Team Classic Suzuki get set for the track with latest GSX-R1000 K1 race bike

Team Classic Suzuki have whipped the covers off their latest superbike creation; a 2001 Suzuki GSX-R1000 K1 built to compete in in this year’s European Endurance Cup race series. That’s right, the first GSX-R1000 can now be considered a classic…

Joining the team’s fleet of beautiful competition-ready RG500s, GSX-R750 SRADs, XR69s, Katanas and more, the fully refreshed K1 will take part in a number of competition rounds, in a series they first entered back in 2017 with the Suzuki Katana race bike.

“We enjoyed racing the Katana at a number of endurance events in Europe, and also at the Classic TT, however, once the rules opened up to allow GSX-Rs in, we had to get involved and build our own,” Team Classic Suzuki’s Nathan Colombi said.

“To be honest it came together quite quickly and we’re still finalising our plans for the season, but it’s great – if a bit terrifying that so much time has passed – that GSX-R1000s can go classic racing now.”

He continued: “We’ve obviously used a lot of performance parts in the build, but we’ve been able to use Suzuki’s Race Parts Programme when we’ve needed genuine components, which will be of use for anyone else racing a GSX-R in this series, club racing, or at national level.”

Sporting the traditional Team Classic white, blue, and red livery, the 988cc inline four engine originally produced a claimed 158.2bhp at 10,800rpm and 81.8lbft at 8500rpm of torque. This has now been taken further with the addition of a set of Yoshimura cams, plus a full titanium Yoshi exhaust system – allowing the circa 22-year-old motor to breathe more freely. Claimed power now sits at around 170bhp.

The engine is housed in the original aluminium beam frame, with the standard 1410mm wheelbase has increased by 20mm thanks to the addition of a factory GSX-R750 swing arm lifted from an endurance racer. The head angle remains the same.

Elsewhere, the Suzuki supplied three-spoked wheels have been replaced by lighter gloss white alternatives from OZ.

Helping in the corners is a K-Tech rear shock, with K-Tech fork internals. Other neat touches also include more powerful Brembo calipers up front to replace the original Tokico anchors, which were a weak point at the time.

Team Classic Suzuki say they will confirm their racing plans for the season very soon, with past successes including a class win for John Reynolds and Pete Boast at Oschersleben, Germany back in 2018.

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Watch MCN compete with Team Classic Suzuki in the video below: