2023 Suzuki GSX

With a solid pedigree and a moniker that is a household name, the middle-weight GSX-R600 properly resonates with the Gixxer family line

Suzuki carries over its proven GSX-R600 into MY2023 with naught but a new colorway to set it apart from the previous year. As usual, it comes built as a race bike, but with good street manners and road-legal lighting to cover a wide swath of the supersport market.

The powerful plant reprises its role to drive the bike and your imagination with crisp acceleration, a broad powerband, and some ride-control electronic goodies to help you keep it all under control. Solid underpinnings deliver a nimble ride with race-worthy suspension, steering damper support, and top-shelf braking components.

The Gixxer family has a long and distinguished history that started way back in 1985 with the game-changing GSX-R750 that launched a legacy. This family covers a range of displacements from the midrange up into literbike territory, so you can get just exactly what is right for your riding style and racing aspirations.

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The 2023 Suzuki GSX-R600 produces 124 horsepower and 51.3 pound-feet of torque. These are the claimed figures, and as usual, measured at the shaft before factoring in mechanical losses in the drivetrain.

Power comes from a transverse-mount, inline-four engine that relies on liquid cooling to deal with the waste heat; a feature that guarantees a certain amount of thermal stability, even under harsh conditions. It's an oversquare mill with a 67 mm bore and 42.5 mm stroke that gives it a 599 cc displacement and speecy-spicy 12.9-to-1 compression ratio that'll demand high-octane go-go juice.

A fuel-injected throttle body controls induction and comes equipped with Suzuki's Dual Throttle Valve feature that has a second, computer-controlled set of valves on the downstream side of the rider-controlled butterflies to reconcile the difference between pilot demand and powerplant capability. This gives it buttery-smooth transitions with no stumbles or hiccups anywhere in the rev range.

Power flows through a slip-and-assist clutch for some backtorque-mitigation action that prevents the rear end from breaking loose on hard downshifts and decisive engine-braking events. A six-speed, constant-mesh transmission and tough, O-ring chain-and-sprocket final drive turn out a GSX-R600 top speed right around the 155 MPH mark. Suzuki's Drive Mode Selector provides quick personality changes that let you switch things up with a push of a button.

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Here we find the only difference between this year and the last on the GSX-R600. A new trio of colorways offers a couple of subtle, low-key paint packages and a race livery-inspired package that is a bit more eye-catching than the others to be sure.

Dual halogen headlights ride in the nose in a stacked configuration that contributes to the Gixxer's narrow entry. The front blinkers are also non-LED bulbs, and they come integrated with the mirrors that not only make them more visible to traffic due to their height but also let you remove mirrors and blinkers at once when setting up for race days.

A small bubblescreen parts the wind, but you'll have to just about put your chin on the tank to find it. That's fine, even expected, with a racebike, but will be wearisome to keep up for a more casual rider.

The 4.2-gallon fuel tank rocks a broad flange up top with a strong wane toward the rear to form the knee pocket and allow for a narrow waist. This thing is also set up to allow for the full range of body English moves, which is just the thing for proper racebikes and enthusiastic public-road riders alike. Naturally, the leading part of the seat is also heavily pared down to contribute to the skinny waist, so your legs have a nice straight shot to the ground when you put your feet down.

If you're into sharing the fun with a friend I have good news 'cause the GSX-R600 rolls with a stock pillion pad. You can easily remove the usual fold-up foot pegs when trying to get down to race weight.

The taillight rides in the tip of the tail and has the only LED emitters on the whole bike with an LED brake/tail emitter. On either side of the taillight are the recessed rear turn signals for a nice, clean look. A bolt-on mudguard mounts the plate and tag light to complete the gear in the rear.

Suzuki GSX-R600 Specs

Length

79.9 in.(2,030 mm)

Width

44.7 in.(1,135 mm)

Seat Height

31.9 in.(810 mm)

Wheelbase

54.5 in.(1,385 mm)

Ground Clearance

5.1 in.(130 mm)

Fuel Capacity

4.5 US gal. (17.0 L) / 4.2 US gal. (16.0 L) CA model

Curb Weight

187 kg (412 lb.)

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The factory uses an aluminum-alloy, twin-spar style perimeter frame on the GSX-R600 that hangs the engine as a stressed member to complete the structure and bring it to its designed rigidity. A cast aluminum swingarm completes the bones.

At the steering head, we find an electronically-controlled steering damper that takes the brunt of the kickback with event-based damping. A dead-short, 23.45-degree rake angle joins with 3.82 inches of trail to make for a very nimble setup indeed.

The inverted Showa Big Piston forks come with the full trinity of tweaks, like the Showa shock out back, all of which are race-centric suspension components set up with the demands of track use in mind. Suspension travel measures 4.7 inches ahead of 5.1 inches to leave plenty of room to squat in the corners and absorb whatever abuse you dish out, even in the roughest urban jungle.

To keep unsprung weight and gyroscopic forces low, the factory uses a 17-inch, three-spoke, cast-alloy wheel that comes shod in a 120/70 up front and 180/55 out back, all in a "Z" speed rating that will tolerate maximum speed with no problem. Dual, four-bore Brembo binders and dual, 310 mm discs slow the front wheel, while out back, a single-piston Nissin caliper takes care of business. There's no ABS coverage, so you'll have to rely on skill alone.

