The Suzuki B-King came about after years of work on a concept model which was first shown to the public at the Tokyo Motor Show in 2001. At the time, the supercharged bike was said to produce over 250 HP using the contemporary Hayabusa engine, and was displayed with a 240 series tire on the rear hoop.
When the B-King entered official production in 2007 (for the 2008 model year), however, much of the high tech wizardry and the hugely powerful motor was gone, likely due to the company’s attorneys fiddling with the specifications in fear of potential future litigation. The current B-King has kept the 1340cc Hayabusa engine, but its horsepower is only rated for 181 and its torque at 108 lb/ft. It is geared for low-end and mid-range grunt, so the top speed is only 165 mph…if you can find somewhere to reach that limit.
However, if you find that the big bike is just a bit too much for you, and you would like something similarly-styled but with a more reasonable size, Suzuki will soon have you covered. Enter the 2011 Suzuki GW250, a 250cc ‘baby’ version of the monster that is the B-King. The new model will use a 250cc four-stroke, liquid-cooled parallel twin which provides 26 HP and 3.7 lb/ft of torque.
The design, including the chassis, headlight, seat, tail unit and even frame will mimic its bigger B-King brother in almost every way. The unit comes in at about 369 lbs. and should be priced very reasonably, though the exact number is unknown at this time.
Unfortunately, current plans only call for the GW250 to be available in Brazil and China, but there are well-substantiated rumors that it will be shipped to Europe as the GSR250 as early as 2012. Suzuki has a capable competitor for the Kawasaki Ninja 250R and the Honda CBR250R in the new GW250, all they need is the intestinal fortitude to take it worldwide and let the customer have a taste. The baby B-King would sure lure many buyers to Suzuki if it could be sold at a decent price.
