Launched last year, the GSX-S1000GX+ represented the brands long awaited foray into the increasingly popular sports-crossover market sector. With the Yamaha Tracer 9 and BMWs XR models seen as the models to beat, the GX+ on paper is right on the money when Top Trump rules are played regarding power, weight, spec and price.
Building a new model around its tried and tested GSXR1000 K5 engine clearly left headroom in the development budget to be able to add a host of new for Suzuki features, with the option of their first electronically equipped (Showa) suspended model with the GX+ model, in turn allowing for a new Suzuki acronym – Suzuki.Advanced.Electronic.Suspension (SAES). Alongside the SAES the GX+ model also comes with 36 litre side case hard luggage as standard, each capable of holding a full face helmet.
As well as the usual 6 axis IMU based electronic rider aids such as, traction/wheelie control, cornering abs & torque control the GX+ also features Suzuki Road Adaption Stabilisation (SRAS) a feature which ‘engages automatically’ if the sensors detect you encounter a rough uneven surface such as cobblestones which in turn will activate a stronger intervention of the Suzuki Floating Ride Control (SFRC) adjusting the electronic throttle valve settings with the aim of delivering a softer more controlled throttle response.
As well as the above there are several other features in keeping with its class rivals, such as slope descent control, manually adjustable screen height, luggage rack, power point and bungee hooks galore.
A new 6.5 TFT dash, featuring Bluetooth connectivity through the Suzuki mySpin app, LED lights and a bi-directional quick shifter/auto blipper are all fitted as standard.
The 1000GX+ manages to bring a modern, yet distinctively Suzuki option to the sector. At a claimed 232kg curb weight the GX+ is heavier than its two closest rivals, however at 2150mm overall length it’s the shortest of the 3 (Tracer 2157mm XR 2156mm) and with a 845mm seat it matches the lowest setting of the 2 height adjustable (845/860mm) Tracer and is some 5mm less than the 850mm XR.
Despite its large physical stature, sitting aboard the GX +feels akin to any large capacity naked, both my feet are comfortably flat on the floor (30” inside leg ) the bars are comfortably positioned, keeping my torso slightly cantered forward albeit with footpegs set slightly higher than I was expecting, perhaps hinting that the GX+ is aimed towards the sportier end of the sector.
It’s not inconsiderable weight has been rendered almost negligible when lifting of its side stand and carrying out the paddling around that’s often involved in negotiating car parks and the like when riding. As with any motorcycle of its size/weight care should be taken to avoid straying too many degrees from vertical, as the real weight suddenly makes itself known.
Simple and clear switchgear hints at overall ease of use to navigate the many ‘preset’ user settings rather than say, the plethora of buttons & switches found on the like of a modern Ducati/KTM where individual adjustment is encouraged.
With a traditional in-line 4 engine now something of a rarity, firing the legendary and ‘retuned’ 150 claimed hp GSXR K5 derived motor into life, was far more satisfying than I expected. Impeccably smooth, with a raw and raucous edge revealed with every blip of the light action throttle. Having virtually jumped straight off the latest 1390 SuperDuke, I must admit that my first journey aboard the GX+ was spent wondering if I’d collected a restricted one by mistake such was the difference. The overriding sensation from the GX was its impeccable smoothness, regardless of revs; of which there were plenty albeit with very little excitement happening at real road speeds.
A very linear and progressive power delivery offered considerably less drama than the huge wallop of torque on offer from the V-twin SuperDuke, made the GX+ during the first journey feel very sensible. Although an unfair comparison, it did further reinforce my view on how important it is to carry out multiple test rides of any new motorcycle you may have set your sights on, as had this been my one and only ride on the GX+ I would have returned it with a polite ‘No thank you’.
