Japan's Retro-Racer Revival Continues
JAPAN'S RETRO-RACER REVIVAL CONTINUES
SUZUKI AND YAMAHA are making separate bids to grab slices of the growing liter-plus retro-bike market currently being harvested by the Kawasaki ZR1100 and the Honda CB1000.
The most radical move comes from Suzuki, which is preparing to launch a reborn version of its GS1000S, last seen as a new U.S. model in 1979. The new-and-improved GS1 100S will be cosmetically similar to its older sibling, but underneath will be a fully updated version of the machine American racer Wes Cooley made famous in AMA Superbike racing. It will be powered by a retuned version of the oiland-air-cooled GSX-R1100 engine, which will exhale into a 4-into-1 exhaust system.
Changes to the chassis include use of larger-gauge tubular steel for the frame, an extruded box-section aluminum swingarm, advanced piggyback shocks, 18-inch, three-spoke alloy wheels and fully floating brake discs gripped by Nissin calipers.
The bike is tentatively scheduled to debut at the Tokyo Motor Show in October and probably will sell for the equivalent of about $7800.
Also waiting in the wings is the Yamaha XJR1200 (see Roundup, April, 1993), essentially a stripped-down FJ1200 powered by a retuned version of the FJ’s venerable air-cooled engine. Tuning changes thicken the engine’s already prodigious lowand midrange torque production.
Judging by the only prototype outsiders have caught a glimpse of, the FJ’s perimeter frame has been ditched in favor of a retro-style tubularsteel frame; front and rear suspension likely will be supplied by Öhlins, a Yamaha-owned company. Wheels will be 17inch, three-spoke alloys. The XJR is also slated for intro at the Tokyo show, and probably will be priced just under $8000 in Japan.
If these bikes are coming, can an all-new Kawasaki Z1R be far behind? As a matter of fact, it can’t. Expect this sportier version of the current ZR1100 sometime early next year. Plans to sell any of these bikes in the American marketplace are uncertain, at best.
Pat Devereux
