Suzuki Gixxer SF race bike review, test ride

Perhaps the best of all the new bits on the race Gixxer SF are its soft, race compound, radial tubeless tyres from MRF. I’m a couple of laps into the test, comfortable now in a tight tuck behind the bump of the SF’s dinky visor, belting down the straight with the bike nudging a true 125kph, struggling to sight the last of the brake markers, where I’ve been jumping on the brakes, these box-stock units just the same as on the street bike. I left braking to the very last fraction, even after the 50m marker on occasion, despite which the ultra-sticky MRF’s and race SF simply worked brilliantly as a package, doing nothing other than simply stopping, no drama, no wallowing, no shimmying at the rear, nothing! And this was no fluke, for I spent a good hour out on the track, and it stayed a constant lap-after-lap.

Apart from its new-found lightness thanks to losing flab in key areas, the SF’s riding position now suits a race bike, new alloy footpegs shifting backwards, and the bike front end dropping 20mm down on its forks, with true clip-on bars now in place. You can see the Gixxer SF has lost its headlight, and a new cowl covers the rear seat. The Gixxer Cup SF makes a reasonably attractive looking race machine, although there’s room for improvement when seen from the rear, where the tail fairing is much too bulbous.

A salute to the stock Gixxer SF, the race bike remains in pretty close to stock trim, the engine virtually untouched save for a new primary gear ratio, the front sprocket now one tooth up, a freer air-filter and free-flow exhaust bolted on, thanks to which there’s a loud, race typical tone.