Number one on my list was the wheels. From the factory the 88 GSXR was delivered with white rims. The PO (previous owner) decided polishing them was the right thing to do, I disagree. While white wheels are an effort to keep clean, they look great. So it was off to the powder coater. Once they were back to their original color, they needed some rubber. Since the GSXR was going to be a ridden on the street I wanted tires that would offer durability as well as great grip. The tire of choice is the Michelin Power Pure, dual compound – 2CT. I tested a set of these on an 07 R6 and found them to be an excellent tire that provided great traction while delivering good feedback and relatively high mileage. Plus, as mentioned earlier, Michelin design a tire specifically for the GSXR back in the day, it seemed appropriate to fit them to this bike.

The front end really came alive with the cleaned up fork and the freshly powder coated wheel. (Photo: Benjamin Segal)

Next on the list was the drive train. Again, the PO, in his quest for everything shiny, chrome plated the rear sprocket and swing arm – another bad idea in my opinion. But experience shows the extended swing arm and chrome tend to go hand in hand. Tossing the old drive train into the bin and replacing it with a new one from Renthal was done with little remorse. The replacement parts that include a weight reducing, aluminum, hard anodized rear sprocket, lightweight counter shaft sprocket, and gold z-ring chain. It’s surprising what a simple drive train upgrade can do for the look of a bike and Renthal makes a fantastic product. As mentioned before I opted to upgrade the swing arm to the braced unit from a ’95 model. The fitment required several hours of measuring and test fitting but the effort was well worth it as it dramatically improves the look.

Swing arm/ drive train after. With the wheels installed it was time to focus some attention on the brake system. The calipers were in good order but would do well with a good cleaning and servicing. The brake pads were a different story and new parts were well in order, they were replaced front and rear with pads from DP Racing. The brake lines, while fully functional, were the OEM units that shipped when the bike was new in 1988 making them roughly 24 years old. Rubber has a tendency to become hard and brittle as it gets old and brake lines are no exception. I could have replaced them with OE units but why? Steel braided brake lines perform so much better cost less, and look great, giving a subtle custom look to the bike. I chose Galfer brake lines because they have been at it since 1964 and their products are made in the USA. Their lines are completely customizable with options for line color, banjo color, and bolt color, and they install easily. The new lines were filled with DOT4 Racing “600” brake fluid from Spectro Oils. It has an impressive 539° Fahrenheit boiling point. As if I could ever get my brake fluid this hot! With the new system installed the 750′s brakes performed better than my 07 R6, providing one finger, eye popping, stopping power.

More chrome found its way into the bin with a replacement set of levers from Motion Pro. While I was ordering the levers I also opted to replace the speedometer, clutch, and throttle cables with Motion Pro parts. Their cables and levers are top of the line at a fraction of the cost of OEM replacements and I have had great success using them on past projects. With the new levers installed, the OE clipons were starting to look a wee bit tattered. I tried re-painting them but black anodized billet aluminum looks so much better, especially when it is from Driven Racing. I had seen photos of Driven’s clipons and I knew they would look good but I had no idea just how good. Needless to say the Driven clipons are super sweet and they offer more options for adjustment. With fresh controls the top triple clamp was looking really shabby so I sent it off to get satin black powder coat. I finished off the handle bar with a set of new OEM switches and a set of Road Control grips, also from Motion Pro.

In addition to the PO’s penchant for chrome he also thought replacing the clear OE windscreen with a neon pink unit was the right thing to do. While this may have been OK to do in the 80′s when Madonna ruled, I felt it was never really a very good idea and it had to go… fast! Zero Gravity has been making replacement windscreens for more than 20 years and is the number one source for windscreens from this time period. For the 1988 GSXR they offer two versions, one that matches the OE unit in size and shape, the SR-series and one that is a bit taller for sport touring. I opted for the SR in smoke. All of the holes lined up perfectly making installation a breeze.

