From a press release issued by Team Suzuki:

TEAM SUZUKI 2004 SEASON PROGRAM

Thanks to the support of valuable technical and commercial product sponsors, and the continuing support of the media in all its forms, Team Suzuki once again celebrated a successful season across many different race formats and different continents in 2003. With the new season already starting to get under way, Team Suzuki is aiming for even greater success in 2004.

In the 2003 World Endurance Championship, the Suzuki GSX-R1000 won six races out of eight races, winning the FIM manufacturer’s title and, with the Suzuki GB Phase One Team the individual championship as well. In fact, the GSX-R1000 dominated the class, taking five of the top-ten positions in the championship.

In the World MXGP championship, Team Suzuki’s Michael Pichon led for most of the season, but missed the last three rounds through injury and finished in third position. Kevin Strijbos had an exceptional first season with Team Suzuki, taking ninth place in the premier MXGP racing class.

In the World Superbike championship, Gregorio Lavilla took the Suzuki Alstare GSX-R1000 to fifth place in the series – the highest placed 4-cylinder machine rider in the class. Team Suzuki Alstare’s Stephane Chambon took the GSX-R600 to second place in the World Supersport championship with team mate Katsuaki Fujiwara finishing in fifth position, and Michele Fabrizio took his Suzuki Alstare GSX-R1000 to the European Superstock championship.

In the USA, Mat Mladin and Aaron Yates dominated the AMA Superbike series, taking first and second places in the championships on the Yoshimura GSX-R1000 racers. And the Suzuki American Success story didn’t end there with Ben Spies taking the Formula X-treme title and Josh Hays the Superstock title to give Suzuki a brilliant triple crown.

In the British Superbike Championship Rizla Suzuki’s John Reynolds overcame an early season injury to fight his way up to second place in the championship on the GSX-R1000 and Yukio Kagayama became a fan’s favorite in his BSB ‘rookie year’ winning three races and finishing in seventh place in the series despite missing the last three races through injury.

In the All Japan championship JSB class, Keiichi Kitagawa and Atsushi Watanabe produced another Suzuki GSX-R1000 double, taking first and second places in the championship and the third consecutive All Japan championship Super Bike class. (Re-named JSB1000 for 2003). In the All Japan Motocross championship, Akira Narita and Kazumasa Masuda took yet another Suzuki double in the 250cc class, and Saya Suzuki won the fourth Ladies class in a row, giving Suzuki four out of five All Japan Motocross classes for the second year in a row.

In conclusion, the continuing success of Team Suzuki’s GSX-R and RM machines in 2003 proved that Suzuki is firmly on target to ‘Own the Racetrack.’

In 2004 Team Suzuki is committed to achieve even greater success on the racetracks of the world. In the premier MotoGP road racing class, Kenny Roberts Jr. and John Hopkins will take the radical, new 2004 GSV-R four-stroke racer into battle with the promise of improved performance and a new technical partner in the form of the Bridgestone tyre company. In the new MX1 premier motocross GP class, multiple world champion Joel Smets joins Kevin Strijbos in Team Suzuki to race the all-new RM-Z450WS four-stroke. Stephane Chambon and Katsuaki Fujiwara will take the new GSX-R600 Team Alstare Suzuki into the World Supersport championship as firm favorites for the title.

In major national championships around the world, Team Suzuki will be looking to repeat the winning form in 2004. In the All Japan Road Race championship, Keiichi Kitagawa and Atsushi Watanabe will be looking to retain the JSB1000 class championship. Matt Mladin and Aaron Yates are determined to repeat the Suzuki one-two in the AMA Superbike series and John Reynolds and Yukio Kagayama will be aiming for the British Superbike Championship. So, Team Suzuki is aiming high for the three top national Superbike championships in three continents. In the All Japan Motocross championship, Shinichi Kaga and Takuma Kojima will join Kazumasa Masuda in the new factory team with the aim of making the new RM-Z450 the champion in its first year.

