Suzuki's Storming Standard

SUZUKI'S STORMING STANDARD

ROUNDUP

THERE’S ANOTHER NEOstandard in Japan, but American Suzuki isn't saying much about the new GSF1200, aka the Bandit 1200.

Just introduced in the domestic market, and expected to go on sale in Europe next year, the GSF is powered by an enlarged version of the venerable GSX R1100 engine. Suzuki's latest air/oil-cooled, dohc inline-Four displaces l156cc. As per Japanese law, the engine makes a claimed 97 horsepower. Peak torque, 71 foot-pounds, is produced at 4000 rpm.

Suzuki claims a dry weight of 457 pounds for the 1200, which sells in Japan for 798,000 yen, or $8000 at current exchange rates. Although the GSF looks more modern than Yamaha’s XJR 1200 and Honda’s CB 1000 and is billed as having a “sporting feel,” Suzuki believes its new machine will compete against those models for riders’ hearts and wallets. “Big retrostyle bikes are a growing market in Europe and we’re keen to have a player in the field” says a European Suzuki official.

As is the case with the XJR. the GSF sports two 12.7-inch front disc brakes and a 10.5-inch rear rotor. Unlike Yamaha and Honda, though. Suzuki fit its big standard with a single-shock rear suspension.

Will Suzuki see fit to sell the big-bore standard here? American Suzuki says only, “It is not our policy to comment about models not sold in this country.”

Robert Hough