2015 Suzuki GSX-S1000

Suzuki has revealed a bunch of new and refreshed bikes, the most interesting of which is the GSX-S1000 ABS

2015 Suzuki GSX-S1000

Naked superbikes tend to be home-made by riders who crash their faired, 1-litre, race-inspired machine and, instead of paying through the nose for a new fairing and other expensive bits and pieces, stick a headlight and set of bars on it.

Now fans of insane bikes you can ride without wrecking your body trying squeeze on it are in luck. Suzuki has taken its iconic GSX-R 1000, stripped it of a fairing, lowered the peg height, heightened the bars, fitted a comfy seat and produced the GSX-S1000.

Looks good, goes fast but it's fitted with traction control and ABS so at least you stand a chance of staying on it.

By Matt Hubbard

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Suzuki at the Tokyo Motor Show

Graham King looks at what Suzuki has brought to the Tokyo Motor Show

Suzuki’s stand at the Tokyo Motor Show features some cars that are just a bit of fun and some that are much more relevant.

Suzuki is famous for its Tonka Toy-like SUV’s and they don’t come much more Tonka-ish that the X-LANDER. While my inner six year-old wants to push it round the garden, there’s some proper engineering going on underneath. It uses a 1.3-litre petrol with a electric motor built onto the AWD drivetrain. So though it’s based on the same chassis as the ancient Jimny, its fuel efficiency is bang up to date.

Suzuki doesn’t have a Nissan Juke rival yet, but the Crosshiker could be it. It has a new 1-litre, 3-cylinder engine and weighs just 810kg. It’s unlikely a production version would be that light, but it is based on Suzuki’s new lightweight G70 platform.

The current Grand Vitara is getting rather long in the tooth now, but it’ll be replaced by the production iV-4 sometime in 2015. We’ve seen it a few times already this year and at Tokyo it looks more-or-less production-ready. The new Grand Vitara will wade into battle with the Nissan Qashqai sporting Suzuki’s next-gen ALLGRIP four-wheel-drive system.

Article by Graham King

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Catch-up Corner - some stories from the week we missed

Graham King rounds up some the week’s motoring stories you might have missed

Race team launches modified MX-5

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Brand new Range Rover Sport vs ancient Suzuki SJ - which can wade deeper?

Speedmonkey's Colin recently drove a Range Rover Sport through a stream at an impressive 900mm depth.  Check out the video at the bottom to see him chasing a family of ducks down the stream.

Slightly more impressive is this Suzuki SJ in an old quarry.  How deep can can it wade?  

Almost to its roof.  Judging by the video the SJ can drive though water so deep the driver would need breathing equipment before it conked out.

That's impressive.

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Article by Matt Hubbard

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Super exclusive Suzuki GSX-R 1000 ZSE

Suzuki has announced a new special edition, the GSX-R 1000 ZSE.  Only 100 GSX-R 1000 ZSEs will be made - and only 10 will make it over to the UK.

The ZSE gets a whole bunch of features on top of what you would find on the standard GSX-R 1000:

Matt silver bodywork with special graphics
Polished and chrome plated frame
Wheel rims machined and polished with wheel spokes finished with blue paint and clear coat
Blue anodised front fork adjuster, front damper bolt, chain adjuster, steering stem nut, rear swing arm pivot boss
Black anodised front caliper
Blue and clear coated clutch cover, generator cover, engine sprocket cover, rear shock spring
Polished and clear coated muffler, muffler cover and black anodised silencer end cap
Polished exhaust pipes
Polished and clear coated footrest guard
Matt black swing arm
Special speedometer panel design
Special serial number plate
Special key fob
Blue fuel tank cap, headlight inner, drive chain, seat
Black radiator, oil cooler

Other revisions include:

MotoGP Technology:  Throttle response and mid-range engine output have been boosted through the use of lighter pistons, lighter tappets and more aggressive valve lift curves. Delivers greater drive and acceleration for faster lap times.
BREMBO Monoblock Radial Mount Calipers
Showa Big Piston Forks

Slipper Clutch

That's a pretty comprehensive bunch of additions and revisions.  The Suzuki GSX-R 1000 costs £10,999.  There's no price yet on the ZSE.

In standard trim the GSX-R has a 182 bhp 1000cc, inline-4 engine and weighs 203kg.  It's a pretty special bike already.  With its exclusivity the ZSE limited edition is going to be something of a collectors item in the future.

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