Meet The Sexiest Japanese Sports Bike You Can Take Home

The 1980s were wild with bikemakers pushing the limits of motorcycle technology, especially among sports bikes. The Japanese automakers were particularly dialing things up to 12. Suzuki also jumped onto this bandwagon, and its engineering madness started the sports bike wars back then.

As a result, the 1986 Suzuki GSX-R750 was a race bike for the roads. Its race-bred version shone at various racetracks, including the Daytona International Speedway. And Yoshimura is trying to bring it back, courtesy of its Heritage Parts Program. The best part is that it’s designed to be road-legal.

A Religious Road-Legal Recreation of A 1980s Suzuki Racebike

That Has Had A Lot Of Racing Success In The 1980s

The GSX-R750 race bike won the All-Japan Road Race Championship TT-F1 class for three consecutive years (from 1985 to 1987). In America, it won the 1989 AMA Superbike Championship, and Suzuki also released a limited-edition GSX-R750R in Japan to commemorate its racing success. Yoshimura’s recreation of the iconic race bike is based on the one that Satoshi Tsujimoto rode at the 1986 Daytona 200 with the “604” racing number.

The Yoshimura GSX-R750 604 was showcased recently at the Tokyo Motorcycle Show and has been faithfully recreated to mirror Tsujimoto’s race bike. Yoshimura has neatly integrated elements like lighting and a plate holder to cater to this custom “race-bike’s” road-legal nature. The fairing and cowl have been painted to match the No. 604 machine. Yoshimura has replaced the front fender with a slimmer one, and the turn signals are also flush-mounted blinkers for a cleaner look.

Notable Design Features

• Cool Red-black-and-silver paintjob matches the racebike’s visual theme.
• Sponsor stickers and the racebike number are placed like that on the racebike.
• Bright red upholstery for the seat
• Road-legal parts are neatly integrated into the classic design.
  • Flush-mounted turn signals
  • Iconic dual-pot headlight
  • Taillight and a plate holder

Yoshimura Dials Up Its Flair And Performance

With Race-Ready Aftermarket Components

The road-going version of the 1980s Suzuki GSX-R750 was a beast with an oil-cooled engine and a lightweight aluminum chassis, which was exotic and rare then. Weight savings were taken very seriously with this Suzuki sports bike. Even the dearth of a liquid-cooled setup on its four-cylinder engine was to shave off extra components and save weight. The road-legal components on the 1980s model were easily removable as well, to help riders prep the Gixxer for aggressive track riding scenarios.

Yoshimura has built this celebrated sports bike with upgraded suspension, brakes, gauges, rider triangle, and engine components. The four-cylinder mill is ported, and the carburetors are replaced with Yoshimura’s Mikuni TMR MJN32s. It also gets a titanium exhaust system that pays homage to Yoshimura’s unique Duplex Cyclone exhaust layout. This system has a dual cylindrical sub-chamber design that connects the adjacent downpipe to modulate exhaust pulses and aids in optimizing the torque output.

Notable Performance Mods Summarized

• Upgraded suspension and brakes
• Custom Gauges
• Tweaked handlebar design for a more involving rider triangle
• Custom performance-spec carburetors
• A custom titanium exhaust system with Yoshimura’s Cyclone exhaust design for improved torque output.

Yoshimura Plans To Sell This Iconic Race Bike To The Public

But There Is A Caveat

While Yoshimura showcased just one specimen of its cool 1980s race bike at the Tokyo Auto Show, the custom parts maker plans to build a slew of them, depending on customer demand and the availability of used GSX-R750s. This particular specimen of the GSX-R750 604 will be auctioned in June 2025 with a starting price of ¥6,040,000 (~$42,000). It also needs to be seen if this Yoshimura-Suzuki sports bike recreation will be sold outside Japan. But for now, we can’t stop drooling over this beauty.

Stock 1986 Suzuki GSX-R750 Specs For Reference