SPORTSBIKE SURPRISE FROM SUZUKI...2026 GSX-R1000R

Sometimes, when you see a 'new' bike in the mag, we've known about it for ages. Maybe not all the precise details, but it's been pretty obvious what's on the way and what it's likely to be all about.

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But this one was a surprise - and a beautiful, brilliant, banging one at that. Because all the received wisdom about sportsbikes was against us ever writing the words 'new Suzuki GSX-R1000R' ever again. Yamaha's dumped its R1 in roadbike form, the Kawasaki ZX-10R is getting a bit long in the tooth, and with the rest of the litre bike class moving ever upwards into a niche stratosphere, we seemed to be heading into a mainstream sporty roadbike future defined by the likes of Suzuki's GSX-8R and the Yamaha R9. All good stuff, but a level below the white-hot superbike class of yore.

Suzuki itself seemed to have confirmed that situation over the past few years, too. It let all its GSX-R models (save the 125, ironically) disappear, with the last 1000 coming a cropper after the last ratcheting-up of emissions regs in 2022. It's made a big push with the 800 twins, but the firm's big bikes have focused on value, extending the use of old GSX-R1000 K5-based motors in the GSX-S1000 range. Again, very decent kit, but a little short on glamour and sparkle.

They must have been chortling into the sake in Hamamatsu when they were writing the press release for this one though.