2011 Suzuki GSX-R600 and 750: I can haz 1000 looks too?

We’ve already showed you a leaked sketch of the 2011 Suzuki GSX-R600 and 2011 Suzuki GSX-R750 that showed they’d receive facelifted looks more in line with those of the 2009 Suzuki GSX-R1000. These photos of that facelift have now leaked one day ahead of the official unveiling, scheduled for the Intermot bike show tomorrow. Details are still scarce but what do we see? Refinement, not revolution. We'll keep updating as more specs and whatnot appear.

The K11 GSX-R.

Looking at these pictures of the new and old GSX-Rs side to side, we don’t see any differences in the frame or in the relationship between the gearbox and engine. Some reports have suggested that the gearbox could be mounted higher next year, allowing for a longer swingarm. That swingarm does appear to be a revised item, lacking the immediately apparent vertical seam of the current GSX-R.

Some reports have also suggested that the new model could be radically smaller than the current bike, but again, we just don’t see it. What we can see is new tail section bodywork that’s both shorter and slimmer.

In fact, the only major mechanical differences that are apparent in these photos are that the old Tokico radial calipers have been swapped for non-Monoblock Brembo items and the GSX-R now uses Showa Big Piston forks.  Big whup.

The biggest visual changes are the four new air intakes stacked to the sides of the now slimmer headlamp. That headlamp now uses stacked high and low beams, moving the 600 and 750 visually closer to the 1000. This is no coincidence as the ’11 600/750 identical twins were designed by Shigeru Uchiyama, the same guy who penned the 2009 Suzuki GSX-R1000.

These bikes were actually scheduled for a debut last year, but were pushed back when collapsing credit markets destroyed America’s ability to purchase expensive luxury goods it didn’t need. The facelift is intended to keep the GSX-R model line reasonably fresh without requiring a huge investment from cash-strapped Suzuki; an industry source suggested that these new bikes are revised to such a small degree that they won’t even require new tooling.

via Motoblog.it