While the Suzuki Katana was the highlight at the Japanese brand’s stall in INTERMOT, its flagship litre-class superbike was also on display with a minor update. The 2019 Suzuki GSX-R1000R now gets fitted with stainless steel braided brake hoses replacing the rubber hoses as seen on its predecessor. This should come as a welcome change for track riders as one of the major concerns with the GSX-R1000R was that the brake lever used to feel spongy after repeated hard braking. However, it’s surprising that the base variant still continues to get rubber hoses.
Also, the new GSX-R1000R gets fitted with a new adjustable swingarm pivot thereby allowing track enthusiasts to change the setup of their machine. The base GSX-R1000 now features a bi-directional quickshifter, which thus far was only available in the ‘R’ variant. Both the variants will be now shipped with Bridgestone RS11 tyres that replace the RS10 as seen on the older bike. Visually, the new motorcycle is identical to its predecessor, barring for the matte black finish on the exhaust muffler.
No changes have been made on the mechanical front, the 999.8cc inline-four engine delivers 202hp at 13,200rpm and 117.6Nm of peak torque. The 2019 Suzuki GSX-R1000 range will go on sale in Europe by early 2019 and it’s likely that the updated versions might go on sale in India not long after as the GSX-R1000 range comes in as a CBU. The current GSX-R1000R retails for Rs 19.80 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi).
Azaman Chothia
Vishal Venugopal
