Yoshimura Suzuki tested November third through the fifth in Sepang, Malaysia with riders Aaron Yates and Mat Mladin on hand. The pair tested both the new 2005 GSX-R1000 Superbike, Mladin's 04 Superbike and a 2005 GSX-R 1000 Superstock machine.

While previous Malaysian tests have worked out well for the Yoshimura Suzuki team, with plenty of track time in brilliant sunshine, this time the boys from Chino, California were not so lucky.

"We were plagued with a lot of afternoon and evening rain," Sakaura said. "We didn't get as much track time as we had hoped, but enough to get some good data from the bike."

The new 2005 Suzuki is virtually a punch-list of Mat Mladin's desired changes to the liter machine. The '05 machines that Yates and Mladin rode were prepped in Japan and already faster than the '04 machine. Sakakura commented, "We mainly noticed that the engine is improved and has more power throughout the powerband, and has a better top end kick. Quite a bit different than our current model, especially with the Superbike limitations where we were quite restricted. We definitely felt an improvement in the engine performance over the current model. It looks very promising. The engine is very ridable, very tractable. I think it makes more power already than what we used this season; so for the first time on the racetrack, it is quite surprising. "

The Sepang track is well known as an unusual place to test, as the wildlife around the circuit could stock a small zoo. Screaming monkeys hang in the trees, and Troy Corser ran over a python at Sepang in the late 1990s.

"It's a beautiful course, very green and lush, but remote," added Sakakura.