Suzuki has unveiled the GSX-R1000R Legend Edition for international markets. The Legend Edition consists of seven different liveries for the GSX-R1000R each of which is based on the world championship winning bike right from Barry Sheene’s 1976 GP bike to Joan Mir’s 2020 GP bike.
The bikes get a pillion seat cowl and an Akrapovič exhaust as standard. Apart from that the bike remains mechanically unchanged over the standard GSX- R1000R. Which means, the bike has the same one-litre, four-cylinder mill that churns out 199bhp at 13,200rpm and 117.6Nm at 10,800rpm. Suspension duties are handled by fully adjustable Showa BFF (Balance Free Front) USD’s up front and a fully adjustable Showa BFRC lite monoshock at the rear. Dropping anchor upfront are two radially mounted Brembo calipers mounted on 320mm Brembo T-Drive rotors and single disc setup at the rear. The whole package, fully loaded, comes in at 203kg. That being said, power and weight figure changes with the Akrapovič exhaust haven’t been disclosed.
The first of the replica liveries is based on Barry Sheene’ 1976 Grand Prix winning Suzuki RG 500. In the 1976 GP that consisted of 12 races, Barry Sheene, astride the RG 500 won five races and came second in another one, helping him and Suzuki clench their first world championship title.
The second replica livery belongs to Barry Sheene again. But this time around it is based on his 1977 paint scheme of the Suzuki RG 500. In the 1977 GP, Sheene dominated six races and finished second in another one out of a total of twelve races. This saw Suzuki and Sheen win their second word championship title.
The third replica livery is based on the Suzuki RG500 used by Marco Lucchinelli in the 1981 GP. He finished five races and got two podium finishes in the championship. Lucchinelli’ victory in the 1981 GP put Suzuki back in top rankings after a four-year slump.
The fourth replica livery in the lineup is that of Franco Uncini’ Suzuki 500 XR40 with which he won the 1982 MotoGP world championship. Giving Suzuki its fourth GP title.
The fifth in the series is based on Kevin Schwantz’ Suzuki RGV500 X79 that helped him clench the 1993 MotoGP world championship title. This would be the first time Suzuki would win the title after over a decade since Uncini’s win in 1982.
The sixth livery is based on the bike that won Suzuki its sixth and Kenny Roberts Jr his first ever MotoGP world championship title. The livery is based on the Suzuki RGV XR89.
The final livery is based on Suzuki’ most recent accolade, the 2020 MotoGP world championship with Joan Mir piloting the 2020 GSX-RR. The 2020 GP saw Suzuki winning the title after 20 years. It was also Mir’s first world championship title victory in the GP series.
The GSX- R1000R Legend Edition has only been announced in certain international markets and it is unlikely that the bikes would ever make their way to Indian shores, considering the only ‘Big’ bike in Suzuki India’s catalogue currently is the V-Strom 650 XT in its BS6 guise. However, we’d love to see Suzuki bring these pieces of art to the country. Well, one can always dream.