2008 Suzuki GSX-R 750 - Mossy Rides

The 750

sportsbike

class is all but dead. But after riding Suzuki's brilliant new GSX-R750, you have to wonder why it isn't alive and kicking. After all, just as this bike so clearly proves, this engine size makes sense by offering plenty of, but not too much power. It's one of the best balanced sportsbikes on the market.

Suzuki

has boldly, yet wisely continued with its three-quarter litre machine while everyone else has given in, instead just producing 600 and 1000cc models. Just why other bike-builders haven't followed the Japanese factory's lead is something of a mystery really, as the GSX-R has always been renowned for its excellent balance and usability; qualities you'd think would appeal to Suzuki's rivals.

The 2008 version is no exception. It's a superb bike and is suited to more riders, roads and race circuits than most other sportsbikes, regardless of their capacity. To be honest, there's not a massive difference between the '07 and '08 models, and our test in the mountains of the Sierra Nevada region of south west Spain did restrict the engine power of the bike's motor thanks to the thinner air at altitude. But I'm still confident that Suzuki's claims that the new 750 is even more rideable than the old one, have a lot more foundation than any of Gordon Brown's.

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The first day of the two-day launch, at the Guadix circuit certainly highlighted the GSX-R's friendly qualities. It's a brilliant track, and a real test for any bike if you want to lap quickly and safely. Very technical and challenging, it'll highlight any failings pretty quickly. At the end of something like three hours of riding, the only thing I found short of the mark was me!

I really do think it's the ultimate trackbike for all UK circuits - not to mention its roads. And though a 600 might have a slight edge at some of the much twistier ones, and a 1000 a minor advantage at the more open ones, overall the 750 would be better suited to the majority. Its real beauty is that it feels as light, small and flickable as most 600s (even though its dry weight has risen slightly by 4kilos to 167kg), and far less intimidating to use hard like a 1000 can be at times.

A series of changes to the fuel-injection system and camshafts have helped this cause even more by claiming to refine and increase the mid-range power and torque without altering the peak figures. Because of the circuit's altitude, I couldn't really say how much stronger the delivery feels, but it does still have a broad and useful spread of power that increases in a very linear fashion as the rpm rises.There's crisp and useful response in the mid-range, and when the tacho needle on the new clocks is pointing at 10,000rpm, the in-line four really starts to get a shift on - all the way to its 15,000 redline.

In saying that, the extra urgency of the surge isn't of a wheelie or wheelspin-inducing nature, and even when the Suzuki's still in the corner it always feels good to go, finishing the turn swiftly and safely. I'd wager the vast majority of riders, even experienced ones would prefer the 750 to the 1000 most of the time simply because what it has is so much more easy to access. It's a real peach of a power unit, and in my opinion the handlebar-mounted three-stage power switch (which can reduce the bhp reaching the tyre) isn't really needed and is more of a novelty than anything more useful. The motor is refined enough not to need it.

The civilised aggression of the engine is matched superbly by its chassis. Changes to help the 750 run cleaner (a larger exhaust can being one of them) are the reason behind the new bike's slightly heavier weight, but I can't say I really noticed it - and I was riding the 07 model only the day before on track at a tyre test. Just like the old bike the Suzuki is light and agile, steers well and accurately, and inspires plenty of confidence to push harder. Guadix is very much of a thinking man's track and needs a good handling machine to negotiate its very varied array of corners quickly and at low risk. The GSX-R can help you to do that time and time again.