Suzuki Unveils Cbr600-Killer
SUZUKI UNVEILS CBR600-KILLER
ROUNDUP
HONDA'S CBR600F2 HAS been a sales and racetrack star, and now, in a bid to cash in on some of that success, Suzuki has unveiled a bike intended to topple the CBR from its throne.
This new bike, recently shown in Germany to the gathered European motorcycle press, is called the RF600R and would seem to presage a new generation of Suzuki sports machinery aimed at riders who desire high performance—the RF600R's engine is said to produce 99 horsepower—with a moderate riding position.
For reasons not fully ex plained by Suzuki, this new bike's launch was unencum bered by technical de tails, but what is clear is that Suzuki has opted away from radical tech nology, with the bike's engine being a direct develop ment of the latest liquid-cooled GSX-R750 engine. It uses 16 valves, a 4-into-i ex haust, and revs to 13,500 rpm through its six gears.
Dunlop radials are fitted to 17-inch wheels, with twin 11 .4-inch rotors and a pair of four-piston calipers up front, and a smaller single disc at the rear. Suspension is convention al, with a 41mm non-inverted fork, adjustable only for pre load, and a fully adjustable sin gle-shock rear suspension.
bike look decidedly un-Suzuki is its frame, which seems to mimic Yamaha's Deltabox style more than it does the fa miliar GSX-R wide-loop look. Built of steel, the frame uses the engine as a stressed mem ber and is painted to blend into the all-enclosing bodywork, giving the bike what Suzuki's ever-inventive copywriters are pleased to call, "A low-slung, glamorous form that presents a dynamic impression.. .a fine, mystical beauty like a well figured female form."
Yes, well, the RF600R does indeed have a distinctive shape, but one thing's for cer tain: It isn't small. Its size is in the same ballpark as that of Kawasaki's current ZX-6 or Suzuki's own Katana 750, but with its waisted tank and sad dle area, and relatively easy going riding position, once you're aboard, the bike feels smaller than it really is.
For the moment at least, the RF would seem not to ring the death knell for the Katana se ries, but it seems clear that the RF600R does represent one facet of Suzuki's future. The first shipments of RF600Rs are expected to arrive in Eu rope in January or February in either bright red or silvery blue, with no hint at all about any introduction of the bike to the American market. Also, no price has been suggested, but if it isn't completely out of line, the bike should sell very well.
Chris Dabbs
