1994 Suzuki Rf600r
1994 SUZUKI RF600R
SIMPLY RED, SIMPLY SENSATIONAL
CYCLE WORLD TEST
SUZUKI HAS SEEN THE FUTURE OF THE 600 CLASS, and it has nothing to do with checkered flags, sprayed champagne or well-endowed trophy queens.
The company's company's new RF600R will do battle in the showroom sales wars without benefit of a factorybacked supersport roadracing effort, previously thought to be all-important in the marketing of a 600-class sportbike. Suzuki's flagship middleweight, intended as an all-around machine equally at home, in the twisties, commuting to work or doing light-duty touring, will sink or swim on its own merits.
Fortunately for Suzuki, those merits are considerable.
There’s more than a little irony here, in that the RF might actually make a better racebike than the model it replaces at the top of Suzuki’s 600cc charts, the discontinued-for-’94 GSX-R600 repliracer. The RF makes slightly more rear-wheel horsepower, weighs a considerable 27 pounds less and sprints through the quarter-mile a half-second quicker than the GSX-R, which was basically a 750 with a destroked engine, and always something of a performance disappointment.
Credit the RF’s power increase to a redesigned intake tract on what is otherwise virtually the same liquid-cooled, 16valve, dohc inline-Four as used by the GSX-R. Because the RF engine is mounted in a perimeter-style frame rather than a GSX-R-style twin-backbone type, there’s room behind the cylinder bank for a huge, 6-liter airbox and a set of four downdraft 36mm Mikunis, mounted at a 55-degree incline to give the incoming air-fuel charge an unobstructed shot past the intake valves.
The engine bolts solidly into a frame of pressed-steel construction, hung from brackets that attach to the cylinder assembly-there are no front downtubes. A round-steel subframe serves as mounting point for the seat, rear fender and
various electrical components. A steel, box-section swingarm is fitted, its action controlled by a link-type shock adjustable for spring preload and rebound damping. Up front, a conventional, non-cartridge 41mm fork is used, its only adjustment spring preload via threaded stanchion-cap bolts. Wheels are 17 inchers, an MT3.50 front and an MT4.50 rear, fitted with Dunlop D202 radiais.
Unique not only for its construction but for its use as a styling element, the RF’s main frame is sculpted to mate with the fuel tank’s bottom edge, and is color-matched to the rest of the bike’s bodywork. Suzuki is banking on the RF600’s styling to set it apart from the rest of the bikes in the 600 class. Besides the frame, there’s the sharply creased fairing, accented by side grills that could have been inspired by those on a Ferrari Testarossa. Another dynamic touch is the wide tailsection, which sweeps rearward to wrap around the nicely done taillight/stoplight assembly. It’s topped by a two-piece saddle, the rear portion upholstered in red to match the paintwork.
Bucking recent trends, the RF makes do without splashy graffiti graphics, finished instead in simple, stunning red set off by black wheels and seat, silver-painted fork sliders and swingarm, stainless-steel muffler and a thin black molding line that runs from taillight to chin fairing.
Some observers thought the side grills were a little over the top; otherwise, the RF’s looks drew nothing but praise. It’s both elegant and exciting, striking without being gaudy, definitely a motorcycle with stage presence.
More than just a styling statement, the RF’s fairing does a great job out on the road. The windshield splits air effectively, without setting up annoying turbulence at helmet level. During the course of this test, Cycle World rode three RF600s, one in the U.S. and two in Canada-where, as in Europe, the bike has been on sale for a year. Up North, we ran into low-60-degree temperatures and intermittent rain storms, but in drizzle and brief showers the RF’s bodywork kept hands, knees, shins and feet relatively warm and dry.
Also doing a great job, regardless of weather, is the RF600R’s powerplant. Redlined at 13,500 rpm, the GSX-Rderived motor starts making real power at about 6000 rpm, and pulls cleanly until the rev-limiter cuts in at an indicated 14,000. Setting shift points a couple of thousand revs lower is the best plan, though, as power tails off after 12,000 rpm. Carburetion at all speeds is crisp, with no hint of surging or hesitation, even just after start-up. With 81 rear-wheel horsepower to call on, the RF is a couple of ponies down to Honda’s 1994 CBR600F2, though the class-missile Kawasaki ZX-6 tops them both with an 88.2 reading. At the dragstrip, the RF and CBR are within a tenth of a second of each other; in top-speed passes, the Honda holds a 2-mph edge. The ZX-6-more like a good-running 750 disguised as a 600-is three-tenths quicker in the quarter-mile and 8 to 10 mph faster on the top end. It remains to be seen how the new and as yet unreleased Yamaha YZF600 repli-racer fits into the class performance picture.
Away from test data and out in the real world, the Suzuki’s engine shows its strengths. There are a couple of minor bands of vibration, felt mostly through the footpegs, but nothing annoying. In top gear at 65 mph, the motor is turning a glassy-smooth 6000 rpm, just into the meaty part of its powerband. On backroads, keep the tach between 6000 and 10,000 rpm, play with the upper three cogs in the six-speed box-go down to third for tight passing situations or if you really want some comer-exit urge-and forget the hanging-off histrionics. Ridden in this manner, it’s easy and relaxing to keep the RF at a sevenor eighttenths pace, perfect for all-day GT-type sport-touring.
