With all this go from the motor , I ’ m now a little worried about the brakes ... but they ’ re great , excellent in fact , considering they ’ re now 32 years old . Those Tokico calipers do a grand job . The rear in particular . As I mentioned earlier , the geometry numbers are familiar . The wheelbase and head-angles are almost the same as modern sports bikes . Suzuki was clearly ahead of the tyre and suspension technology of the time . With these modern Pirellis and the Ohlins rear shock , it ’ s a gem . Unlike modern sports bikes , the riding position is , umm , less ergonomically friendly . The pegs are super high forcing very bent legs , and the bars , despite being on top of the yokes , are hard on my wrists . You forget how much ergo ’ s have changed in 30 years . Somebody with short legs and long arms would fit on this perfectly . That said , the screen gives decent wind protection too – old school sports bikes make reasonable sports tourers .
I love the cockpit view on this bike . It ’ s classic Suzuki . There ’ s no TFT , nor a digital anything , just two dials that are simple , but effective and evocative – the speedo reads up to 300km / h ( or 186mph in old money – incidentally the same as the self-imposed manufacturers ’ gentleman ’ s agreement speed limit of the late 90s ). We stop at a country pub for some lunch . Admiring the bike over a burger , I can ’ t help but love the bike ’ s burly stance , with the understated black and grey colour scheme . Kiwi ’ s like a black bike , and on this it ’ s not hard to see why . A bike club pulls in and a few of them make a beeline for the old girl – it ’ s clearly not their kind of machine , but they certainly appreciate it , asking Geoff all about his newly bought classic .
BUYING A CLASSIC So , why did Geoff buy a 1990s sports bike ? “ I always wanted a classic Japanese superbike . I ’ d
78 KIWI RIDER