Despite the perceived lack of ‘thrust’ available I had managed to create a new game to while away the time during the speed camera-controlled sections of the motorway. With the cruise control activated, the excellent quick shifter and auto-blipper could be used to play the engine like a musical instrument, revs rising and falling smoothly and with a gloriously raucous soundtrack of induction and exhaust, doing so with such speed, especially when compared to the many of the more prevalent alternative engine configurations offered on modern motorcycles. This was only made possible as the cruise control system allows both up and down changes without de-activating. That engine smoothness, shift management and excellent fuelling meant even when shifting quickly from 6 to 1 at the 70mph the chassis remained perfectly composed and in-line, pointing at a suitably developed slipper clutch and engine brake/off throttle fuelling strategy. This game not only kept my small mind entertained for miles but served as yet another reminder why inline fours were the dominant option for so much of modern motorcycling history with their wider working range, balance and generally more linear building of power/torque.
However, what wasn’t in question during my first stint aboard the GX+, was its manoeuvrability. With its weight held higher than a true sports bike, the GX+ remains very neutral for the initial part of a turn. Only once several more degrees of lean have been added where in the ‘mass’ then joins the party like an invisible hand gently pushing on your shoulder to help you make it round. It’s ability to complete u-turns and filter through urban traffic was remarkable for its overall size.
Covering several hundred miles over a dozen or so different rides during my time with the GX+, it became apparent that the trade off for the excellent low/mid speed manoeuvrability was a dispensation to understeer once the pace was upped and especially with any throttle applied.
The very long ratios of 1st and 2nd gear work hand in hand with the low/mid speed manoeuvrability and the engines linear power delivery, effectively turning the GX+ into a big scooter during urban or slow twisty road riding. The trade-off being that for faster, more open road riding your ability to spend time at the ‘fun’ end of the power delivery was limited. The subsequently short 3rd to 6th gear sees that the “touring” cruising speed of the GX+ is rather limited, with 70mph falling at some 6000 or so rpm, feeling unnecessarily high for fuel consumption and comfort. With its 19 litre (4.2 uk gallon) tank I the best I achieved was just over 160 miles range to a tank during my larger test route which represents a good days riding out, covering 2 counties and virtually every road type, which is around 38mpg and somewhat down on the claimed 45mpg average. Whilst riding ‘spiritedly’ at times this was a generally gently days ride and with only myself riding. I’m sure on longer ‘touring’ runs this figure could be improved although the additional weight of a passenger and luggage would see it drop back once again.
The brakes, both front and rear providing a good level of feel with my own personal preference being a few mm of lever travel before a soft initial bite, which the GX+ offers. Although after this initial travel, the front does require more outright hand pressure than would be needed on say a Brembo equipped European manufacturer equivalent to achieve the same level of outright stopping power. The rear brake is particularly good, however the ABS is too intrusive, triggering in quickly before taking an age to disengage. Upsetting the overall braking performance. Personally, I would have liked the ability to switch off the rear ABS completely.
Overall, I found the performance of the oe Dunlop Sportmax Roadsport 2 tyres perfectly acceptable whilst keeping within low/mid speed road riding. The typical Dunlop harder carcass offering less feedback in comparison to the offerings from its peers. They warmed up suitably well and with the long gearing and linear delivery of the GX+ I failed to instigate any slides from the rear or it has to be said from the front. Their sharper profile certainly aides the GX+ in its excellent agility, something that once the pace is upped is felt as a tendency to ‘tramline’ or follow any bumps or changes in tarmac. On one occasion, accelerating hard whilst pulling out to overtake a line of traffic on a very bumpy Fen b road I was introduced rather abruptly and surprisingly to the previously mentioned Suzuki Road Adaption Stabilisation (SRAS) feature. With the full (claimed) 150bhp deployed and the front forks at full extension, the front tyre caught and then tracked the white line, in turn initiating the beginning of a ‘tank slapper’, not concerned I continued the throttle knowing it would get worse before it settled in order to complete the overtaking manoeuvre, when suddenly I lost all power. As well as the loss of power it seemed as though either the brakes were engaged or that the throttle valves closed off so much as to massively increase engine braking, which put all the weight back onto the still oscillating front wheel. Not only terrifying from a ‘how not to deal with a tank slapper’ point of view, but also because I was on the wrong side of the road, having suddenly lost 30 mph with the car I was overtaking re-passing whilst clearly wondering what I was playing at. As with any new bike I ride I had refrained from researching its tech in advance and I had no idea what had caused it. All I knew was that I didn’t like it.
