22-06-13, 11:48 AM
The S came out in 97, 125bhp and got rave reviews. But then endless tales of accidents, fatalities and lots of tank slapping action plagued it. Suzuki recalled it and fitted a steering damper, which just seemed to confirm that there was something fundamentally wrong with the bike. Many claimed the weird compact rear rotary damper set up was to blame, others said the front end was just to radical to ever be stable. New prices plummeted as Suzuki struggled to shift em.
They are cracking looking bikes.
Both Honda and Suzuki were tinkering with V twins. Both decided to developed them further. WSB and other series rules limited 4 cylinder bikes to 750cc, but twins could go to a full 1000cc. Manufactures of 4 cylinder bikes protested, and Ducati and Aprillia started winning everything.
So Honda and Suzuki got serious about their twins.
I get the impression that the Honda boys drank coffee, worked out and got plenty of OT in. Meanwhile looking at the TL1000R (now 135 bhp) maybe the Suzuki boys were off to the pub at lunch and out every night popping pills.
The R was available with a race kit, if you had 50 grand to spare, but despite big boasts about thrashing all and sundry with their new creation it wasn't long before team Suzuki were nowhere to be seen as Honda with their more thoughtful creation mopped up all the trophies.
And of course the R1 popped up at about the same time, lighter and more powerful than the R it sold in droves. Honda struggled to shift their beautifully put together SP1 and later the 2, basically just down to price, big discounts were eventually offered to shift em. It's reckoned Honda made a loss selling these bikes. While the R1 and the TL1000R are basic production bikes, the SP1/2 are high spec production bikes in a similar manner as the VFR750R (RC30 and RC45)
The Suzuki engine cropped up in a few other bikes, there was even a Bimota powered Suzi twin. Yeah it got retuned and stuffed into the SV1000, the SV1000 also ditched the rotary shock. The SV was just a bit dull after the mayhem of the R and S. SV1000 makes a darn good buy I think, but it'll never be a classic.
They are cracking looking bikes.
Both Honda and Suzuki were tinkering with V twins. Both decided to developed them further. WSB and other series rules limited 4 cylinder bikes to 750cc, but twins could go to a full 1000cc. Manufactures of 4 cylinder bikes protested, and Ducati and Aprillia started winning everything.
So Honda and Suzuki got serious about their twins.
I get the impression that the Honda boys drank coffee, worked out and got plenty of OT in. Meanwhile looking at the TL1000R (now 135 bhp) maybe the Suzuki boys were off to the pub at lunch and out every night popping pills.
The R was available with a race kit, if you had 50 grand to spare, but despite big boasts about thrashing all and sundry with their new creation it wasn't long before team Suzuki were nowhere to be seen as Honda with their more thoughtful creation mopped up all the trophies.
And of course the R1 popped up at about the same time, lighter and more powerful than the R it sold in droves. Honda struggled to shift their beautifully put together SP1 and later the 2, basically just down to price, big discounts were eventually offered to shift em. It's reckoned Honda made a loss selling these bikes. While the R1 and the TL1000R are basic production bikes, the SP1/2 are high spec production bikes in a similar manner as the VFR750R (RC30 and RC45)
The Suzuki engine cropped up in a few other bikes, there was even a Bimota powered Suzi twin. Yeah it got retuned and stuffed into the SV1000, the SV1000 also ditched the rotary shock. The SV was just a bit dull after the mayhem of the R and S. SV1000 makes a darn good buy I think, but it'll never be a classic.