Latest Posts:
Asphalt & Rubber
Tag

Suzuki

Browsing
Racing

WSBK: Suzuki Slams Sylvain Guintoli for Breach of Contract

By 13 Comments

Some more controversy is brooding for World Superbike rider Sylvain Guintoli, as Paul Denning and the FIXI Crescent Suzuki have slammed the British-living French-born rider for backing out of his 2013 commitments with the team. Issuing a statement to the press, Crescent Suzuki states that Guintoli and the team came to a “full and final agreement” at Magny-Cours, which was singed by the Frenchman.

According to Crescent Suzuki, Guinters made significant steps with the team to test at Aragaon starting today, but since that agreement, Guintoli has informed the team that he has to back out of his testing obligation in order to consider a new offer from a rival team. That rival team is heavily rumored to be Aprilia Racing, which may be scrambling to find a replacement rider for the still undecided Max Biaggi, the now-current World Superbike Champion.

For devout WSBK fans, the statements from FIXI Crescent Suzuki sound similar to those made by Liberty Racing, when the Czech team let Guintoli go mid-season, citing a number of reasons, including the Frenchman’s on-track results. Starting strong early on, Liberty Racing’s swan song started at Monza, and ultimately saw the team release its riders one-by-one, before finally missing the last race at Magny-Cours altogether.

For added Drama Llama, the press statement from FIXI Crescent Suzuki and Paul Denning is after the jump.

Keep Reading
By
Racing

John Hopkins to Take a Year Off from Racing

By 7 Comments

John Hopkins is to take a year out from racing to allow himself to recover fully from the multiple serious injuries that have plagued him throughout the 2012 season. In particular, a nagging hip injury first incurred at Monza has forced the American to take a break from racing, in order to allow his injuries to heal completely before attempting to race again.

It is a rare thing for motorcycle racers to make sensible decisions when it comes to recovering from injury, so for Hopkins to take the step to focus on his recovery is a major step. The American has suffered several serious injuries throughout his career, but his 2012 season has been particularly blighted by bad luck and mishap. His season got off to a difficult start, falling heavily at Phillip Island and breaking his hand at a pre-season test in Australia.

He had already been having difficult with that hand, as he had injured it in a crash at Brno aboard Suzuki’s MotoGP bike, an injury that never really healed properly. After having the finger he had broken amputated when it became infected after multiple surgeries, Hopkins appeared to be on his way back until the crash at Monza in which he broke a hip.

It is a risk for Hopkins to take a year out from racing, as securing a ride for 2014 will not be easy. However, his options at the moment are extremely limited, and with Suzuki set to make a return to MotoGP in 2014, he may yet get a second shot at the championship. After the jump is the press release issued by Suzuki on Hopkins’ decision to take a year away from racing:

Keep Reading
By
Bikes

2013 Suzuki GSX-R1000 “One Millionth” Special Edition

By 41 Comments

In its 27 years of GSX-R branded motorcycles, Suzuki has sold over one million of the peppy sport bikes around the world. Helping commemorate that feat, Suzuki debuted at Intermot this week the 2013 Suzuki GSX-R1000 “One Millionth” Special Edition model, which will be sold in limited quantities (1985 units, to be precise).

Made distinct with its red nose cone and special paint scheme, the 2013 “Millionth Edition” Commemorative GSX-R1000 also comes with black Brembo Monoblock callipers with gold lettering, wheel stripes, gold forks, a celebratory tank graphic, a numbered top yoke, red fork tops, and a special key ring.

No word on what pricing will be, or whether the special edition Suzuki GSX-R1000 will make it to North America. But considering that many of those million GSX-R motorcycles produces landed on American soil, you would think the “Millionth Edition” Commemorative Suzuki GSX-R1000 would as well.

Keep Reading
By
Bikes

2013 Suzuki Hayabusa Gets ABS & Brembo Brakes

By 17 Comments

It’s hard to believe that for over a decade, the Suzuki Hayabusa has gone relatively unchanged from its original form. Sure, there have been some updates — a nose-job here, a face-lift there, but let’s be honest, the engineer responsible for the Suzuki GSX1300R has mostly just been pushing paper around his desk since the Clinton administration.

That tradition has not come to a close for the next model year, though the 2013 Suzuki Hayabusa does get some massaging from the Japanese brand. Updated with an anti-locking brakes system (ABS), the 2012 Suzuki GSX1300R, as it name implies, joins the rest of the GSX-R family in getting Brembo Monobloc calipers.

Keep Reading
By
Bikes

Suzuki V-Strom 1000 Concept – Coming in 2014?

By 22 Comments

While the KTM 1190 Adventure and BMW R1200GS were grabbing all the headlines from INTERMOT today, we think the real news from the adventure-touring section is the Suzuki V-Strom 1000 concept, a nearly production ready bike that will debut in 2014. While Suzuki V-Strom owners we preach from the mountain the off-road prowess of their bikes, the truth is that Suzuki did not have adventure-touring on its mind when it built the V-Strom 1000 (or 650 for that matter), with the emphasis more on the touring side of that designation, than the adventure.