An outstanding suspension/handling package helps here. You couldn’t call the RF’s suspension plush-it’s sprung just a bit too tautly for that-but for everything short of freeway droning, the fork and shock calibrations are near-ideal. Only sharp-edged jolts defeat the suspension; otherwise it gives a tight, controlled ride and isn’t overly affected by mid-comer bumps-confirmation of well-thought-out settings and a good stiff frame.
While a definitive conclusion will have to wait until CWs upcoming middleweight comparison test, the Suzuki may be the best-steering 600 streetbike yet. Turn-in is precise and accomplished with very little effort. Once heeled over, the RF stays on line and tracks solidly though a corner, with no need for extra rider input at the bars. At sane (okay, and a little beyond) street speeds, there’s no hint of wallow in top-gear sweepers.
If there’s a hitch in the RF’s otherwise stellar gitalong, it’s in the ergonomics department. While the rider’s portion of the seat is roomy and allows for a fair amount of fore-aft movement, its padding is on the firm side, and can wear thin after extended rides. More of a problem on long trips, the bike’s seat-to-footpeg distance is tight, especially for riders whose inseams measure more than 32 inches.
Aside from that, there’s little to complain about. Priced at $6399, the RF is the least expensive front-line 600 of 1994, undercutting the $6499 CBR600F2 and the $6699 ZX-6. Yamaha hasn’t announced the price for the YZF yet, but it could be pushing seven grand. Not that a low price is a guarantee of success: all three other bikes will be formidable competitors. The Honda—reportedly due to be replaced in 1995—is the top-selling Japanese-built bike in America, with a long line of race wins to its credit. The Kawasaki stakes out the same sport-touring territory as the RF, and has a supersport championship and that killer engine on its side. Buyers after a flashy repli-racer may hold out for the Yamaha, scheduled for release in mid-1994.
Ironically, the RF also faces stiff competition from other Suzukis. The Katana 600 will still be sold in 1994. Its airand-oil-cooled engine puts out 7 horsepower less than the new 600, and its looks are decidedly dated after seven model years, but it costs $900 less than the RF, and has consistently been Suzuki’s best seller. Moving up the Katana line, there’s the 750, only $100 more than the RF600. Finally, potential 600 buyers may be lured away by the RF900, built around the same frame, but with upgraded suspension and a healthy dose of horsepower, even if it rings in $1700 higher than its smaller stablemate and will cost more to insure.
It remains to be seen how the new RF600R will fare in the marketplace, but the bike has a lot going for it. Suzuki has built a well-priced machine that shows style and intelligence, understanding that not all 600-class buyers are 17 years old and set on being the next Kevin Schwantz. It’s a good motorcycle—a very good motorcycle—that deserves an audience.
$6399
SUZUKI RF600R
EDITORS' NOTES
IT’S BEEN SOME TIME SINCE.SUZUKI HAS offered a truly competitive 600-class sportbike. Sure, the Katana has always been a very nice bike for the street, and in its youth it even bagged a national supersport championship, but it lacks that certain sporting flair. And although the GSX-R600 was an outright racer-with-lights, it met with modest success, both on the racetrack
and in the showroom.
Now, Suzuki has taken the best qualities from both of these bikes and wrapped them into one well-balanced package. The RF600R steers and handles on par with any bike in its class, taking little more than a thought to bend into slowand medium-speed comers. Its high-speed stability is solid as Gibraltar and its engine performance surpasses that of the GSX-R it’s replaced in Suzuki’s line.
I wouldn’t bet on the RF600R setting lap records anytime soon, but I’d sure give odds that anyone who rides one off the showroom floor will be having far too much fun to even mind. -Don Canet, Road Test Editor
WHAT’S THIS, ANOTHER MID-DISPLACEment sportbike? With the Suzuki RF600’s stateside arrival, potential buyers have no fewer than eight sport-oriented middleweights to pick from in 1994. How does one begin to choose?
The RF600’s basic design-inlineFour, twin-spar frame, conventional fork and full-coverage bodywork-is hardly unique; Honda, Kawasaki and
Yamaha all use the same basic formula. But unlike the multi-talented CBR600F2, the potent ZX-6 or the new YZF, the RF600 doesn’t come with a racing pedigree, and Suzuki has no plans to cultivate one. That could hurt sales, especially to younger riders.
Still, the RF is a well-rounded machine, with light, neutral steering, compliant suspension and impressive protection from the elements. The RF proves that in the 600 class there’s something for everyone. And to discount its competence for lack of a racing résumé would
-Matthew Miles, Managing Editor
be a shame.
WHAT WE HAVE HERE IS A STUDY IN COMpromises. The RF combines performance, style and comfort, maybe better than any previous 600. It’s a middleof-the-road, all-around sportbike that an owner doesn’t have to make performance apologies for and that is comfortable enough to ride for more than an hour at a time.
I’d prefer a half-inch more padding in the seat, inch taller handlebars and half-inch lower footpegs-the RF has great ground clearance so there’s little danger that slightly lowered pegs would detract from handling capabilities. Given those nips and tucks, the RF would make an even better sport-tourer.
As it sits, though, the bike is already a pretty neat deal. It’s not the quickest, fastest or flashiest 600, but it does have a shot at being the best overall 600. With the RF900 waiting in the wings, Suzuki may just be on the verge of having the best one-two sportbike punch in the business.
-David Edwards, Editor-in-Chief
