In the late 1990s the World Superbike Championship was big news. Over in 500cc Grand Prix, Mick Doohan had just tied up his fourth consecutive title and the 1998 season was looking likely to go the same way (it did...). Crowd numbers were dwindling for the increasingly processional ‘premier’ two-wheeled race series and bored fans turned their attention from the two-stroke prototypes in Grand Prix to the hectic elbow bashing of the so-called ‘lower class’ of World Superbikes.
Production-bike based, WSB featured racers that looked like the bikes you could buy in your local dealership and, as a result, sportsbike sales soared. The series had only started in 1988 but was already popular with punters and manufacturers alike. Understandably Suzuki wanted a slice of the action however, despite returning to the paddock in 1996 with a full factory team run by UK paddock stalwarts Harris Performance, they were hopelessly outclassed. The GSX-R750 wasn’t a true homologation special like the Honda RC45, Yamaha YZF-R7 or Ducati 996R, rather it was a converted road bike like the Kawasaki ZX-7R, limited to 750cc and, in truth, hopelessly off the pace against the all conquering Ducatis. The rules (thought up by WSB’s Italian owners and written to tempt in smaller manufacturers) pitched 1000cc twins against 750cc fours and it was clear that these now favoured the V-twin configuration used by Ducati (back then a small manufacturer). It was only the might of Honda’s HRC racing division, its open chequebook and genius of John Kocinski managed to beat this blatant bias in 1997 with the four-cylinder RC45. Rival V-twins would follow, most notably from Aprilia and Honda, and Suzuki’s management took the same decision – if you can’t beat them, join them!And so the TL1000R project was born. Unfortunately for Suzuki, however, even before the R version was unveiled the TL project had become embroiled in a storm of controversy...
After the naked TL1000S was released in 1997, its major technological selling point threw a spanner in the works. Featuring a revolutionary (Suzuki claimed) rotary damper unit on the rear suspension system, very quickly the TL-S started to create the kind of news Suzuki really didn’t want or need. Forced into an embarrassing recall to have a steering damper fitted after hitting the headlines (and a few hedges...) due to handling issues, the TL-S certainly didn’t create the kind of foundations Suzuki were hoping to launch the TL-R on the back of. But despite all this, the TL-R was set to be released and in 1998 Suzuki’s all-new V-twin superbike arrived to a slightly muted reception – not that Suzuki were letting this dampen their enthusiasm for the project...
“The TL1000R concept is simple: Build a machine capable of setting new performance standards for a 1000cc V-twin, with the potential to win superbike races” was the bold claim that accompanied the TL-R’s arrival. Considering that meant taking on and beating the all-conquering Ducati 996, it was fair to assume that Suzuki hadn’t pulled their punches with the development of the TL1000R. As it turned out, however, they had and sadly it was a disappointment from the very outset.
With a dry weight of 197kg and a claimed 136bhp the TL1000R should have been more than a match for the Ducati 996, however Suzuki lied about not only the bike’s weight, but also its power. Despite its higher-spec engine than the S, the bulky looking R produced a genuine rear wheel power figure in the 115bhp area and handled sluggishly due to an overly conservative chassis set-up, possibly as a result of the issues surrounding the TL-S. Far from being a Ducati-beating ‘racer with lights’, the aggressive V-twin superbike Suzuki had promised turned out to be a soft, squishy and underwhelming motorcycle. But that was the road bike and surely the racer could help restore some of the Suzuki’s credibility and help it achieve the old adage ‘win on Sunday, sell on Monday’? Sadly not, as the TL-R never even made it to a WSB start line.
Despite unveiling a £50,000 ‘factory race kit’ at the bike’s launch, which promised to turn the standard road bike into a 150bhp, 160kg, World Superbike contender, Harris Performance (who were the worldwide distributor), never even saw a single one of the kits. The TL never made it to WSB and the only TLs to race at a high level did so in the American AMA series, where its best result was fourth place. True, the V-twin motor did win a WSB race when it powered the Bimota SB8K to a wet weather victory in 2000, with Anthony Gobert at the controls, but that was its only taste of success and came in spite of a lack of dry weather pace and reliability issues. The Yamaha YZF-R1 also debuted in 1998 and revolutionised the inline four sportsbike market, marking the start of a move away from V-twins anyway. The TL1000R was a showroom flop and just three years after its launch, Suzuki withdrew it and replaced it with the GSX-R1000 K1 - having sold just 2291 units in the UK. Yes, just 2291, making it a surprisingly rare sportsbike. In racing, Suzuki soldiered on with the GSX-R750 until the end of the 2002 season – after which the rules were changed to allow 1000cc inline fours like the GSX-R1000 to compete.
Nowadays the TL1000R is one of those bikes people always appreciate seeing. A definite future classic, you can pick up a decent TL-R (in classic Suzuki blue and white, not the nasty yellow or dull red) for around £4000-£5000 with minters in the £6000 area and rough bikes as little as £2500. An aftermarket shock easily sorts out the rear end (keep the OE units as they are all part of the bike’s history, and watch out for cracked frames) and you are left with a storming V-twin engine in a fairly easy-going road sportsbike that is far more comfortable to ride than a Ducati 996 and definitely less fickle. It may have failed to live up to its WSB hype but the Suzuki TL1000R is still a cool motorcycle and one with a great backstory.
Specs:
Engine: 996cc, liquid-cooled, 8v, DOHC, V-twin
Power: 135bhp @ 9500rpm
Torque: 106Nm @ 7500rpm
Seat height: 825mm
Weight: 197kg (dry)
