If you keep tabs on modern motorcycle sales you can’t have ignored the fact that sportsbikes don’t sell that many and – as a result – one of the biggest names in biking is fast slipping away…
The GSX-R family came about in 1984 with the 400cc version in Japan, before the endurance race derived 750 came out a year later, followed by the 1100 and later 600 and 1000cc versions. All of these have offered amazing performance and a low price and, as a result, sold in their hundreds of thousands over the last few decades. For many of us, the GSX-R of any capacity was a real ‘everyman’ sportsbike. And every woman… and racer, and streetfighter rider…
Since 2001 the ‘daddy’ of the GSX-R range has been the fire-breathing 1000cc version – but no more as, for 2023, the current GSX-R1000R machine follows the 750 and 600 into retirement, thanks to Euro5 emissions regulations. The few that are still in UK dealerships will soon disappear, leaving only the GSX-R125 in the official line-up, alongside the Hayabusa and the sports-touring GSX-GT models.
‘Own the race-track’ Suzuki’s ads once boldly trumpeted, but sadly no
