1977 Kawasaki K1000 vs Suzuki GS750 - 12-Page Vintage Motorcycle Article

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1977 Kawasaki K1000 vs Suzuki GS750 - 12-Page Vintage Motorcycle Article
Don’t let the displacement
difference bother you; these
two beauties are the fastest
pavement-burners you can
roll off the showroom floor.
\^ho in his right mind would compare a
750 to a 1000? What would possess some-
one to lake a one-liter machine that, even
as a 900, was the fastest, nastiest superbike
of them all, and put it up against a 25-
percent smaller motorcycle built by a com-
pany that had never before built a four-
stroke? Who would do such a thing?
We would.
But we didn’t start out that way. Al-
though the GS750 and KZ1000 drifted
into our offices only a day apart, the
original plan had been to do two separate
tests, maybe even in two separate issues.
At first we were no more than intrigued by
the similarities in design, layout and con-
struction between the two big bikes, some
of which we had expected and some of
which we had not.
We did know beforehand that Suzuki’s
engineers, being two-stroke experts and
thus at somewhat of a technological disad-
vantage designing four-strokes, had used
the powerful, rugged 903 Z-l engine as a
pattern for their design. We were expect-
ing a few similarities, but those designers
must have really liked what they saw in-
side the 900, for we found the GS750
engine to be, for all intents and purposes, a
750cc Z-l engine.
We also learned that the modifications
Kawasaki plugged into the 900 to make it
a full 1000 changed its character some-
what, so it wasn’t quite the same engine it
was when Suzuki first started examining
its design. With lOOcc of additional dis-
placement, you would think that the
meanest machine on the block would
really be the all-time, fire-brealhingest,
tire-smok ingest, eyeball-flatten ingest
killer superbike in the entire history of the
universe. But it ain’t necessarily so. Be-
cause aside from the displacement in-
crease. many of the refinements that went
into the 1000 were obviously not intended
to make the bike faster, but to make it
smoother and more pleasant to ride. The
added displacement also insured that after
taking the necessary measurements to get
the exhaust and intake noise levels down
to federal standards, the KZlOOO’s perfor-
mance would at least equal that of the 900.
We drew most of these conclusions very
quickly the first day the two bikes were
together in our shop, back when all our
thoughts were still of two separate, inde-
pendent tests. After all, one was a 1000. the
other a 750. You don't compare oranges to
apples.
Then we began riding them. Together.
(Because it's more fun that way.) Side by
side. Over the same streets and roads.
With riders swapping motorcycles at fre-
quent intervals. And by the end of the first
day. a comparison of some sort begged to
be done. These two motorcycles are alike
in more ways than most motorcycles pur-
posely designed to be alike.
A visit to the Irwindale dragstrip was the
clincher: These two bikes, despite the dif-
ference in displacement, are only a half-
second and two miles per hour apart in a
quarter-mile drag: and they are the only
12-second-bracket quarter-mile bikes
commonly available at this lime.
So we did it. We took a 750cc motorcy-
cle and compared it to a 1000—not to have
The Ultimate Superbike Shootout, be-
cause there are other machines that fit into
the “superbike" category and other ma-
chines capable of performance figures
close to those of the Suzuki. Besides, the
competence and ability of these bikes run
deeper than just being quarter-mile sprin-
ters. A traditional ‘‘shootout" was not the
answer, because it would just encourage a
David-and-Goliath situation where the
Suzuki couldn't possibly lose because of
being the “underdog.” And it would have
been grossly unfair to force the Kawasaki
into such a competition with the deck
slacked against it.
Original, vintage magazine article.
Page Size: Approx: 8" x 11" (21 cm x 28 cm) each page
Condition: Good
11079-7701-09