Suzuki GSX-R300: More Details Emerge

Suzuki’s upcoming contender in the 300cc sportbike segment will be powered by a parallel-twin, DOHC engine

• News of the GSX-R300 first emerged last year via leaked patent images.
• A second set of leaked patent images point towards a more powerful engine than the GSX250R and a tubular trellis frame.
• A naked variant of the bike, possibly called the GSX-S300, is also expected.
• The GSX-R300 is likely debut in late-2019 or early-2020.

News of the Suzuki GSX-R300’s development has been doing the rounds for quite some time now. While the initial patent images showed Suzuki’s plans of equipping the upcoming motorcycle with a parallel-twin engine, a new set of patent images offer more details of the bike’s powertrain and underpinnings. The new GSX-R300 will indeed get a parallel-twin, DOHC engine housed in a tubular trellis frame. And in keeping with the bike’s supersport intentions, the entire setup will be wrapped in a fully-enclosed bodywork. The images also show Suzuki planning an innovative way to cool the GSX-R300’s engine, whereby a ducted fan design allows the use of a smaller radiator without any loss in cooling efficiency.

Also read: A New 300cc Suzuki In The Works?

These details are a far cry from the specs of the GSX250R, which uses an age-old 250cc parallel-twin motor from the Inazuma 250. Compared to the longer-stroke engine of the GSX250R, the one on the GSX-R300 will be a higher-revving unit. This should help it make significantly more power than the GSX250R’s 25PS output. But it’s not just the ancient engine that handicaps the GSX250R as it’s underpinnings are more suited to a sports tourer rather than an outright sportbike.

Also read: Details Of New Suzuki Gixxer 250 Engine Emerge

It is precisely this gap in its portfolio that Suzuki is planning to address with the GSX-R300. Also helping matters is the fact that the 300cc sportbike segment has been on the upswing lately. In fact, each of Suzuki’s fellow Japanese bike manufacturers have an offering in the segment, namely the Honda CBR250RR, the Yamaha YZF-R3 and the Kawasaki Ninja 300.

Also read: Suzuki Gixxer 250 To Be Launched Around June 2019

So how different is the GSX-R300 from the upcoming Gixxer 250? Quite a bit. For starters, the Gixxer 250 will get a single-cylinder, oil-cooled engine that is likely to produce around 22PS-25PS of power. It will also use a enhanced version of the 150cc Gixxer’s frame apart from other underpinnings. In contrast, the GSX-R300 is likely to produce around 35PS-40PS from its liquid-cooled, parallel-twin motor, while the trellis frame should give it far better dynamic ability.

Also read: Suzuki Motorcycles India Launches 2019 Edition Hayabusa

Will the Suzuki GSX-R300 make it to India? We hope it does as the category already exists with contenders like the Kawasaki Ninja 300, the Yamaha YZF-R3 and the Benelli 302R. This is important because the last time Suzuki tried its hands at a new segment in India with the Inazuma 250, it got burnt badly because of the high pricing. Moreover, it could also borrow a leaf out of the Kawasaki Ninja 300’s book by aiming for greater localisation and CKD manufacturing to help price the GSX-R300 competitively.

Source: BikeSocial