Fours N' More Gsx-R1100
FOURS N' MORE GSX-R1100
DON'T LET THE APPEARANCE of this Suzuki GSX-R1100 deceive you. Sure, it looks like a standard motorcycle, and it even feels like a standard motorcycle when you sit on it. But it goes 168 miles per hour and rages through the quarter-mile in 9.96 seconds at 150 mph. If those numbers aren't impressive enough for you, try this one on for size: It costs $11,729, not including the cost of the bike.
Fours N' More (7l16 Canby St., Canoga Park, CA 91335; 818/ 996-8109), a California hot-rod shop owned by John Cordona, put this bike together for a customer. Cordona is famous for his outrageous motors, and when the satisfied buyer dipped into the throttle a bit too enthusiastically during his first ride on the bike, he got to spend the night in jail, courtesy of the local police. So when Cordona received our Built for Speed invitation, he thought the GSX-R Standard would be the perfect bike for us. Call it Exhibit A in the cost-be-damned race for megahorsepower.
Of the bike's styling, Cordona says, “1 wanted to do something different with a GSX-R. I like large, standard motorcycles, and it was a challenge to make the GSXR comfortable.” Cordona removed the bodywork, and had footpeg brackets made that moved the pegs forward and placed them lower than stock. He used a Storz handlebar clamp which permitted him to replace the stock clip-ons with a traditional handlebar. He also mounted a round headlight to complete the standard look.
That was fairly mild compared to what Cordona did to the engine. The headwork alone cost $2777, and includes porting, new valves, valve guides and valve springs with titanium retainers. Then came a Wiseco big block bank of cylinders that raises displacement to 1245cc. Wiseco pistons originally fora built-up Suzuki GS1 150 had to be reshaped to fit properly, and the compression ratio was raised to 12.0:1.
A set of Carrillo rods, an undercut transmission and a Barnett clutch pack replaced the stock pieces. A quartet of Mikuni 40mm flat-slide carburetors, a racing ignition box and an air-shifter kit with on-board compressor just about finished up the performance work. Cordona, not wanting to leave a single horsepower untapped, plumbed in a nitrous oxide system from NOS Systems.
Cordona thinks that without the N2O, the engine makes somewhere between 165 and 180 horsepower, and when the nitrous is flowing, the output soars to more than 200 horsepower.
By the way the bike jumped, wheelied and spun its wheel at the dragstrip, it was obvious that the Suzuki had outrageous amounts of power. Even with a steering damper taming its initial speed wobbles, the GSX-R commanded all of quarter-mile artiste Jay Gleason’s attention. “This thing is an animal,” he shouted after one pass where the front wheel spent more time in the air than on the ground.
Certainly, the Fours N’ More bike is one of the most interesting of this year's BFS group. It’s a blast to ride on the street, feeling much lighter and more responsive on tight roads than a stock model. With its all-day comfort, and 9second, 168-mph motor, this GSX-R is one standard-style motorcycle that is anything but standard. — Camron E. Bussard
