Twin-Cylinder Conundrum

TWIN-CYLINDER CONUNDRUM

TL-R or TL-S?

THE TROUBLE WITH HOT, NEW SPORT bikes is that they're only hot and new for a short while. Then, sometimes seemingly overnight, it's out with the old, in with the new.

You certainly could be forgiven for expecting Suzuki's TL1000S to suffer that fate. Introduced just last year, the company's first attempt at a high-performance sport-Twin received mixed reviews. Early press raves gave way to customer rants and then a media feed ing frenzy, which ultimately resulted in a double-fisted recall to fit revised black boxes and steering dampers. Predictably, sales suffered.

Now, along comes the new TL1000R, which addresses all the comolaints about the TL1000S while upping the performance ante. And all for just $500 more. So just pop a bullet in the S-model and put it out of its misery, right?

Wrong.

The TL-S is back for `98, largely unchanged. The revised black box and steering damper now come standard, and you can have any color you want as long as it's black. Price remains unchanged at $8999, but dealers have been dealing.

The question, then, is should you save yourself a few bucks and opt for the TL-S over the TL-R? That's a tough one. If the differences were as dramatic as those between, say, Ducati's space-age 916 and stone-age 900SS, then the decision would be simple But the TL-R and TL-S are much more similar. For one thing, they're powered by the exact same engine-only the state of tune is different. Yes,

the TL-R has better throttle response, and makes 13 more horsepower and 2 more foot-pounds of torque than the most recent TL-S we sampled, but in ordinary riding, you hardly notice a difference.

Same goes for the two bikes' chassis. Though they employ totally different architecture, the most significant differences are the greater effort required to bend the new bike into a corner, and its superior high-speed stability.

What it boils down to is this It you plan to go roadrac ing, you'll appreciate such things as the TL-R's stiffer twin-spar frame, more heat-resistant shock damping, more powerful six-piston front brakes and greater peak power output. But if you just want to go street riding, and you're attracted by the TL-S s sexy half-fairrng, trellis frame and exposed motor, then follow your heart. You really can't go wrong either way.

Brian Catterson