The GSX-R1000R is back – Suzuki brings its flagship superbike home for 2025

It’s been a long time coming, but the GSX-R1000R is finally making its return to UK dealerships, and it’s bringing with it a raft of technical upgrades. It’s also gaining some retro celebration liveries, serving as a firm reminder that the GSX-R family still knows how to party.

The new bike will be the only GSX-R1000 you can buy in 2026, with no base-spec machine set to be available in 2026. What we get instead is a full-fat superbike that boasts much more tech and spec than the previous generation. And while it may have a few ponies missing from its peak power figure, compared to some of the competition and the outgoing model, there’s more to the internal updates than just making maximum power in standard trim.

But we’ll come on to that later...

Euro5+ approved, and still a potential fire-breather

At the core of the updates is a heavily reworked engine, still based around the 1,000cc inline-four we know and love, but now with a new crankshaft, along with crankcases, pistons, connecting rods, and a higher 13.8:1 compression ratio.

The changes mean the GSX-R1000R not only meets the latest Euro5+ emissions regulations, but is even more ready to compete at the sharp end of endurance, superbike and superstock competition. Suzuki’s MotoGP-derived variable valve timing (VVT) system remains in place, alongside finger-follower valve gear, now with optimised shapes to match a new cam profile. The exhaust valve diameter has grown to 25mm, and the fuelling system has had a complete refresh with larger throttle bodies, a new fuel pump, and revised injectors.

Despite the emissions constraints, Suzuki claims the new GSX-R still puts out 195PS (193bhp) at 13,200rpm and 110Nm (81lb ft) at 11,000rpm, and while that is down on the latest greats from Ducati, Aprilia and BMW, we wouldn’t worry too much. Suzuki is pinning much of the success of the new GSX-R on the win on Sunday, sell on Monday mantra. Lots of the press information relating to the bike talks about adding durability and “raising the performance ceiling”. This isn’t boardroom blithering. Suzuki is talking about post-sale tuning, highlighting an engine that can be taken beyond the base specs for the road or track, with a little bit of fettling - and hopefully without losing out on reliability and performance. 

Negligible chassis updates, although there is Suzuka-developed aero!

The chassis carries over with the same twin-spar aluminium frame and swingarm, but Suzuki has sharpened the GSX-R1000R’s focus further by fitting new dry carbon winglets, developed during the 2024 Suzuka 8-Hour with the CN Challenge team and its sustainable fuelled racer.

They’re hollow in construction, produced in Japan, and designed to deliver optimal downforce at high speed without making the bike feel heavy or unpredictable. No numbers to back this up on the press release, although we are chasing this.

Suspension remains top-spec Showa Balance Free Forks and a Balance Free shock, with Brembo monoblocs up front on 320mm discs, and Bridgestone’s sticky RS11 tyres doing the hard work at either end. There’s even a new ABS unit that trims 51 grams from the total weight, Like Tesco says, every little helps.

Riders will welcome the upgraded electronics suite, headlined by a six-axis IMU, and Suzuki’s newly refined Roll Torque Control system (RTCS). That’s a new one on us but is a trickle down from the GSX-S1000GX, and it’s essentially a predictive traction control system that works out the optimum power delivery before the wheel starts spinning, rather than reacting afterwards. Traction control is still active in the event of a slip, but with the RTCS in place, it should feel smoother through corners and with less oscillation as the TC engages and then disengages.

Add in a 10-level anti-wheelie system, launch control, lean-sensitive ABS, a bi-directional quickshifter, slope-dependent braking control, and Suzuki’s low-RPM assist and easy start functions, and you’ve got a bike that feels a lot more up to date than the GSX-R of old.

The 2026 edition also gains a new lightweight Li-ion battery, which is more compact, durable, and designed to deliver reliable cold starts and long-term use, than a traditional lead acid item.

The return of the GSX-R1000 at this time isn’t just serendipity; it’s part of Suzuki’s 40th anniversary celebrations of the GSX-R line, which began back in 1985 with the game-changing GSX-R750F.

To mark the occasion, the 2025 model arrives in three colour schemes inspired by classic GSX-R liveries:

• A timeless blue and white
• A red and white tribute
• And a properly nostalgic yellow and matt blue option

Each comes with a 40th anniversary logo on the fairing and tank, a retro ‘R’ on the bellypan, and GSX-R branding across the seat and silencer. Even the magneto and clutch covers get special grey finishes.

UK availability and pricing

Suzuki says the new GSX-R1000R will land in UK dealerships in spring 2025, with prices still to be confirmed. The bike will make its public debut at Motorcycle Live at the NEC this November, no doubt drawing a crowd of loyal Gixxer fans who’ve been waiting patiently for this day.

And make no mistake, there are plenty of them. The GSX-R1000 has been a beloved staple of UK roads and trackdays for over two decades. Its brief absence left a hole in the hearts of many riders who still value old-school thrills, real-world performance, and the deep racing pedigree that’s always run through Suzuki’s GSX-R DNA.

Now it’s back – sharper, cleaner, and meaner than ever. And with the likes of the Fireblade and ZX-10R also getting updates for 2025, it looks like the 1,000cc superbike war is very much back on.

Long live the Gixxer.

Suzuki GSX-R1000R spec