10 Days And 2,000 Miles Riding The Suzuki GSX-S1000GX

The Road Test

At over £14,500 for the GSX-S1000GX or £15,800 for the GX+, and that is without any extras, Suzuki’s “Crossover” GX is a significant investment. As with any investment, it is wise to complete detailed research before parting with the cash.

Whereas a road test to Scotland gathers more information than is typically available from the prepackaged routes ridden on bike launches, the only way to get under the skin of a motorcycle is to live with it.

Living with a bike through summer might give you the miles, but it doesn’t always give you the intensity of 2,000 miles in 10 days with a couple of bags strapped to the back.

The road test included UK A roads and boring motorways, including those with never-ending average speed zones and accompanying lines of stationary traffic to filter through. Kilometres on German and French motorways and an absolute feast of twisting and flowing roads in the Eifel and Black Forest National Parks.

The Suzuki GX was the standard version without luggage. For the essentials, I used a 42-litre SW-Motech Pro Rackpack attached to the Suzuki’s tail rack and stuffed everything else into an old Oxford T30 dry bag I lashed across the pillion seat. It may not have been the most aesthetically pleasing way of doing things, but nothing fell off, and everything stayed dry.

The sun shone, the rain fell, and the wind often became gusty as the thunderstorms approached. Add in the rich assortment of roads, and the road test comprehensively explored what it is like to live with the Suzuki GSX-S1000GX.

Brakes

If there is an elephant in the room, it would have to be the brakes. They have been described as wooden, and they don’t have a classic feel, but they haul the GSX-S1000GX to a stop if you commit to them.

I’d suggest the negative comments come from the feeling they give when you are finessing the brakes rather than using them.

If you use the brakes lightly, there is a momentary delay before you get the feedback you are looking for. An awful description would be as if something on the discs needed to be cleaned off before the pads gripped.

Of course, there isn’t anything on the discs, and the brakes are working; it is just that momentary delay in the feedback that can be distracting.

When we rode the GSX-S1000GT to Portimao a few years ago, there was a long discussion about the brakes. Carle liked how they were set up: a gentle initial bite with ever-increasing feedback the more pressure you applied.

On the other hand, Dave prefers brakes that give instant feedback, so he never has to search for the response he wants.

Suzuki knows how to make brakes. The ones on the V-Strom 1050 are a good example. Pull hard on that brake lever, and you’ll come to a very abrupt halt. This leads me to the conclusion that the brakes on the GX are working as designed.

The brakes on the GSX-S1000GX use the same hardware as found on the GT, apart from the master cylinder. Although the internal dimensions are the same, the design is slightly different. Assuming all of this isn’t fixed with some EBC Double H pads, that leaves us with the electronics as the cause of any absence in feedback.

Trail Braking

What racing I’ve done – a lifetime ago – put me in the back half of a well-stocked club race. I’m not the guy you will find trail braking to the apex with his knee on the floor, desperately wanting to get back on the power.

Discovering that the GSX-S1000GX electronics package includes the ability to make me look good, made me a very happy camper, and as with all good discoveries, it happened by chance.

Arriving slightly hotter than I would have liked for a tightish corner, the GSX-S1000GX obligingly tipped into the corner without that desire to go straight on that comes from overlapping the brakes with the desire to turn.

My ego decided that this must have looked good, as I had braked later, turned in tighter, and made the apex, all without any dramas or the GSX-S1000GX being contorted into odd-looking shapes.

Testing my theory on the next sweeping corner, I had the GX in a long, balanced turn and tentatively eased on the front brake. The GX just slowed down.

The front wasn’t going to tuck, as the speed and the brake inputs were nowhere near enough for that to happen, but I did expect the GSX-S1000GX to try and sit up abruptly. It didn’t. I simply slowed down.

Suzuki calls this the Motion Track Brake System, a connection through the IMU to control the ABS. I’m still confused because I wasn’t anywhere near the ABS needing to intervene. But, if the IMU is keeping a watching brief over what is going on, perhaps that accounts for that momentary delay before you think the brakes are biting.

Electronics

Fancy electronics are never a substitute for good riding technique, but when they complement what you are trying to achieve or, as in my case, help things not become squiffy on the way into a corner, I’m impressed.

Pushing beyond the normal rider modes and suspension settings, the GSX-S1000GX electronic suite comes as a holistic package Suzuki calls the Intelligent Ride System (SIRS)

As you change the SDMS mode (Suzuki Drive Mode Select – also known as the throttle map to you and me) between A, B and C, the semi-active suspension, traction, lift (wheelie), and roll torque controls all change accordingly.

There is also a user-defined mode for those who want to mix and match the options, but I never bothered. Suzuki has blended the electronics into three sweet combinations I never felt the need to mess with.

SDMS B mode made the most sense, and I used this mode for the majority of the miles I covered. The connection between the throttle and the rear wheel in B mode is perfect for the wet or dry twisting roads in the Black Forest and Eifel National Parks.

Lift control comes on in SMDS A mode, and unless you are deft at controlling the front wheel’s desire to lift by dabbing the rear brake, having the Lift Limiter enabled is an excellent idea.

I wasn’t trying to wheelie the GSX-S1000GX or smoke the rear tyre, all I was doing was accelerating with full throttle in first and second gear, yet the GSX-S1000GX needed its enthusiasm tempering.

SMDS A has a very direct throttle connection, and the first couple of times I gave a meaningful twist to the grip, I was holding on rather than riding the bike. As soon as you know the bike will behave this way, it is no longer a factor. Nonetheless, the punch from the 149 BHP motor is impressive the first few times you grip and let rip.

There is also a Slope Dependent Control System, which I think is Suzuki’s way of limiting the ability to try and emulate Toprak Razgatlıoğlu by arriving balanced on the front wheel.

On the occasions I used the brakes hard, I never got the ABS to go off, or perhaps I didn’t notice it. The dirt marks on the fork legs showed I had compressed the front suspension almost to the stops, but I never felt the rear wheel wanting to come up.

Perhaps the best compliment you can pay the Suzuki GSX-S1000GX electronics is to say, “I never noticed them.” They are confidence-inspiring, and when coupled with the engine’s smoothness and some decent Dunlops, even riding in the rain is a joy.

Engine, Gearbox and Fuelling

The engine pulls cleanly from low RPM to the red line. The fuelling doesn’t have lumps, bumps, or emission flat spots, and the gearbox and bi-directional quick-shifter are sublimely smooth.

It is so good that I was rolling through the 30KPH—yes, KPH—sections in some of the villages in third and then simply opening the throttle as I passed the village exit sign.

The only problem is that you can get lazy and arrive at a roundabout dawdling in third and then start looking for first. As there are no revs to speak of and the gearbox is only just turning as you slow to less than walking pace, changing down is mechanically challenging for the gearbox to achieve.

The solution is to not take advantage of the GSX-S1000GXs forgiving nature and ride the bike properly.

The GX’s top speed is capped at 133 MPH (compared to the GT’s 145 MPH), which the Suzuki easily achieves with its 78lb-ft of torque.

I found a childish satisfaction in watching oversized, domineering urban assault vehicles shrink in the mirrors with a simple twist of the throttle. Even at 80MPH plus in 6^th gear, a twist of the wrist invokes an immediate response from the GX’s motor and the numbers on the display climb rapidly.