Suzuki GSX (1980 to 2027)

The Suzuki GSX family is Suzuki’s great four-stroke performance lineage, introduced in 1980 as the sharper successor to the GS series and quickly expanding from early models such as the GSX750E and GSX1100E into offshoots that included the GSX1100S Katana and, later, the GSX1300R Hayabusa. Production is best understood as a continuum rather than a single generation: the first GSX roadsters arrived in 1980, the original Katana entered production in 1981, the Hayabusa followed in 1999, and GSX-badged street, sport and sport-touring machines remain in Suzuki’s global lineup today. Engines ranged from small-capacity fours to the Hayabusa’s 1,340 cc liquid-cooled inline-four, all are effectively RWD via chain final drive, with five- or six-speed manual gearboxes and no factory automatic option.