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{{ | {{Motorcycle | ||
|name = Racing Bikes Suzuki GS1000 AMA Superbike | |name = Racing Bikes Suzuki GS1000 AMA Superbike | ||
| | |photo=Suzuki-GS-1000-AMA-80-2.jpg | ||
|aka = Suzuki GS 1000 AMA Superbike | |aka = Suzuki GS 1000 AMA Superbike | ||
|manufacturer = | |manufacturer = Suzuki | ||
|parent_company = | |parent_company = | ||
|production = 1980 | |production = 1980 | ||
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|predecessor = | |predecessor = | ||
|successor = | |successor = | ||
|class = | |class = Racing | ||
|engine = | |engine = | ||
|bore_stroke = | |bore_stroke = | ||
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|fuel_capacity = | |fuel_capacity = | ||
|oil_capacity = | |oil_capacity = | ||
|recommended_oil=Suzuki ECSTAR 10w40 | |||
|fuel_consumption = | |fuel_consumption = | ||
|turning_radius = | |turning_radius = | ||
|related = | |related = [[Suzuki GS1000S]] | ||
|competition = | |competition = | ||
}} | }} | ||
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, Superbike | 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 [[BMW]]s, [[Moto Guzzi]]s and [[Ducati|Ducatis]] to a championship with serious attention from the Japanese Big Four. | ||
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 | [[Yoshimura]] had teamed up with Suzuki in a partnership that continues 20 years | ||
later. Meanwhile, Honda and Kawasaki fielded their own factory teams. | 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: Eddie Lawson and Freddie Spencer. | 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 Cooley's 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 illegally riding teammate Dave Aldana's 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 couldn't protest Cooley. The board also ruled | ||
that | that Cooley's 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 title a second time. | ||
But | But there's 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 AMA Superbike racing the tightest | 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. | ||