side models . Expect the running gear to be tired , but the engine should still be strong .

1991 GSX-R1100M

Tell-tale signs : Twin headlights faired in behind a plastic cover Colours : Blue / white , red / black / silver Basic specs : 1127cc , 226kg , 145bhp @ 10,000rpm More fiddling with the suspension geometry and suspension damping couldn ’ t quite get the GSX-R right . The heavy oil-cooled lump stuck right behind the front wheel didn ’ t help , but Suzuki ’ s constant fiddling with all the variables meant they couldn ’ t fix the handling quirks . Larger carbs and different cams moved all the power above 8000rpm to get an extra couple of bhp . Washers in the exhaust headers reduced power to 125bhp to adhere to the manufacturers gentleman ’ s agreement to prevent Euro politician meddling . Not great for those who like an 1100 to be a grunty machine that doesn ’ t need the gearbox stirring all the time . Ok , it still had loads of go in the midrange but it became mediocre compared to the FZR1000 EXUP and the CBR1000 .

1992 GSX-R1100N

Tell-tale signs : Zig-zag broken stripe graphics Colours : Silver / black , blue / white , red / black Basic specs : 1127cc , 226kg , 145bhp @ 10,000rpm On the road it had more weather protection ,

decent pillion provision and a more flexible motor than the FZR1000 EXUP , but it lost out in the twisties to the next generation of bikes . The

Honda RC30 , ZXR750 and Fireblade had arrived and changed the way we looked at bikes . Instead of bigger and heavier being the mark of a great bike , things were now getting much smaller and lighter . The GSX-R1100 had had its day .

1993-1998 GSX-R1100WP-W

Major revamp time , a new generation . The motor was reworked , revised to 1074cc and gained water-cooling ( hence the W designation ). Power output was up to 155hp , but so was the weight – 231kg . The GSX-R ’ s eight-year-old air / oil-cooled motor wasn ’ t finished though , living on in the Bandit . With a new frame again , but still with the overthe-engine and twin down-tube architecture , the GSX-R1100 lived on to 1998 ( that ’ s P to W suffixes ) before being replaced by the GSX-R1000 – with wrap-around alloy beam frame in 2001 .

1992 1992 1993

86 KIWI RIDER