Suzuki GSX-R1100

Type of motorcycle The Suzuki GSX-R1100 is a sport bike from Suzuki's GSX-R series of motorcycles produced from 1986 until 1998. Background In the mid-1970s, the motorcycle industry was in a period of transition and pollution concerns led to large two-stroke motorcycles being banned from the streets in many countries. There were not many purpose-built four-stroke sport bikes, most of which were derivatives of regular motorcycles. Those built by Japanese manufacturers were built around an in-line four-cylinder, air-cooled engine wrapped in a steel double cradle frame, most of which were similar enough that they became known as the Universal Japanese Motorcycle (UJM). Seeing an unfulfilled market position, Suzuki, which had made its reputation by building two strokes, built its first large four-stroke bikes- the dual overhead camshaft (DOHC) GS750 and the GS400 for the American market in 1976 (see: Suzuki GS series). The GS550 arrived soon after and by 1978 the formidable GS1000 were impressing customers everywhere. 1980 saw the introduction of the 16-valve DOHC engine. It also witnessed the creation of the then extremely radical and influential Suzuki Katana, a bike stylistically re