Unfortunately, I felt it’s intervention several more times during my time with time with the GX+ and was something I couldn’t seem to turn off, even with the traction/wheelie control fully off. Whilst I understand its potential value in certain low grip situations such as off-road or ice it was unnerving in its ease of activation. I can only describe it as being the same as a modern cars ‘stability’ control where if the vehicle detects a ‘spin’ is likely to occur it removes power and applies different wheels brakes to bring everything back into line, however a swiftly ridden motorcycle on anything but a smooth road moves around considerably more than a car and as such I feel there is still some development work required to ensure it reacts more appropriately in any given scenario.
At slower speeds and/or tackling more extreme road conditions I’m sure the system will save many riders from falling, myself included however as with any new technology it needs useable working data from which the software can be improved upon and my local riding has highlighted that, more so than those riders who are lucky to have smoother roads to carry out their riding on.
With the previously mentioned front tyre characteristics and a chassis setup which does not place enough weight over the front wheel, the GX+ under any hard acceleration results in a front wheel unloaded enough to ‘sway’. Without a mechanical steering damper to stop it progressing further the IMU is left to deal with the issue, which it does all too abruptly.
The lack of steering damper does give the GX+ its light and easy to manoeuvre characteristics around urban environments and slow twisty rides however as always there is a trade off which is clearly felt once the pace is upped on the open road and that’s my experience riding alone. I would imagine two up riding with luggage on bumpy roads would see the system almost continually stopping play.
As a side the ‘adjustable screen’ is simply not high enough to be truly effective. Even on its highest setting I was left exposed to the elements suffering wind both wind noise and buffeting. It also appeared that the front fairing side air ducts did a good job of directing air flow directly onto the factory fitted hand guards (themselves excellent) which on the windier days of riding I felt added to the tendency to tank slap as the funnel of wind hit them.
This is all at odds with that beautifully fuelled, smooth and free revving engine egging you on. With the ‘party zone’ of the in-line four beginning around 9000 rpm and coming in with somewhat of a bang, especially in the first two gears where despite its size and wheelbase the front wants to and does lift, which it initially does slowly as the power builds, then ‘bam’ the rate of lift increases dramatically which seemingly overwhelms the lift control strategy which abruptly cuts power. Unfortunately, the lift control is either on and off and linked to the traction control.
Riding the GX+ with the traction/lift control off brings the GX+ to life. It highlights that both systems are overly intrusive and working continuously in the background, numbing the performance on offer. Without the intrusions the GSXR lineage comes more to the fore, albeit a stretched GSXR that’s been raised several inches with a comfy seat and more age forgiving raised wide handlebars.
Been early autumn and with the roads dry but cold, not once did I suffer any rear slides, despite provocation. A sign of the inherent mechanical traction on offer, along with the long gearing numbing the available torque.
Once aware of the feature and several more rides into my time with the GX+ I began to understand its strengths and limitations. At anything upto 70% pace, the GX+ is a comfortable, agile and smooth proposition. The long gearing results in most situations only requiring 2nd and 3rd gear leaving the ‘Hyde’ side of the power delivery well into license losing speeds and with that other than a pre-disposition to understeer as road speeds do increase, it remains a well composed and effortless motorcycle on which to cover distance.
For those that wish to delve above the 70% pace, they will find themselves cursing the electronic controls and basic chassis set-up which sees the available power overwhelming them both.