Chassis & Suspension

Frame

Twin-spar aluminum alloy frame

Swingarm

Cast aluminum

Front Suspension/ Travel

Showa Big Piston Front Fork (BPF) Inverted telescopic, coil spring, oil damped/ 4.7 in.

Rear Suspension/ Travel

Link type, single Showa shock, coil spring, oil damped/5.1 in.

Rake

23.45°

Trail

3.82 in.

Front Wheel

Three-spoke, cast alloy

Rear Wheel

Three-spoke, cast alloy

Front Tire

120/70ZR17M/C (58W), tubeless

Rear Tire

180/55ZR17M/C (73W), tubeless

Front Brake

Dual Brembo 310 mm, 4-piston caliper

Rear Brake

Nissin single disc, single-piston caliper

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The 2023 Suzuki GSX-R600 costs $11,699. You can choose between Glass Sparkle Black/Glass Matte Mechanical Gray and Pearl Brilliant White/Metallic Matte Stellar Blue. If you fancy the Metallic Triton Blue/Metallic Mystic Silver, it's sold under the GSX-R600Z moniker and rolls for $11,799.

Pricing & Features

Warranty

12-month limited warranty

Colors

└ 2015

Metallic Triton Blue / Pearl Glacier White, Pearl Bracing White / Glass Sparkle Black

└ 2016

Metallic Triton Blue, Pearl Mira Red / Metallic Matte Black No. 2

└ 2017

Metallic Triton Blue, Glass Sparkle Black / Marble Daytona Yellow, Metallic Matte Black No. 2 / Glass Sparkle Black

└ 2018

Metallic Triton Blue, Metallic Mystic Silver/Pearl Glacier White, Metallic Oort Grey No. 3

└ 2019, 2020

Glass Sparkle Black, Pearl Glacier White

└ 2021

Pearl Brilliant White

└ 2022

Glass Matte Mechanical Gray / Pearl Brilliant White, Glass Blaze Orange / Glass Sparkle Black

└ 2023

Pearl Brilliant White / Metallic Matte Stellar Blue, Glass Sparkle Black / Glass Matte Mechanical Gray (R600Z: Metallic Triton Blue)

Price

└ 2016, 2017

$11,199

└ 2018

$11,299

└ 2019, 2020

$11,399

└ 2021

$11,449

└ 2022

$11,499

└ 2023

$11,699 (R600Z: $11,799)

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The 2023 Suzuki GSX-R600 falls out at the top of its displacement bracket, and like with the bigger bikes, it's a game of inches and ounces at this point. With that in mind, I went to longtime domestic foe Honda for its own version of a mid-size, street-legal racebike in the CBR600RR mode.

Honda draws on its own racing experience for the layout here, and so the bodywork is the genuine article. However, I can't imagine why Honda mounted separate blinkers and mirrors rather than integrating them like with the Suzuki.

Suspension is a wash with fully-adjustable inverted stems all around, same with the dual four-piston calipers with no ABS in sight. The Honda CBR600RR produces 113 ponies and 48.7 pounds o' grunt to fall a tad short of Suzuki's numbers, though if you aren't actually racing the thing, does it really matter? I'm thinking not so much.

Neither does the price difference matter that much with a $12,099 sticker on the red ride. However, if you're looking for the most bang for your buck, the Gixxer is still the way to go.

"All of my Gixxer experience is on an 1100, but still, I feel comfortable that the family line comes with a solid pedigree and a moniker that is a household name. The performance is there, though I can't help but wonder if a switchable ABS wouldn't have been a good idea, especially for the street riders."

My wife and fellow motorcycle writer, Allyn Hinton, says,

"As you'd expect, the GSX-R600 is fast and very flickable. It has good mid-range, and even if you chose the less-than-sporty rider mode, it's going to be a fun ride. It might be a handful as a beginner's bike, but if you want to land in this mid-displacement range, you'll have thrills-a-minute on this one."

The 2023 Suzuki GSX-R600 comes in two two-tone colorways starting at $11,699: Pearl Brilliant White and Metallic Matte Stellar Blue or Glass Sparkle Black and Glass Matte Mechanical Gray. It also comes in a race livery, Metallic Triton Blue, as the GSX-R600Z for $11,799.

With the 599 cc engine the GSX-R600 produces a claimed 124 horsepower and 51.3 pound-feet of torque.

As of this writing, the Suzuki GSX-R600 is in production. For 2023, MSRP starts at $11,699 with a race-livery model available starting at $11,799.

The 599 cc engine in the GSX-R600 is a transverse-mount, inline-four-cylinder that produces a claimed 124 horsepower and 51.3 pound-feet of torque.

TJ got an early start from his father and other family members who owned and rode motorcycles, and by helping with various mechanical repairs throughout childhood. That planted a seed that grew into a well-rounded appreciation of all things mechanical, and eventually, into a formal education of same. Though primarily a Harley rider, he has an appreciation for all sorts of bikes and doesn't discriminate against any particular brand or region of origin. He currently holds an Associate's degree in applied mechanical science from his time at the M.M.I.