Editing Suzuki GS1000 AMA Superbike
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{{Motorcycle | {{Infobox Motorcycle | ||
|name = Racing Bikes Suzuki GS1000 AMA Superbike | |name = Racing Bikes Suzuki GS1000 AMA Superbike | ||
| | |image = [[File:Suzuki-GS-1000-AMA-80-2.jpg|frameless|Racing Bikes Suzuki GS1000 AMA Superbike]] | ||
|aka = | |aka = | ||
|manufacturer = | |manufacturer = | ||
|parent_company = | |parent_company = | ||
|production = | |production = | ||
|model_year = | |model_year = | ||
|predecessor = | |predecessor = | ||
|successor = | |successor = | ||
|class = Racing | |class = [[Racing]] | ||
|engine = | |engine = | ||
|bore_stroke = | |bore_stroke = | ||
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|fuel_capacity = | |fuel_capacity = | ||
|oil_capacity = | |oil_capacity = | ||
|fuel_consumption = | |fuel_consumption = | ||
|turning_radius = | |turning_radius = | ||
|related = | |related = | ||
|competition = | |competition = | ||
}} | }} | ||
== Photos == | |||
[[File:Suzuki-GS-1000-AMA-80-2.jpg|600px|Racing Bikes Suzuki GS1000 AMA Superbike]] | |||
[[File:suzuki_gs1000_superbike_80_03.jpg|600px|Racing Bikes Suzuki GS1000 AMA Superbike]] | |||
[[File:Suzuki-GS-1000-AMA-80-1.jpg|600px|Racing Bikes Suzuki GS1000 AMA Superbike]] | |||
[[File:suzuki_gs1000_superbike_80_02.jpg|600px|Racing Bikes Suzuki GS1000 AMA Superbike]] | |||
[[File:suzuki_gs1000_superbike_80_01.jpg|600px|Racing Bikes Suzuki GS1000 AMA Superbike]] | |||
== Overview == | |||
Suzuki GS 1000 | |||
AMA Superbike | |||
Suzuki GS 1000 AMA Superbike 1980 | |||
Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. This bike did bothin | Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. This bike did bothin | ||
the same race. The year was 1980, and AMA Superbike racing was reaching its | the same race. The year was 1980, and AMA Superbike racing was reaching its | ||
first crossroads. After four years as a national-championship class, | first crossroads. After four years as a national-championship class, Superbike | ||
was graduating from a series based mostly on | was graduating from a series based mostly on BMWs, Moto Guzzis and Ducatis to a | ||
championship with serious attention from the Japanese Big Four. | |||
By that watershed year, when Wes Cooley rode this machine, performance-company | By that watershed year, when Wes Cooley rode this machine, performance-company | ||
Yoshimura had teamed up with Suzuki in a partnership that continues 20 years | |||
later. Meanwhile, | later. Meanwhile, Honda and Kawasaki fielded their own factory teams. | ||
Cooley, the defending Superbike champion, dueled that season for 10 races with a | Cooley, the defending Superbike champion, dueled that season for 10 races with a | ||
pair of young racers you may have heard of: | pair of young racers you may have heard of: Eddie Lawson and Freddie Spencer. | ||
Going into the season finale at Daytona, Lawson and Spencer each had three | Going into the season finale at Daytona, Lawson and Spencer each had three | ||
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length to be declared the series champion. | length to be declared the series champion. | ||
Then Lawson protested | Then Lawson protested Cooleys bike, saying the frame had been illegally | ||
modified. Officials on the scene upheld the protest, and Lawson was declared the | modified. Officials on the scene upheld the protest, and Lawson was declared the | ||
champion. | champion. | ||
Then things really got complicated. Cooley countered that Lawson had started the | Then things really got complicated. Cooley countered that Lawson had started the | ||
race | race illegallyriding teammate Dave Aldanas bike when his own engine blew up. | ||
Eventually, the matter went to an appeal board, which ruled that Lawson was not | Eventually, the matter went to an appeal board, which ruled that Lawson was not | ||
a legal entrant in the race and | a legal entrant in the race and couldnt protest Cooley. The board also ruled | ||
that | that Cooleys modifications, while on the edge of the rules, were legal. | ||
So while it took till December of that year, Cooley eventually won his second | So while it took till December of that year, Cooley eventually won his second | ||
Superbike | Superbike titlea second time. | ||
But | But theres even more to the story. The lasting impact of that season was the | ||
realization that Superbike had become a major factory battleground, with plenty | realization that Superbike had become a major factory battleground, with plenty | ||
of corporate pride on the line. As a result, new rules and enforcement policies | of corporate pride on the line. As a result, new rules and enforcement policies | ||
were put into effect that have grown to give | were put into effect that have grown to give AMA Superbike racing the tightest | ||
tech enforcement in the motorcycle-racing business. | tech enforcement in the motorcycle-racing business. | ||
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* http://www.motorcyclemuseum.org/classics/bike.asp?id=35 | * http://www.motorcyclemuseum.org/classics/bike.asp?id=35 | ||
[[Category:Racing motorcycles]] | [[Category:Racing motorcycles]] |