INVERTED SNOBBERY
The GSX-R1100K was a bit of a handful and Suzuki’s successor, the 1100L, was supposed to turn all that on its head – literally, as it was the first Suzuki model with the soon-to-be-fashionable inverted or ‘upside-down’ front forks…
It’s fair to say it was form and function that led to the changes to the mighty Suzuki GSX-R1100 becoming the ‘L’ model for 1990 – that’s more than 30 years ago now…
If we delve into history, Suzuki’s GSX-R1100 was an impressive sports bruiser of a motorcycle. Coming out in 1986, the 1100G was based heavily on the previous year’s trend-setting GSX-R750F. So, it aped the looks of little brother, sharing a similar-looking MR767 aluminium box-section ‘double-cradle’ frame, the ‘Full-Floater’ swingarm, and a 1052cc motor which would become legendary in tuning and drag-race circles. Or should that be drag-race ‘straight lines’? Like the 750, cooling would be a combination of air/oil, but power was a mighty 128bhp claimed at the crank at just under 10,000rpm. Weight would be 197 kilos dry, but this would creep up as the various models progressed.
So it was that by 1988 the K-model 1100 weighed in at around 210 kilos dry, albeit with 10bhp more at around 9000rpm. But it was the suspension and overall geometry that seemed to be the main issue – the 1100K was, in fact, a bit of a wobbler…
While the preceding H and J models had been refinements of what went before, the K-model had some big changes and it (again) followed the looks and design of the previous year’s 750J GSX-R, known almost universally as the ‘Slingshot’. In came an 1127cc motor, which had been seen on the GSX1100F sports-tourer from 1987, which was (effectively) simply slotted into the GSX-R750J’s chassis. Peak power was well up, thanks in part to those 36mm carburettors, and torque was up from 76lb-ft of the 1100J to 82-85lb-ft of the K, but the chassis seemed hard pressed to cope, even if the styling was fresh and new.
Launched at the relatively new Jerez race circuit for 1989, the billiard-table smooth circuit didn’t show up any major issues. But when the bikes came back to Blighty, journalists and owners reported on slowspeed steering issues, a basic nervousness to the handling itself, and a stiff and uncompromising suspension feel overall. Many felt that the shortened wheelbase and trail, plus smaller 17in (previously 18in) wheels and steeper head angle made the thing a bit of a pig when allied to the stodgy right-way-up forks. To ride the 1100K well, the rider needed to be on their game and put in a lot of physical effort.
Worse was to come at the 1989 Isle of Man TT races when Phil Mellor crashed his GSX-R1100 and died during the 1300 Production TT race. Many attributed the proddie crashes to an anomaly between power, handling and the road tyres of the time. Either way, the damage had been done to the bike’s image and big-bore production racing on the Isle of Man wouldn’t return until 1996.
Suzuki reacted swiftly to the issues. For 1990, the Suzuki GSX-R1100L would have a longer wheelbase by some 35mm over the K, thanks in due part to a longer swingarm, by about 25mm.
More stability came from wider front and rear rims, holding 130 section (front) and 160 section (rear) tyres. Of course, the forks themselves would be ‘inverted’, otherwise known as ‘upside-down’ forks.
So why inverted forks? Well, they worked better even if early versions were heavier than their conventional telescopic right-way-up brethren. The idea originally came from off-road and it was thought that turning the fork upside-down gave the fork itself greater strength and rigidity as the larger diameter part of the fork is being held by the yokes. This makes the front-end ‘stiffer’. By the late 1980s handy racer Anders Andersson started to use inverted telescopic forks on his F1 road-race bike – the rest was history. Later, Anders would work with Ohlins Suspension and help Carl Fogarty take his first couple of World Superbike titles.
For road bikes, the 1100L pointed the way to the future with inverted front forks – only really the 19921999 Honda CBR900RR FireBlades eschewed them, as designer Tadao Baba thought they added too much weight. He changed his mind for the CBR929RR of 2000 as the components themselves had become much lighter. The trend of the time meant that the early Blades and even Triumph’s T595 Daytona would feature a right-way-up fork which was actually made to look like an upside-down one. Fashion, eh?
This continues today with most forks on modern motorcycles.
But, while we talk about fashion, let’s drink in the looks of this beauty – it’s timeless. The GSX-R1100L may have piled on the pounds compared to the first couple of versions (she’s 240 kilos or 529lb wet with fuel and oil), but she sure looks pretty, especially in this Suzuki corporate blue and white scheme.
From the front, those lovely inverted legs grab the three-spoke front wheel, equipped with the classic Nissin four-pot calipers, along with slotted 310mm discs. It’s just classic Suzuki, as is that twin-lamp visage. Closely following Suzuki’s successful endurance racers of the 1980s and early 1990s, the 1100L has all the looks of a racer for the road, and those air-scoops that could probably snare a rabbit may or may not serve any real useful purpose but – stuff it all – they look so racer cool.
