#gsx-r600

Jim Lindemann was a genius in the suspension business who saw opportunity where others didn’t – by improving upon the suspension a motorcycle came with from the factory. Many moons ago, when Kawasaki Ninja 250s were littering race tracks as a fun and inexpensive way of getting into racing, competitors were replacing their shocks with aftermarket pieces. Lindemann, in keeping with the inexpensive nature of the class, modified a stock shock and gave it adjustable rebound and compression circuits, along with a remote reservoir to house the pressurized fluid, all for less than the aftermarket shocks on the market at the time. The result? I set a lap record around Willow Springs Raceway using that shock on a Ninja 250 (that was beaten a lap later by another racer). 

The International Motorcycling Federation (FIM) has released provisional regulations for the revamped World Supersport championship, including new motorcycles being added to the series as “Supersport Next Generation” models.

By now you should know quite a bit about the new, 2017 Suzuki GSX-R1000 (and, by extension, the GSX-R1000R), since we’ve written a lot about them lately. We’ve gone over technical details and riding impressions mainly, and while those are obviously the most timely and important things people want to know about the bike, we’ve got even more nuggets of information about the new GSX-R, learned from the recent U.S. press introduction of the standard model the Monday following the U.S. Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas. Factoids, if you will, these little bits of info didn’t really find a home in our First Ride reviews, but we had to share them with you somehow. So, herein are nine things you didn’t know about the 2017 Suzuki GSX-R1000.

“You guys never say anything bad about the bikes you test.”

Army veteran Brandon Jenkins was just minding his own business, waiting for the lights to change when a man ran up from behind and tried to pull him off of his Suzuki GSX-R600. He didn’t know at the time, but the man was fleeing from police for an alleged hit-and-run. Jenkins quickly assessed the situation and fought back as his assailant tried to steal his bike.

It’s a question we’re asked all the time: “What’s the best motorcycle for a new rider?” It’d be great if we could give the same answer every time, but in reality the answer depends on many factors – rider size, competency, wants, needs, and desires among them. Small displacement bikes are generally a good place to start, but read enough forum commenters and before long you’ll find someone who shares their tale of how they started on a literbike and lived to tell the tale.