, got up well into the high end of just below 200kmh and then it started tank slapping, much closer to brown trousers that time
managed to keep it upright ( no idea how) and rode back to the shop at a far more gentle pace
the only other bike i've ridden that did anything like that was a moto martin GSX11 a friend bought, it wheel stood, spun the back wheel and steered across tram tracks uphill all at the same time. i still yearn for that bike. he sold it years later and told me i couldn't afford it....then told me later he'd only got $4K for it, dickhead, i would have sold the Vmax and paid him more than that
The GSXR series were, in my mind, great bikes. They were fast, sometimes frightening but always fun. They had, like many 70's, 80's and 90's bikes, a street presence that just cant be equaled by today's slim line sports bikes fast though they are.
I'd love a slabbie 1100 but too small and rare these days, not many left I guess cos they all got used for what they were designed to do