Suzuki remains committed to maximizing its commitment and support of all Team Suzuki activities in 2004 and beyond. The invaluable support of all the technical sponsors, commercial sponsors, media, riders, team members, distributors, dealers and supporters is central to the continuing Team Suzuki program and Suzuki is grateful for all that continuing support.


2004 GSV-R SPECIFICATION

ENGINE TYPE – FOUR-STROKE, WATER-COOLED, V4
DISPLACEMENT – 990cc
MAX POWER – 220+ ps @ 14,500+ rpm
VALVE TYPE – DOHC FOUR-VALVE
CARBURATION TYPE – FUEL INJECTION
LUBRICATION SYSTEM – WET SUMP
CLUTCH – DRY MULTI PLATES (BACK TORQUE REDUCE TYPE)
TRANSMISSION – SIX-SPEED CONSTANT MESH
FINAL DRIVE – CHAIN
FRAME TYPE – TWIN SPAR ALUMINUM ALLOY FRAME
SUSPENSION FRONT – INVERTED TYPE TELESCOPIC
SUSPENSION REAR – LINK TYPE
TYRES – BRIDGESTONE
WHEEL FRONT – 16.5 inches
WHEEL REAR – 16.5 inches
BRAKE SYSTEM FRONT – DOUBLE CARBON DISC (CARBON)
BRAKE SYSTEM REAR – SINGLE DISC (STEEL)
OVERALL LENGTH – 2060mm
OVERALL WIDTH – 660mm
OVERALL HEIGHT – 1150mm
WHEELBASE – 1450mm
WEIGHT – 145kg
FUEL TANK – 24L



2004 RM-Z450WS SPECIFICATION

ENGINE TYPE – FOUR-STROKE, WATER-COOLED, SINGLE
DISPLACEMENT – 450cc
MAX POWER – 60+ ps @ 9,000+ rpm
VALVE TYPE – DOHC FOUR-VALVE
CARBURATION TYPE – KEIHIN FCR
LUBRICATION SYSTEM – SEMI DRY SUMP
CLUTCH – WET MULTI PLATES
TRANSMISSION – FOUR SPEED CONSTANT MESH
FINAL DRIVE – CHAIN
FRAME TYPE – TWIN SPAR ALUMINUM ALLOY FRAME
SUSPENSION FRONT – INVERTED TYPE TELESCOPIC
SUSPENSION REAR – NEW LINK TYPE
TYRES – PIRELLI(World GP MX1), BRIDGESTONE(All Japan MX)
WHEEL FRONT – 21 inches
FRONT REAR – 19 inches
BRAKE SYSTEM – SINGLE DISC (STEEL) FRONT AND REAR
OVERALL LENGTH – 2175mm
OVERALL WIDTH – 815mm
OVERALL HEIGHT – 1270mm
WHEELBASE – 1490mm
WEIGHT – 98kg
FUEL TANK – 7.5L


2004 RM250WS SPECIFICATION

ENGINE TYPE – TWO-STROKE WATER COOLED SINGLE
DISPLACEMENT – 250cc
MAX POWER – 58+ PS @ 8,000+ rpm
VALVE TYPE – PISTON REED VALVE
CARBURATION TYPE – MIKUNI TMX39S
LUBRICATION SYSTEM – PRE-MIXTURE 30:1
CLUTCH – WET MULTI PLATES
TRANSMISSION – FIVE-SPEED CONSTANT MESH
FINAL DRIVE – CHAIN
FRAME TYPE – SEMI DOUBLE CRADLE
SUSPENSION FRONT – INVERTED TYPE TELESCOPIC
SUSPENSION REAR – NEW LINK TYPE
TYRES FRONT – BRIDGESTONE 21 INCHES
TYRES REAR – BRIDGESTONE 19 INCHES
BRAKE SYSTEM – SINGLE DISC (STEEL) FRONT AND REAR
OVERALL LENGTH – 2175mm
OVERALL WIDTH – 840mm
OVERALL HEIGHT – 1280mm
WHEELBASE – 1470mm
WEIGHT – 98kg
FUEL TANK – 8.0L