The Ride – Suzuki GSX-S1000
At the end of 2014 I spent two days riding all the middleweight and big bore nakedbikes on the market – both on the street and on a private testing facility. For my flight to Spain, I dug my 35-pages of notes out from that test and read through them. Not to compare the GSX-S to the others, as they really are split into quite a few sub-categories but more to remind myself of what I like and don’t like about a big capacity sports nakedbike.
I really did not know what to expect of the GSX-S – but I was hoping that it was not too boring, yet not too crazy. For me, it had to be just a nice, fast, easy ride…
First impressions last and as soon as I sat on the bike I knew I would like it. The riding position made me feel familiar and at home. You sit ‘in’ the bike not ‘on’ the bike and the Renthal Pro Taper ‘bars are at a fantastic level in relation to the seat.
The fuel tank is nice and tall and the footpegs roomy. It’s a very neutral and relaxed riding position and the controls fall to hand nicely.
Firing up the bike requires a single push of the button rather than holding it down and no clutch-in is required, so as I gear up I hit the button. The GSX-S idles with that GSX-R raspy growl we all love. It sounds smooth but angry. I blip the throttle as I hop on and a short, sharp note fires out of the stubby exhaust tip. Nice. Exciting. Fun…
It takes just a few kilometres to be completely comfortable on the GSX-S. Initially short-shifting through the smooth, positive gearbox as we make our way out of Alicante to the hills for our photoshoot, I soon begin to explore the mid-range of the bike and I’m impressed.
It pulls from 2500rpm like a freight train and accelerates hard through 5000rpm – 6000rpm for a very meaty mid-range area. The intake noise is howling and addictive and the exhaust is one of the best, if not the best, sounding standard pipe I can remember hearing. I would only change it for style not for sound…
The road opens up briefly and I glance at the dash – we’re averaging 160km/h in top gear en route to the shoot. So, with some room ahead I drop back to fourth and take it to the rev limiter. The top end acceleration makes me laugh inside my helmet – along with the fact that I’d be arrested in Australia for this hooning!
It’s not GSX-R1000K5 top-end but it is GSX-R1000 K1 top end – more than enough for a bike with no fairings! Acceleration is really impressive – this bike is a V8 with handlebars… it does not drop off up top, it just keeps on pulling harder until the limiter cuts the fun. The only issue I am dealing with is an abrupt initial throttle snatch from a closed throttle. It happens at any rpm and can only be dampened using some rear brake preloading prior to opening the throttle. I’m hoping this is a pre production issue with the ECU/tune of the bike. Once that initial ‘snap’ is dealt with, the throttle is fantastic – a real one-to-one feeling with the back tyre.
The gearbox ratios and overall gearing suit the K5 powerplant well and I would not change the final gearing at all. There is also plenty of engine braking but no rear wheel hop on downshifts, thanks to the back-torque limiting clutch.
Like any nakedbike of course, there is no wind protection, so sustained speeds of over 140 – 150km/h are literally a pain in the neck… However, below those speeds the ride position is comfortable.
The first corners I arrive at turn out to be the photo location – so despite being unfamiliar with the bike and it being quite early in the morning, I have to style it up for the shoot on a range of awkward, narrow, low speed double-apex corners! The GSX-S chassis is so nicely balanced with a natural, confidence-inspiring feel and a feeling of good mechanical grip that I am able to get straight into the knee down action shots, despite cool tyres. Cornering the GSX-S is effortless.
In fact, it out-handles the GSX-R in these conditions. Where I look, the bike follows. It tracks my vision and a bike that does that is a bike with very good geometry that makes riding a fun experience – not a tiring or draining experience. A big tick there for Suzuki.
Ground clearance is fantastic and even at knee down angles the footpegs only touch if there are bumps mid corner. Riding position is not important either, again proving the good chassis geometry. I tried sitting upright, hanging off, half hanging off, sitting forward and back while riding and cornering and none really made a difference – the GSX-S just got on with the job of tracking nicely through the turns.
The bike is really stable and I notice as I accelerate hard out of turns, some with crests, that there is no sign of wiggle or headshake. Changing direction is not a problem, either, as I discover a few times. The first situation is a large boulder that has fallen on the road – and I am flat-out in second gear when I see it, quickly changing line while already committed to the turn – with no problem.
I do not run wide, I simply steer around the boulder. A lot of bikes would have gone straight into that rock…
The next steering test is a cyclist in the middle of the lane on an uphill blind corner and the third is a lady in a car on my side of the road! In each ‘test’ the GSX-S helped me save myself from a big crash… this is a great steering motorcycle.
The Dunlops offer good grip but as I negotiate yet another tight, twisting Spanish mountain I would like more feel from the tyres – particularly the front. I’m braking incredibly hard right up to the apex of some turns – some downhill and although I have no moments I would like more front tyre feel just for confidence.
The rear grips well aside from a big slide on a typically slippery Spanish white road marker line that no tyre would find grip on. It’s the only time I feel the traction control working. It saves my skin actually… at least from a big highside.
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