Since the PO had an extended swing arm installed one could only assume he had been street racing and flogging the clutch. It made sense to replace the clutch with new steel/ friction plates and springs. The clutch that was on the bike had blue steel plates from overheating and the friction plates were not much better. I picked up a clutch kit from BARNETT that included both sets of plates and springs, giving me a fresh feeling at the lever. While I was inspecting the clutch basket and hub for wear I noticed some improper free play in the clutch hub. The aluminum hub is cast onto a steel center. Apparently mine didn’t like this arrangement and started eating itself. It’s a good job I found it before going for a ride. I would certainly have been stranded when it let go completely. I don’t think it would have harmed the motor, it just would have made it impossible to engage the transmission. Ebay has 3 or 4 complete clutches up for auction at any given time and while I would typically go this route I opted to purchase a new one thinking it would provide better feel. The old unit was showing severe signs of wear and I figured the ebay units would likely be the same or close. After getting the clutch parts squared away I filled the crank case with fresh synthetic oil from Spectro Oils only to find the oil cooler leaking from several places. Off it came and into the radiator shop it went. Seventy dollars later and a fresh coat of paint had it working and looking like new.

Surprisingly the motor was in pretty good nic with compression in each cylinder in the high 150’s. A new set of rings would surely improve this. However, since I’ll be using the GSX-R for street riding, this number is perfectly acceptable. A valve adjustment was in order and since the 750 uses tappets for adjustment, it was a snap. The carburetors on the other hand were in serious need of a cleaning and tuning. A Dyno-jet kit had been installed at some point and the bike was running lean on the main circuit. Instead of trying to sort it out with the oddball DJ jet sizes I chose to replace the DJ kit with a jet kit from Factory Pro. The FP kit includes tuning suggestions and brought the jetting in with the first recommended set up. Kudos to factory Pro for making it so easy! Additionally, the PO replaced the OE air filter and air box with pod filters. While pods look great, they do very little to help smooth carburetion. The Zook’s slingshot carburetors work best with the stock air box and a high flow K&N filter. It was time for another trip to eBay for a stock air box. A new one from the dealer would set me back a whopping $450. I found one for just over $50 that included the rubber velocity tubes, I bought it right away. After installing it I made the trip to my local shop, Gaston Motorcycle Werks for a carb cleaning/ synchronization and had the fuel flowing cleanly, with the carbs re-jetted and synchronized, the old GSXR was purring like a kitten.

The pod filters look cool but the stock airbox with a K&N filter installed provides far better performance. (Photo: Benjamin Segal)

While the bike was at GMW we addressed the angle of the exhaust baffle as well. To me it looked sad and droopy, it looked all wrong. It needed to sweep up at a much steeper angle like the SUZUKI endurance race bikes. Check the photos for before and after shots. I think you’ll agree it looks much more fitting in its new position. After some consideration, I decided to keep the OEM paint and do what I could to restore it to its original luster. With piles of elbow grease and a pot of 3M finishing polish I got it looking fantastic.

You may be asking yourself, why do all this to a bike from 1988 when I could get something better in a new bike? In short, nostalgia is a powerful thing. It makes people do crazy things. Additionally, I have ridden the latest and greatest offerings from the factories and none of them make me feel the way this old GSX-R does. Plus even with all the updates I made, I still spent substantially less than I would have if I had purchased a new GSX-R750 for $12,199.00, one that looks pretty much the same as the next bike.

Vendor List:
Michelin: Power Pure tires
Zero Gravity: windscreen
Driven Racing: clip on handle bar and swing arm spools
Motion Pro: clutch cable, throttle cable, levers, and grips
Galfer USA: brake lines.
EBC: brake pads
Spectro Oils: engine oil, brake fluid, and fuel stabilizer
Barnett: clutch components
Factory Pro: carburetor jet kit
Race Tech: Gold Valve kit for fork and shock, and springs for fork
Gaston Motorcycle Werks: carb synchronization and exhaust modification

More changes for the second generation, oil cooled GSX-R750
Aside from being more rigid, the wider frame beams supported a more powerful engine. The new power plant was a clean-sheet-of-paper, short stroke design. The new engine rev’d to 13K and was fed by a much larger airbox. Suzuki used this as an opportunity for another acronym, calling it the SCAI – Suzuki Condensed Air Intake. The larger airbox fed 2 mm larger carbs (Suzuki called these 36 mm carbs “Slingshots”). The new carbs fed larger valves, which were controlled by cams with more lift and duration. From there, the intake was passed to a new higher compression combustion chamber, where it was fired off by a new digital ignition system with dual electrode spark plugs. Exhaust duties were handled by a new four-into-two system. The engine was cooled b y a higher capacity oiling system, with a larger cooler, and higher flow oil lines. The new engine sat lower in frame, which decreased the center of gravity. That center of gravity was further decreased by the wider, lower gas tank. Measuring from the top of the faring, the 1988 model was 3.3 inches lower than the bike it replaced.