Well it took me a bit longer than I’d originally anticipated to get out on one but i finally did it last Saturday as those great people from Suzuki had an open day at Loomies!
I played it cool and turned up towards the end of the day so I stood more of a chance of getting out on a demo bike. The plan worked! I only had to wait for the ride that was out to get back to the cafe and I was out on the next one, 30 minutes later. Got all the paperwork done, licence checked and dotted line scribbled on. Then I was shown the bike.
Nobody is Perfect
Let’s get the bad bits out of the way first.
Anybody who’s ridden a Suzuki GSXR1000K5 (2005) or later one of the later GSXRs will know all about the jerky throttle response. It kicks in when you’ve got the twist grip opened slightly just above idle. Well it’s the same on the GSXS.
The clutch lever really does need a span adjuster to give better clutch control. The first thing i’d have to do to the bike is fit a set of pazzo stubby levers. I wasn’t the only one to say this on the day.
Right onto the good bits!
Anybody who thinks this isn’t a good looking bike really does need to go to Specsavers! It’s a babe! Suzuki have got the styling absolutely spot on! There’s three colour choices, black, red or blue. I’m a massive fan of the blue personally. It’s a gorgeous paint job.
Deep blue delight
Well Known Soundtrack
Starting the engine brings out a familiar noise: The sound of a GSXR1000K5. It’s the same lump albeit tweaked and fettled slightly to better suit the bike. The full power kick is pointless on this bike. Imagine 200mph on a naked street fighter. That is going stretch your neck a bit. You still get the 145bhp & 83ftlbs of torque but it’s delivered in a different way. You open the taps, it still takes off. I found myself having to back off quite a few times as i was catching up quickly to the girl in front of me who was testing a GSXR 750.
This was no bad thing though, it gave me a chance to play around with the gearbox. Nothing out of the ordinary here, usual 1 down, 5 up, but it was very smooth. Suzuki have always made bikes with slick gearboxes.
Traction Control
Also had a play around with the 3 mode TCS. As we set off, I had it set to mode 3. This the most active of them. When I opened the taps, nothing. The tyres must have still been warm from the previous run! So, I flicked into mode 1. Opened the taps in third. Still nothing! I think this needs a second run to be fully tested. Oh well. It’s an hard life isn’t it?
Talking about opening the taps, there’s one thing I love about a ‘Gixxer’ above anything else. It’s the induction growl when you open the throttle up. It sounds like big machine gun in the air box. I love it!! Happily the GSXS does it too! It just makes you push harder, just as well the bike handles really well, it feels planted as it’s fully faired, sports bike siblings. The GSXS inspires confidence; it’s really easy to hold on the line you picked. But, having said this, it does lack the ‘flickability’ that I found on the BMW S1000R, that one somehow feels lighter and easier to throw around.
So Much to Offer
Overall, I really do like this bike. I’d buy one quite happily without a second thought. It’s fast, it’s smooth, it’s comfortable and a real joy to ride. The list of official extras is growing quickly too. For example, Yoshimura have already designed a nice cone tail pipe for it. This being fitted to the to the example I took out. Sounded really good too.
I’ll be taking it out again soon for a proper test and not the company dictated one: I want to see just how good this bike really is! Watch this space!
P.S. You get a lot of bike for your money…… £9599 starter! (May 2016 prices) – Maybe as little as £6000 used in 2025?
Words and Picture: Rob ‘Speedy’ Graham