Lightweight aluminium alloy frame incorporated 45mm box
tube main section and cast swing arm pivot
Front Suspension
41 mm
Upside-down telescopic fork, adjustable spring preload, 8-way damping,
10-way compression
Rear Suspension
Full-floater Monoshock 4-way adjustable for preload rebound damping
Front Brakes
2 x 310 mm Discs, 4 piston calipers
Rear Brakes
Single 280 mm disc, 1 piston caliper
Wheels
Alloy, 3 spoke
Front Rim
3.5 x 17
Front Tyre
120/70 ZR17
Rear Rim
5.5 in x 17
Rear Tyre
170/60 ZR17
Wheelbase
1420 mm / 55.9 in.
Dimensions
Length 2070 mm /
81.5 in.
Width
730 mm / 28.7 in.
Height
1135 mm / 44.7 in.
Seat Height
790 mm / 31.1 in
Dry Weight
208 kg / 459 lbs
Wet Weight
249 kg / 549 lbs.
Fuel Capacity
21 Litres
/ 5.5 US gal / 4.6 Imp gal
Average Consumption
6.8 l/100 km / 14.8 km/l / 34.8 US mpg / 41.5 Imp mpg
Braking 100kmh -
0 / 60 mph - 0
36.5 m / 120 ft
Braking 60 kmh -
0 / 37 mph - 0
13.8 m / 45.3 ft
Standing ¼ mile
10.88 sec / 201.7 km/h / 125.3 mph
Top Speed
247.3 km/h /
153.6 mph
Colours
White/Blue
The 1991-year's GSX-R750M weighed 15 kg more than the previous model! Some
Suzuki sales brochures didn't even bother to quote a weight figure. The
weight factor alone sends this bike to the back of the GSX-R pack. New
aerodynamic fairing with slanted nose to reduce frontal drag, with
distinctive headlight cover and running lights. The seat was enlarged and
twin tail lamp design graced the backend. The oil-cooled SACS engine
received internal refinement of adopting one rocker arm per valve from the
previous of one per two valves, stronger valve springs and an exhaust cam
with 7 degrees less duration to give 116 hp.
GSX-R 750l History 1988-1991
In addition to SACS and Hyper
Sports, this Suzuki GSX-R also had ‘Slingshot’ emblazoned on its flanks. This
came from the bike’s redesigned Mikuni carburetors, which had straighter intakes
for better combustion efficiency. This GSX-R, with its then radical, all-new
styling, looked menacing. Mess with it and it would kill you.
Power was up to a real world 92 horsepower and the bike was capable of doing
more than 230km/h in a straight line. The new, shorter stroke 749cc inline-four
got a new bottom end (adapted from Suzuki’s own GSX-R1100), revved quicker and
higher than the old model’s engine and was less peaky. While the older GSX-R
didn’t wake up at all before 7,000 revs, the new one started making its grunt
from 5,000rpm onwards – a big improvement for low speed, city riding. In a
surprise move though, the M model went back to a longer stroke engine (perhaps
to improve rideability and further reduce peakiness…?), which also made a
genuine 100bhp for the first time.
The bike’s chassis was a strengthened, beefed-up version of the first GSX-R’s
perimeter alloy frame, and steering geometry was made more radical in order to
quicken the steering. The M version was the first production motorcycle to get
upside-down (USD) front forks, which are now almost ubiquitous on all sports
machinery. The ‘Slingshot’ GSX-R also got wider wheels, stickier rubber and
higher-spec, multi-adjustable suspension – all of which helped in making it a
better tool for the racetrack, where a lot of these bikes ended up being used.
With its near unburstable engine and its proclivity for wheelies, stoppies and
other acts of assorted two-wheeled hooliganism, this was a ‘proper’ Gixxer and a
worthy successor to the first bike.
Review
by Trevor Franklin
It was on the exit to a second gear corner
on my way home from the office. It was dark, and the reasonably
adequate twin idlights were picking out the black, asy surface
as they had done several times already.
But there was something strange about way
the bike was responding to an enusiastic fistful of throttle.
The back of bike felt soft and the bars were just
beginning to edge toward opposite lock. Finding rather less
friction than usual the rear Michelin had started to slew
sideways until, after 30 or 40 yards, it must have been two or
three inches out.
The sudden dawning of realisation snapped
the throttle shut and with barely a quiver the bike snicked back
into line. All a complete accident, of course, but it
illustrates exactly the GSX-R's flawless engine and chassis
response. Even with minimal protection of jeans and a leather
jacket I hadn't felt frightened or relieved; just impressed.