In their effort to make the electronic adjustments available as simple as possible, which for the vast majority of riders is good thing, I feel that it has left the compromises too great for those riders that like the ability to iron out their specific issues with a motorcycle. Whether it be wheelie control intervention, engine braking feel or ABS intervention all of which has been lost somewhat in the pursuit of simplifying the pre-set choice on offer.
That said the dash display itself is modern yet clear. A mixture of a traditional (digital) rev counter and modern numeric speedo along with clear indication of the various mode settings and a permanent fuel gauge. The switch gear is laid out well, with everything falling to hand easily allowing the various pre-set ‘rider mode’ setting adjustments and cruise control activation to be quickly mastered without enforced manual reading.
I was impressed with the electronic suspension, offering excellent ride quality and good electronic adjustment, continually monitoring and adjusting to every scenario I’ve no doubt it masked the stability issues and had I been riding the base model with it standard manually adjusted kit I would have encountered the issues at a much lower pace. I certainly believe it to be a very worthwhile upgrade and a commendable first for the brand.
As a first generation motorcycle, I’m certain Suzuki will follow the path of evolution based on owner feedback and with a few simple modifications the GX+ would be able to widen its performance window considerably. A change of internal gear ratios, in particular the shortening of 1st>3rd would drastically increase the available ‘drama’ at more sensible road speeds whilst 6th gear could be increased to bring the fuel consumption down on longer motorway stints.
An update to the electronic control maps and the ability to isolate systems independently would be put it on par with its peers. Something which Suzuki is more than capable of producing (see last GSXR1000 and the current Hayabusa).
As an existing owner many of the issues should they present, could easily be overcome. Something as simple as pulling the forks through the yokes would alleviate most of the stability/handling issues at speed especially if coupled with a change of tyres from the OE spec Dunlops.
An aftermarket screen would take care of the buffeting/wind noise and if you’re not concerned about mpg on longs runs a change of final drive gearing would pep up the performance considerably. Just be aware of any changes of wheelbase it may make, as you’ll be back to chassis adjustments again.
Whilst pondering these potential changes, my mind wanders to thoughts of the last generation GSXR1000 (2017>) engine and its excellent variable valve timing system which went a considerable way to negate its overall power shortfall in the ‘off the showroom floor superbike stats’ when it was launched by endowing it considerably more midrange and real-world usability. The introduction of Euro5+ and low sales numbers within the UK saw it axed, however the model does live on throughout the rest of the world. As a more modern powerplant and with more hp to play with in the first instance the power loss that would result to meet Euro5+ could be countered and would be more than a match for the more powerful, torque laiden BMW XR. I appreciate that there is a balance of overall cost to be considered however a decent injection of low/mid-range urgency would firmly make the ‘GX’ the GSXR of the sport crossover world.
Suzuki are currently offering 0% finance spread over 4 years on several models across their range, including both the base GX and the + model and for those riders looking for a motorcycle with a wider operating window than their existing super/sports bike or even a naked bike, the sports crossover GX is a worthy option. With superior pillion and luggage carrying capabilities, all day comfort riding position, additional height adding excellent visibility, proven reliable powerplant and excellent Suzuki fit and finish the GX has earned its place as a genuine rival and given time to develop as per its peers, could very well end up taking the crown.
As it stands the GX+ is a very good entry to the class. Competitively priced (especially when taking into account the current 0% finance offers) and also benefits from the Suzuki 7 year/70,000 mile service activate extended warranty, which sees the standard 3 year warranty extended as long as your motorcycle is serviced according to the manual and via an approved Suzuki workshop during the 7 year period, which are both serious additional plus points to take in to consideration for any potential new motorcycle purchasers.
Overall an excellent first foray into the large capacity sports-crossover sector continuing Suzuki recent journey of extending and modernising their motorcycle range.
Suzuki GSX-S1000GX RRP £14,799
Suzuki GSX-S1000GX+ £15,899
With thanks to Suzuki for the loan of the press bike!
Written by Danny McFadden
Danny@firstturnmedia.co.uk