This bike is a simply stunning restoration – especially when you see where it came from (see sidebar). To go from overgrown garden ornament to stunning Suzuki resto has been a labour of love and is a credit to the Suzuki Vintage Parts Programme, their boss Tim Davies, as well as all the hard-working young apprentices from the Suzuki Apprentice Centre in Doncaster.
Let’s saddle up – yes, the saddle. Other trainspotters out there will maybe see that the vinyl on the saddle is black instead of the dark blue of the original. No matter, I can’t see it now that I’m on the bike itself. Wow! This is a real man’s bike, this. You can feel as you move it side to side between your legs that it’s big and it’s heavy – best I be ready for a bit of a fight. We know it’s powerful (or it was by 1990s standards anyway) and it just oozes machismo. Like with many older bikes, you get the impression that you’re sitting down in the Suzuki rather than being perched on top of it, and some of us prefer that feeling as you often feel better connected to the road.
The centre of being with this machine – or with any GSX-R1100 – has to be that motor. Now, I’ve ridden lots of these and you’ve got five speeds because you really don’t need much else – in fact, you could probably get away with four! Ride that wave of torque – there’s no real need to prod that gear lever very much. The engine will happily provide a smidge of motive power from as little as 25003000rpm, but then will pick up nicely from around 5500, before tearing off like a mad thing from around 7000 up to peak power between 9-10,000rpm.
There is no point in revving the boobies off this baby, it’s all about that lovely wave of oomph, so you can just keep the bike in the sweet spot from between 6-8000rpm, rolling effortlessly between third and fourth gears. It’s where the bike (and I) really like to be… Finally, I’ve got to say this (again), that even compared to today’s gargantuan power outputs of anything up to and over 200bhp, these old GSX-R mills still thrill and impress. It’s a legendary powerplant and smooth as silk.
Handling is a hard thing to measure without the chance to back-to-back this L with the previous K model, but in isolation it’s ‘interesting’. If I recall rightly, the rear-end comes with numerous settings. Something like seven preload settings, 19 for rebound and 19 again for compression; and I love the old-school-cool remote adjuster. Tip-in always feels like a bit of a leap of faith… double-cradle GSX-Rs always had a ‘tip, tip, DROP’ feel to them. Not a bad thing, but it just needs some getting used to, but I’ve always wondered what the older GSX-Rs would feel like out on a track or being raced.
Both the front and rear-ends do feel a bit soft but I’m not going to change them or fiddle as I just want to enjoy my short ride on this lovely machine. Up front those Nissins do lack a little something, power, perhaps, but – remember – they are hauling up a lot of machine and a lot of man… well, perhaps too much man…
If there’s something that is a pain – for me at least – it’s the seating position. You’re all sat in, but spread ‘over’ the bike. Eight years back I did a back-to-back of my own 1998 GSXR1100W-S and a 2012 GSX-R1000. You’d think the smaller, newer bike would be the least comfortable, but not a bit of it.
I had very bad knee pain on the W-S and a ride to and from a track day at Donington Park convinced me to sell it. Then, about five years back a ride on the Suzuki Vintage Parts Programme’s own GSX-R750F from 1985 was like some sort of torture. I’m simply not as bendy as I once was. For me, these old GSX-Rs are for short hops only. And you’ll be hopping for a while after, too. You’re spread over that tank and the ergonomics just feel designed to abuse your joints – especially my knees.
Or is it my age?
But despite all this, I can’t get that motor and the sheer coolness of this bike out of my head. I mean, look at those classic clocks… 190mph on one and the 11,500rpm redline on the other. The very layout with the tachometer dominant : then, like a racing afterthought, the black-box square containing the idiot lights, including neutral lamp, fuel warning light, high-beam and indicators. Love it… so many good memories looking at clocks like this, while the scenery rushes by at warp speed.
Prices for GSX-Rs have been traditionally low, but they’re heading north now. Even as recently as five or six years ago you could get a useable 1100 for a couple of grand, now prices are firming up big time. It’s strange that there are some low-ish milers out there, let’s say sub 25k.
We’ve seen some half-decent last of the air/oil-cooled big GSX-Rs with 30,000 miles on them for around £2500-3000. We’ve spotted mint 1100Ks with 15,000 on the clocks for £4000, and then the water-cooled models for around £4000-£4500. As for the L, we’ve seen them for between £3000-5000, but it’s still the early slab-siders that are generally the most sought-after and therefore the ones that command the biggest prices.
Motors are generally bulletproof, while the ancillaries are all about how well they’ve been looked after… sadly the GSX-R range from small to the 1100 were generally used and abused, and often wore a wide range of tasteless tat.
Thankfully, in recent years – and thanks to the Suzuki Vintage Parts Programme – many old mighty machines with the oil/air-cooled lump in are back in favour and being returned to standard.
For me, the GSX-R1100 in all its forms is a big part of my life; I’ve ridden loads and owned one. And, while I feel my battered body may not be best suited to its ergonomics any more, that doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy a good thrash on one.
Those of a more flexible nature could do worse than bag an oil/aircooled biggie soon…