Suzuki Racing Asphalt Motorcycles

Carrying the momentum from the eventful Catalunya race, the MotoGP field headed to Sachsenring for round ten of the world championship, giving us another rollercoaster race. While some riders truly hit the ball out of the park, others had a dismal day in the office. Missed the race? Then, allow us to bring you up to date on the happenings.

Suzuki rolled into 2021 with its newly-improved-for-MY2022 ambassador model for the sportbike world, the inimitable Hayabusa. Windtunnel-tested fairing tweaks seek to further improve penetration and reduce drag so you can get the most out of the next-generation in-line four. A beefed-up, model-unique electronics suite helps improve rider safety and control with a new ride-by-wire throttle system that supports a number of the new engine-control features.

Coming off a fresh update in 2017, Suzuki carries its GSX-R1000R into MY2022 with little else in the way of changes. The next-gen “Gixxer” 1000 brought an all-new 999.8 cc powerplant to the table with a claimed 199 horsepower at the shaft and a whole passel of electronic goodies to help manage all those ponies. Traction control, lean-sensitive ABS, launch control and more, Suzuki’s flagship literbike comes equipped with overlapping safety nets to help keep us non-professional riders dirty-side down as we explore our envelope. MotoGP tech influences the design to give you a little taste of track-day performance, or at the very least, ’performance light.’

The 2022 MotoGP title fight is far from over, but if the Catalunya race was anything to go by, it seems no one wants it except for Fabio Quartararo. Wondering why? Well, here’s a list of the winners and losers from MotoGP’s round nine, which will help you understand.

Speed: the one statistic that really gets peoples’ hearts racing, whether you can use it or not! Since the dawn of motorcycling, speed has been the only obsession worth talking about and the top speeds of production motorcycles have climbed steadily over the decades. At one point, the manufacturers were scared things were getting too fast and feared legislation would clip their wings, but that seems to have gone by the wayside since Kawasaki launched the H2. Here’s our list of the top ten fastest motorcycles, whether they are still in production or not.

Kickstarting with back-to-back races, the MotoGP paddock headed to the gorgeous Mugello circuit in the Tuscan mountains, giving us yet another nail-biting race filled with home glory, heartbreak, and, most importantly, action.

Let’s look at the winners and losers from round eight of the 2022 MotoGP season.

Suzuki keeps improving and expanding its signature supersport series, and the 2022 GSX-R750 carries the torch first ignited by the original Gixxer 750 all the way back in 1984. Granted, the “late model” Gixxers dropped the steel frame in favor of aluminum, and the air-cooled engine has been replaced with a jacketed mill, but the overall mission for the bike remains the same: to provide the general public with the most race-ready production bike available for legal use on the street. Of course, the rest of the market has caught up to Suzuki and the supersport segment is flooded with similarly capable rides — and a good number of more capable sleds — though the most race-tastic of them are far more expensive than the $12k-ish GSX-R750.

The Suzuki MotoGP team has established itself as one of the strongest teams in the paddock over the past few years. They even bagged a world title in 2020 and are currently one of the title favorites this year.

You’d expect such a strong team to be regular sighting in the MotoGP paddock for years to come, but in a shocking move, Suzuki is looking to exit from MotoGP at the end of 2022.

Suzuki improved its GSX-R1000 ahead of MY2020 in a bid to “reclaim the King of Sportbikes crown” as the factory so succinctly puts it. This rebuild comes close on the heels of the last revamp that landed just a couple short years ago, but it adds some significant features, most of which can be found “under the hood” or in the electronics suite. A couple of tweaks to the frame tune handling characteristics while the cornering ABS feature and variable valve-timing engine carries over from the previous generation. All in all, Suzuki turns in a very streetworthy racebike that’s nothing short of a technological showcase on two wheels.

It’s a Hayabusa. Is there really anything more to be said? Suzuki’s Gixxer 1,340 cc monster speed machine is back again for 2020. The ’Busa is one of the biggest sportbikes out there, so yeah, big and heavy; you don’t want to go slow for very long. Once at speed, the bike is in its element. Look up ’Stupidfast’ in the dictionary and you’ll find a picture of a Hayabusa.

Remember that special GSX-R 1000R with carbon-fiber fairing, top-spec exhaust, race-styled screen and lever guards we spoke about last week? Well, we thought that this was a limited edition affair to showcase Yoshimura’s involvement as the former’s official partner for the upcoming MotoGP season.

At least we were right about the limited edition part. What it is, is the Suzuki GSX-R1000R Ryuyo. It is a not so cheap, nor can be ridden on the street version of the “King of Sportsbike” that gets a bump in power to a crazy 212 hp while losing out a huge 77 pounds, courtesy - so much carbon-fiber.

A British Suzuki Motorcycle dealer from Swindon has commissioned a special GSX-R1000 Pepsi GP Edition. It pays homage to GP legend, Kevin Schwantz and his 1988 Pepsi-sponsored RGV500 that went on to win his 500GP title. The limited run motorcycle celebrates the 25th anniversary of this feat and the 30th anniversary of the Pepsi scheme on motorcycles.

Only 25 units of this special edition will be ever made, and each bike is numbered and bears the signature of the man himself along with the iconic number 34. Each one of them will come with a price tag of £13,999 ($19,500), $4,500 dearer than the GSX-R1000 ABS edition the bike it is originally based on.