The 750L can't help being impressive. It
sets new standards for power in its class, has the finest
suspension of any production roadbike, carburates impeccably and
will smoke a quarter in 10.89 seconds, making it the first 750
to get inside the elevens. Within the constraints of its design
brief and price it's pretty close to ideal. Add a little more
torque, higher gearing and a V4 exhaust note and it could be an
RC30. It wheelies over bumps like one. Yum yum yum.
The philosophy is basic GSX-R (light,
powerful motor, racing steering geometry and the widest tyres
current technology will permit) with a refinement: soft, soft
springing, front and rear, backed up by very high quality
damping. The advantages are ride comfort and the highest
possible degree of wheel control, tuneable to any conditions.
The disadvantages are that it's all very confusing; it interacts
subtly. Even a passer-by fiddling with the SUZUKI
rear compression damping knob will upset the rider, and working
out what's wrong is another matter.
In fact, unlike the 1100, the 750's stock
settings are very good but because you, the rider, have all that
adjustment, you end up desperately wondering if you've got it
right instead of just riding the thing. I felt in constant fear
of a man in an Ohlins van pulling up alongside me at the lights:
"Hah! What are ya? Rear rebound on position three? Yer wanker."
Etc, etc. Fortunately this never happened.
Riding the GSX-R on the open road is a
world of minimal effort, almost a state of grace. For a start,
it makes the 1100 feel like a tank. You can place the 750
exactly where you want with time to spare, flick it into bends
with opposite body lean like Kevin Schwantz, climb off it for a
right-hander while the bike's still exiting the previous left.
One finger pressure on the bars — I tried this — is enough to
guide the bike accurately through a 90mph corner.
It's not just smooth progress; the bike and rider seem to flow
over the countryside, egged on by a delicious sense of
relaxation at speed. The frame and engine seem semi-independent
of the road surface — only occasionally does a major shock get
through.
This is the Suzuki at its best. Nothing
can match the isolation of the unsprung mass from road shocks.
The motor revs so incredibly smoothly, the motion of the
suspension is so refined, the gliding sensation so complete...
it's as if every bearing in the engine, wheels, chain and Full
Floater linkage is working at the peak of perfection, greased by
the finest grease in the world. The whole bike is a study in
chassis excellence.
The motor suits this character perfectly.
Apart from the sheer brute force of 95bhp (125mph in under 11
seconds and all that) it's the smoothness and evenness which
impresses. It needs choke first thing in the morning but you can
knock it off straight away and get a clean-running, driveable
motor which ticks over evenly. When it's warm it'll take 25mph
in top, the well-damped response from the 38mm CV Slingshots
permitting snatch-free acceleration at any revs in any gear.
Transmission slop is absent.
Power builds so smoothly that the sensation of acceleration is
disguised compared with the slower but gruntier VFR. It takes a
speedo check to realise how fast the GSX-R is travelling
sometimes. If you really go looking for it the motor goes a bit
dead between 5,000 and 8,000, pulling strongly below these revs
and... very strongly above.
The killer action is between 10,000 and
12,000.
The large tarantula in the ointment is fuel consumption. The
GSX-R guzzles gas so greedily that its vast, 5.5 gallon fuel
supply disappears into the atmosphere before you can believe.
Solo (open, dry) road use gave around 33mpg and a range of 150
miles (including nibbling into reserve). The best figure I got,
38mpg, was during the enforced restraint of pillion carrying.
Riding the bike round town for those vital urban fuel figures
was so bloody awful I didn't bother.
Meanwhile, the pillion: detailed comment
was unavailable due to an abundance of four-lettered expletives.
The footrests are too high, the seat is slippery, there's no
grab rail, the passenger's head sticks up into the airstream and
all his/her weight is taken through the coccyx. Apart from that
it was luxury. For the rider, the extra weight and
responsibility completely kill the bike's fast-turning,
hard-braking ability. You have to ride the bike so gingerly that
the wrist-heavy riding position starts hurting within ten miles,
whereas solo is good for 200. If you're planning lots of two-up
riding, slow riding, or both, buy something else.
In day to day use the Suzuki coped
reasonably. A tiny magnetic tankbag will just about fit but
carrying luggage on the back isn't really possible if you value
your paintwork, and the stooped riding position rules out a
rucksack if you value the blood circulation in your arms.
The steering damper isn't noticeable at low speed, but with
suspension this good stability isn't a problem anyway. Still,
it's nice to know that if you want to ride like an idiot you can
get away with it.
After two weeks I came to the conclusion
that the GSX-R is too delicate a creation for real life. I could
already feel road grit in the damping adjusters. If it were
mine, I'd have simply refused to ride it in the rain. All that
bare alloy — it'd be a crime to use the bike at all in winter.
An astonishing bike to ride, but make sure you understand its
limitations before you buy one.