A quick look at the Suzuki V-Strom 1000 Concept for the 2014 model, and that has clearly changed. A bit late to the party, Suzuki has finally put together what looks like a serious ADV bike, which will likely rival other Japanese ADV bikes like the Yamaha Super Ténéré, and give BMW, Ducati, KTM, and Triumph buyers some serious pause before they plop down the extra cash on those premium market bikes.

Keep Reading
By
Racing

Thursday Summary at Misano: Of Fallen Riders, Ducati’s Junior Team, & The ECU Face Off

By 8 Comments

The return to Misano was always going to be an emotional affair, the first time MotoGP has returned to Marco Simoncelli’s home circuit – now renamed in his honor – since the Italian fan favorite was killed in a tragic accident at Sepang last October. Though Simoncelli is being remembered in many different ways during the weekend – nearly all of the riders in all three classes joined for a lap of the track by bicycle this evening – the remembrance has been cheerful rather than mawkish, a celebration of his life rather than mourning at his death.

Fans, riders, mechanics, photographers, journalists, many have made the pilgrimage to Coriano, Simoncelli’s home town just a few short miles from the track, paid their respects and headed to the circuit feeling better for the experience. Simoncelli’s ghost may haunt the paddock at Misano, but happily, he does so in the guise of Casper rather than Banquo.

There is more than enough to keep the minds of those present engaged. Uppermost in most people’s thoughts is Ben Spies’ decision to go to Ducati to race in the Ducati junior team that is to be run by Pramac. Both of the 2013 factory Ducati riders welcomed the signing of both Spies and Andrea Iannone, with Andrea Dovizioso and Nicky Hayden saying it was a good decision by Ducati.

Both Spies and Iannone had proven their speed, and Spies’ experience at the factory Yamaha team would be very valuable to Ducati in helping to develop the bike. There was surprise at Spies’ decision – “I thought he would go to World Superbikes” Dovizioso told reporters – and both men were interested to see how he would perform on the Ducati.

Keep Reading
By
Racing

The Spies Enigma: Where Will Ben Spies Be Racing in 2013?

By 10 Comments

To say that Ben Spies has caused a few surprises in 2012 is one of the larger understatements of the year. Sadly for the Texan, though, those surprises have not come in the form of podiums and race wins, as he himself may have hoped. Rather the opposite, and often through no fault of his own, Spies’ 2012 season has been dogged by bad luck, unusual mechanical failures, and mistakes.

The surprises reached their apogee the week before the Red Bull US Grand Prix at Laguna Seca, when Spies announced he would be leaving Yamaha at the end of the 2012 season. That he should be leaving Yamaha was unusual enough – the factory Yamaha ride is probably the most desirable seat in the MotoGP paddock, as the M1 has proven to be the most competitive bike this season – but his choice of media was extraordinary: a post on his Twitter feed, followed by a more conventional (if unusually timed) phone call to Superbikeplanet to explain his decision in a little more detail.

Since that stunning revelation, Spies has stayed almost silent. He has continually played down rumors about where he could be headed for next season, leaving much room for speculation, conjecture and rumor, some reliable, others much less so. So where will Ben Spies be racing in 2013? MotoGP, World Superbikes, or will he even be racing at all?

Keep Reading
By
Recall

Recall: 2012 Suzuki GSX-R1000

By No Comments

American Suzuki has recalled 4,969 units of its 2012 Suzuki GSX-R1000 superbikes (FYI, the NHTSA has conflicting data on its recall sheet, which suggests that 2009-2011 models are affected, not 2012 — Ed.). The recall is due to loose bolts on the kickstand, which may cause the stand’s interlock switch to fail. If left unattended the fault on the switch will cause the motor on the Suzuki GSX-R1000 to cutout, which could result in a crash.

Keep Reading
By
Racing

2014 Suzuki GSV-R Spotted – The Inline-Four Cometh?

By 16 Comments

The eagle-eyed camera’s over at Cycle World have caught Suzuki conducting tests for its MotoGP project, and the early indications are that the Japanese brand has dropped its V4 motor configuration in favor of a more traditional transverse inline-four cylinder arrangement — at least for this present stage of testing.

Cycle World‘s sources say that while the cylinder configuration may be fairly standard, the 2014 Suzuki GSV-R is anything but your typical four-pot. Showing the makings of a crossplane crankshaft via the bike’s exhaust routing, it would seem Suzuki has taken a page out of Yamaha YZR-M1‘s playbook, with rideablility being the name of the game. If you are keen for a good read, checkout Kevin Cameron’s article on Cycle World for more pictures and his analysis of what they mean for Suzuki’s MotoGP prototype.

Keep Reading
By
Bikes

2012 Yoshimura Suzuki Limited Edition GSX-R’s

By 21 Comments

Yoshimura and Suzuki hold a special relationship, with the aftermarket tuning firm working closely with the Japanese motorcycle manufacturer’s engineers and racing team to develop racing solutions for Suzuki motorcycles. Occasionally that relationship gets extended further, and brings us limited edition production runs of Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R’s.

Basically stock motorcycles with off-the-shelf Yoshimura parts slapped onto them, these limited edition 2012 Suzuki GSX-R600, GSX-R750, & GSX-R1000 motorcycles leave a bit to be desired considering the tuning history of Yoshimura. If you already yawned, it’s best not to click onward past the jump.

Keep Reading
By