Suzuki GSX-R1000 at the Crossroads

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The UK-only GSX-R1000 Phantom, which may be an unofficial Final Edition depending on how Suzuki moves forward. (Suzuki/)

December 31, 2022 is a key date for Suzuki’s current GSX-R1000. It’s currently one of the few bikes still on the market in Europe that doesn’t have Euro 5 emissions certification. This means that by the end of this year the big GSX  needs to either pass those tests or be removed from sale.

Although Euro 5 rules came into force for newly type-approved bikes in Europe back in January 2020, and for existing models in January 2021, Suzuki has managed to squeeze an additional two years of sales out of the Euro 4-compliant GSX-R1000. “End of Series” rules, also known as derogation, allow companies to apply in each European country for dispensation to keep selling small volumes of noncompliant bikes for up to two more years, taking us up to the end of 2022. The “End of Series” name is self-explanatory: The rule is intended to let companies clear out stocks of old models that are nearing the end of their lives.

A clever variable valve timing system helped Suzuki reduce GSX-R1000 emissions, but sadly, not by enough. (US Patent Office/)

On the face of it, the GSX-R1000 isn’t the typical candidate for derogation. Others to use the provision have been bikes like Honda’s age-old VFR800F, but the GSX-R1000 is actually one of the newest superbikes on the scene. Launched as a completely new model for 2017, including a unique mechanical variable valve timing system derived from Suzuki’s GSX-RR GP bikes, it’s among the most advanced superbikes on the market at least on paper.

However, Suzuki seems to have lacked the courage of its convictions when it comes to following through on the GSX-R’s promise. There’s been no full-time WSBK effort since 2015, which means the current generation of GSX-R1000 has never had a factory-backed chance to prove its mettle at the highest level of racing it’s eligible for.

With 2023 looming, and with it a requirement to either update the GSX-R1000 or simply stop selling it in Europe, Suzuki is at a crossroads. We’re either going to see updates to the GSX-R or face the specter of Suzuki dropping out of that part of the market altogether. If Suzuki takes the latter route, which looks more likely with every passing month, it means Europe—which lost the GSX-R600 and GSX-R750 when the previous Euro 4 emissions limits came into force—will have only one model, the tiny GSX-R125, in Suzuki’s sportbike range for 2023.

Suzuki’s decision to quit MotoGP next year has been seen as an indication that, despite success including Joan Mir’s 2020 title victory, the campaign hasn’t rewarded Suzuki with a sales boost to justify the investment.

Dropping the MotoGP effort could be interpreted as bad news for the future of the GSX-R1000. If Suzuki has decided not to create an updated, Euro 5-compliant version of the bike—essentially the closest direct relation to the GP machine that customers can buy in the racing-mad European market—then that could be a reason to stop the MotoGP effort. After all, why publicize a machine that can’t be bought in a large part of the world?

However, by getting out of MotoGP Suzuki could be going in the other direction and refocusing on the GSX-R and its road-going sportbike offerings. The GP effort is directly linked to the lack of a works team in WSBK; Suzuki dropped out of the Superbike series after reentering MotoGP in 2015, unwilling to finance both racing projects. Now the closure of the GP project could open the door to a WSBK return. If that’s the case, then a new or heavily updated GSX-R1000 is all but guaranteed.

We know that Suzuki has had plans for the evolution of the GSX-R1000. Back in 2019 the company patented a new variable valve timing system for the bike, adding electronically controlled, hydraulic VVT in a move that would boost performance and reduce emissions. The current bike has an unusual centrifugal VVT system on the intake camshaft only. Completely automated and without any computer controls, it cunningly complies with MotoGP rules banning electronic and hydraulic variable valve timing. It’s a clever system, but a computer-operated hydraulic system, as seen in Suzuki’s 2019 patent, would offer more adaptability and efficiency.

By keeping the old Euro 4 version of the GSX-R on the market as long as possible, Suzuki is maximizing the time it has to amortize that bike’s development costs while also stretching the R&D time available for an updated version. A second generation of Euro 5, known as Euro 5+, is to be introduced soon, adding elements that were delayed from the initial legislation. These include OBD II (on board diagnostics stage II) compliance, misfire detection, and catalyst monitoring. In keeping the GSX-R1000 alive in its Euro 4 state as long as possible, Suzuki may be able to skip the initial Euro 5 version altogether and jump straight to Euro 5+.

Whichever way Suzuki goes, the GSX-R1000 looks set to be in the news later this year as the company’s plans become clear.

In the USA, the GSX-R1000′s position in Suzuki’s range in 2023 isn’t under threat: It complies with US emissions rules, which also allow the older GSX-R600 and GSX-R750 to remain on sale here years after they were withdrawn from the European market. However, global pressure to bring the bike to Euro 5 standards is increasing: Other markets, including Japan, India and China, are largely aligning their emissions regulations with Euro 5, and even here in the USA there are moves to do the same. In California, the California Air Resources Board has been looking at harmonizing with Euro 5 emissions rules in 2024 or 2025, and California’s CARB standards often lead the way for other states to follow.

One option for Suzuki is to temporarily withdraw the GSX-R1000 from the European market, leaving the existing model on sale in the USA and spending a year or two developing an updated version for 2024 or 2025. That’s the pattern the company followed with the Hayabusa, which disappeared from showrooms in much of the world when Euro 4 emissions rules came into force several years ago but hung on in the States until the heavily revised version was reintroduced globally for the 2021 model year.

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