One make racing series are making it big time in the world. One can find manufacturers of all sizes and reputations from different parts of the world hosting their own one make racing series to promote the brand as well as promote motorsport on the whole; we have seen great results coming out from these one make racing series and most of the time, great race drivers and riders too are groomed through these one make racing series.
In India, motorsport is still at its infant stages with very few racing events happening and even fewer race tracks in the country, yet we have a few companies hosting their own one make races in India, like the Volkswagen Polo Cup, the Toyota Etios Motor Racing series etc. and then there are the Two Wheeler manufacturers, with Honda Using the CBR 250R as well as CBR 150R in their racing series, Yamaha Using the YZF R15 in their series and TVS racing using the Apache 180, and now it is time for Suzuki to start their one make series.
Suzuki Motorcycles India will soon start their one make racing series in the country, and will be using their latest motorcycle, the Suzuki Gixxer SF in these races. The concept here is really simple. Suzuki Motorcycles India will supply 20 Race prepped, equally tuned motorcycles for qualified Riders to race across 5 race events, held at different locations in the country over a period of upto one year, and the winner of the championship is announced at the end of the year. There will be a novice class for those who are looking forward to making their debut in Racing and then there’s the Open class for the experts to battle it out.
Well, Suzuki cannot use just any stock Suzuki Gixxer SF for the racing series and hence they have modified it by a bit to make it more suitable to track conditions and to make sure that the motorcycles can handle the stress of racing.
The Gixxer SF one make series motorcycles all use similar livery to the MotoGP motorcycle used by the Suzuki MotoGP team which coincidentally, made a comeback to the sport this year. Coming back to the racing Gixxer SF, the rear seat has been replaced by a cowl which enhances aerodynamics at high speeds and even the headlamp up front has been replaced by a fibre covering to reduce weight and increase aerodynamics at the same time. The weight shedding regime for the Gixxer SF doesn’t stop there; the turn indicators and the rear mudguard, Tail-lamp and the Number plate clamps have all been removed to save that extra gram of weight.
The changes are not just aesthetic, but also mechanical. The stock Air Filter has been replaced by a free flow performance air filter and the Stock exhaust too has been replaced by a free flow exhaust system making the air flow freely into and out of the cylinder, generating more horsepower and torque in the process, and as a result of all this, the engine revs harder and faster too. To counter this increase in acceleration, the Gixxer SF has been given taller sprockets too, which has helped in increasing the top speed of the motorcycle.
All the extra power wouldn’t make any sense if the motorcycle doesn’t handle well, which is why Suzuki has changed the riding position of the Gixxer SF to suit race conditions. The Gixxer SF race motorcycle has the rider foot-pegs shifted a little to the rear to make the rider crouch more, and this is only enhanced by the clip-on handlebars which have replaced the stock bridge clamp bar handles. This gives the rider a race-ready aggressive riding position while astride the motorcycle.
The stock Suzuki Gixxer SF runs on medium-compound tires which will be pretty rubbish while trying to corner hard on the race track, prompting Suzuki to replace it with super-sticky, Ultra-soft compound tires manufactured by MRF, which now makes the motorcycle grip the tarmac like never before. All these modifications to the motorcycle make it a very enjoyable and very fast experience on the track, not only on the straights, but also on those fluidic , fast corners.
Well, I for one cannot wait to watch the riders go banzai on the track while astride this motorcycle. It will definitely be a fun experience.
To read more on Suzuki Gixxer, Click here
Also see: Suzuki Gixxer SF launched, new full-faired variant
Source: NDTV Auto
