2005 Superbike Smackdown II Track Conclusion

A legend in the motorcycle industry, Duke Danger is known for his wheelie riding antics, excellent writing skills, appetite for press intro dinners and a propensity to wake up late. Once a fearless member of the MotoUSA team, the Canadian kid is often missed but never forgotten.

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Not only did the GSX-R rank highly in the most categories, it ranked poorly in none. Here, Hutch searches unsuccessfully for flaws.

Conclusion

So how good is this newest of Gixxers on the racetrack. Well, consider that of our 10 categories, the Suzuki scored top marks or was tied for the best in no less than six of them (view scorecard). Perhaps even more remarkable is that it was ranked outside the top-two positions in only one category (suspension), and even then it performed right up there with the others.

Although it may have come up just a couple tenths short of the ZX's best time in Roberti's hands, most of the rest of us went quicker on the more versatile GSX-R.
"I found the Suzuki one of the harder bikes to ride because it is so capable," Becklin praises with faint damnation. "The shortish chassis combined with the jet propulsion makes a rider's ability (or lack thereof) come to the forefront very quickly."

This new GSX-R1000 provides almost everything the defending class champ ZX-10R does, and it accomplishes it with a more stability and finer control of its power delivery from what is now a new class benchmark.

And with things like an adjustable swingarm pivot, captured wheel spacers, a generous racer contingency program and tons of aftermarket support, it's easy to see how the Gixxer Thou gets the victory in MCUSA's track portion of Superbike Smackdown 2.

The tagline in Suzuki's ads for the GSX-R touts, "If you don't win, it's your fault."

We'd have to agree, and so would Mat Mladin.

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It took a lot of work to bring this test to you, and we wouldn't have been able to get it done without the assistance of the generous people and companies listed below.

EDR Performance Eric Dorn Dyno Runs
Tigershark Racing Josh Bryan Tire Changes 503/358-5704
AIM Sports MyChron Light TG Lap Timers
Viosport Helmet Cameras
GP Suspension Dave Hodges Changing Fork Seal on the Ducati
Hansen's Motorcycles Mason Hansen Fork Seal for the Ducati
Dunlop Tires DOT Race Tires
Ducati, Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki and Yamaha
Test Riders Shawn Roberti and Mike Mitchell
Photographers Tyler Maddox and Tom Lavine

Posted in: 2005 Superbike Smackdown II Track Conclusion