Written by:
SPEED Staff
SPEEDtv.com
Bayly makes his mark through the corner at Lukey Heights. (Photo: Suzuki)
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Sitting up on the brakes from close to 180mph, the pressure from the wind smacking me clean on the chin and chest is almost enough to yank the bars out of my hands. At this speed it is hard to focus on the rapidly approaching Doohan corner, and I haul on the anchors, bang a couple of downshifts while making sure to avoid the ripples on the inside of the turn. The new GSXR1000 is just so wickedly fast, the way it gets to this point from the exit of turn twelve is mind blowing, and by the end of my first session I pull into the pits bathed in sweat, even on a fairly cool day.
The new 2007 GSXR1000 needs commitment with a capital C. Producing a whopping 160 plus rear wheel horsepower, a 4% increase on last years all-conquering machine, there are few places on the Philip Island circuit where I have the throttle screwed all the way to the stop. The power delivery now comes a tad higher at 12,000rpm, compared to last year's 11,000 rpm ceiling, but the extra power allows the bike to have a broader spread of power this year, and anytime you twist the throttle it pulls like a rabid freight train.
Honda corner is an extremely tight hairpin that is approached from around 130mph hard on the gas. Rolling off at the last moment, throwing out the parachute, and dropping into second gear, the turn in and exit are pretty slow. Feeling like I should have maybe dropped to first gear, just cracking open the throttle in second from very low rpm soon put a stop to that thought. Catapulting me into Siberia so fast that just trying to make the turn suddenly becomes the next priority, I realize all of my preconceived notions about riding this track, learned at the GSXR 600/750 launch, have just been blown out of the window. I need to take my level of concentration to a new level to effectively get around the circuit at speed, as the new Gixxer is not going to tolerate fools readily.
Saving me from turning the new shiny GSXR1000 into a used bike, the pair of dual four piston calipers lock down on the front discs, tighter than a drowning man hanging on to a life raft out in the picaresque Bass Straight: The beautiful body of water that would have been visible if I were looking at anything other than the upcoming piece of Australian asphalt. Flicking in to the turn hard under braking, the liter bike's ability to turn in on the brakes is impressive, and coming back on the throttle to get a good drive up the hill, I am impressed with how settled the front end feels. And there is with no reaction to my somewhat choppy behavior. The Bridgestone BT-015's strut their stuff, and as soon as the bike is upright enough it is WFO for the run up to Hayshed. The top of second comes up quicker than the end of an expensive lap dance, and a quick shift to third, while spinning the feather light throttle back to fully open, sends the world into fast forward.
