Despite updating the V-Strom 1050 in 2020, along with the Hayabusa, GSX-S1000 and the GSX-S1000GT in 2021, in recent years Suzuki has preferred minor overhauls to full overhauls or all-new platforms.
The rest of the brand's lineup had to make do with new color schemes and graphics.
And now Suzuki is faced with the decision: what to do with the GSX-R1000? Europe demanded that new, type-approved engines meet the Euro5 standard by January 2020.
Existing models were allowed to take a year longer.
But January 2021 came and went and yet the Suzuki GSX-R1000 remained in European showrooms.
That's because the firm had requested an "End of Series" extension, which would allow dealers to continue selling non-compliant GSX-R1000s for another two years.
Even if that's just a stay of execution with January 2023 on the horizon, Suzuki will have to decide whether to upgrade the GSX-R1000, or whether the European market will have to do without Suzuki's superbike in six months.
The most recent update to the GSX-R1000 range took place in 2017, making the superbike ripe for a much-needed revamp in 2023.
On the other hand, Suzuki has already withdrawn the GSX-R600 and GSX-R750 from Europe due to emissions restrictions.
Alarming for the GSX-R1000's survival, Suzuki announced in July to withdraw from MotoGP and Endurance World Racing (EWC) at the end of the 2022 season.
Two years after winning the 2020 MotoGP world championship with Joan Mir.
Suzuki says it wants to focus on sustainable platforms, making it difficult to predict how Suzuki plans to develop its superbike for future generations.
Hopefully the factory in Hamamatsu still has an asset up its sleeve, but we are holding our breath.