BIKETEST:The new Suzuki GSX-R750 is a magical piece of work, says Tom Robert, and it's hard to find any faults with it
GOOD MORNING everyone, and welcome to today's class in Zen Buddhism. Today's koan riddle is, like everything else in Japan, extremely simple in an extremely complex kind of way, and it is this: how do you improve on perfection?
Any thoughts? Yes, Murphy-san? "The new Suzuki GSX-R750, sir?"
Splendid, young Murphy. You will go far. Yes, as you all know, the original Suzuki 750 was the motorcycle of choice for what are known in the trade as headbangers: the sort of chaps who worked in call centres all week, went home to slightly overweight wives and 2.4 children in a semi in the suburbs every evening, and needed to go out and spend a couple of hours close to the edge every weekend to remind them that life was possible after all.
Anyway, where was I before I rudely interrupted myself? Ah yes - there were many who thought the latest incarnation of the 750, the GSX-R, two years ago, was as close to the perfect motorbike as you could get: at least as fast as the 1000cc superbikes on the track, because its power was a little more malleable, and certainly quicker on the road than 600s because of its higher torque.
You would think, then, that with Honda, Kawasaki and Yamaha dropping 750s from their ranges, Suzuki would be content to sit back and bathe in the glow of satisfaction from knowing that they had a stupendous bike in an empty market.
Well, not a bit of it; for the past two years, the boffins at Suzuki Central have been stiffening the engine covers to cut noise and vibration, beefing up the exhaust to cope with emission rules from those bothersome bureaucrats in Brussels, shaving weight and size off the starter motor, tweaking the pistons and valves, stretching the wheelbase and improving the suspension and front brakes.
As those of you with a better memory than I have will remember, I loved the GSX-R600 and the 1,000, both of which came with the handy mode button, which gave you three bikes for the price of one.
Mode C was for wusses or wet conditions, mode B was for regular road use and mode A was for when you got fed up having a licence.
On the 1.0-litre version, mode A reminded you that the R after the GSX stands for "racing", mode B softened the power curve up to about 9,000rpm and mode C, which cut the power to under 120bhp, was for riders who would probably be more comfortable on the 600 or 750, but wanted to look like men of steel.
Well, if you're one of those riders who think the 600 is too dinky, and the 1,000 too scary, this is the perfect bike for you.
It looks elegant yet purposeful, which is hardly surprising from a company that produces icons of beauty like the Hayabusa, and the ride is the same effortless rush that we've come to expect from Suzuki.
The power delivery and clutch are even smoother, and the glorious howl from the exhaust as the engine surges eagerly all the way to the red line, just under 15,000rpm, will encourage you to ride it hard without ever feeling that it will catch you out.
Slowing down is almost as satisfying an experience as accelerating, with a silky slipper clutch making changing down through the gears a seamless performance and those improved front brakes biting like Dracula after Lent.
In cornering, the 600 never had the twitchiness of many smaller bikes, and the 750 is even more sure-footed, with that lengthened wheelbase and the tweaks to the suspension making it relentlessly stable no matter how hard you push it.
In short, the previous 750 was pretty much perfect and this one is even more perfect, if such a thing is possible.
Anyway class, enough of this perfection theory.
I have decided, since it is such a fine day, to give you the afternoon off - so I strongly suggest you make your way to the nearest Suzuki dealer and find out for yourselves if what I have been saying is true.
Enjoy, and do keep the shiny side up. Class dismissed.
Factfile: Suzuki GSX-R750
• Engine: 749cc, liquid-cooled four-cylinder four-stroke with 16 valves; 148bhp at 13,200rpm, 64lb ft of torque at 11,200rpm
• Transmission: six-speed gearbox, chain final drive
• Performance: top speed 170mph, average fuel consumption 38mpg
• Price: €12,950. Contact Priory Motorcycles, Boyne Road, Dublin Industrial Estate, 01-836 4567. Price in the UK £8,200. Test bike supplied by GS Motorcycles, Lisburn Road, Hillsborough, 028-926 89777