PB’s GSX-R CUP
750h to K8 VIA SRAD. how fAR hAVe we Come? words matt wildee, scott redmond Pics james cheadle
the Suzuki GSX-R750 is the most enduring sportsbike ever built. No bike has remained in production for longer, no bike has defined the times of sportsbike Britian like this one.
PB has always loved GSX-Rs. The original 750F came out the same time as the first PB hit the shelves and we’ve been inextricably linked ever since. Like the magazine, the bike has been a reflection of the times we’ve lived in – from the weaving and wobbling 1980s to the mass centralised hyperreality that makes modern sportsbikes a miracle. Today it’s better than ever – there hasn’t been a GSX-R as well-balanced and as sorted as this one. It’s all down to revolution, combined with evolution. Apart from the dark days in the 90s when obese GSX-R750s wobbled and weaved in the wake of every other superbike, each model has been built with the same thing in mind. Light weight, proper handing, enough power. This bike made the template which all other performance bikes follow. But how much have they improved over the years? Sense says that every evolution of the GSX-R got lighter, better and faster. But did they? To find out we’ve got a 1987 GSX-R750H – the most refined of the first-gen slabsided models, a 1996 GSX-R750WT – the first beam-framed GSX-R and Tim’s 2008 GSX-R750 K8 – the ultimate refinement of the GSX-R. Let’s race! Your commentator, Scott Redmond. Ó Ó Ó
077
076-082_PB_Jan09_ah7.indd 3
20/11/08 12:00:19