2020 SUZUKI GSX-R1000R
Iknow what you’re thinking: it’s about time the Gixxer thou’ got a proper update. I know it had its brakes faffed with last year and a sexy new colour scheme for this year, but really, it’s the same as it’s always been since the L7 hit the showrooms back in 2017.
I actually think it looks smart – or it would do if they sorted out that ridiculous end-can. It looks like they’ve fashioned it out of something they’ve found in an Airbus reclamation yard; it really would look more at home slung under the wing of an A380.
Luckily, when you are sat on the Gixxer, you don’t have to look at the exhaust pipe. You do have to look at the Nintendo Gameboy lookie-likie dashboard, though, which isn’t a hugely pleasurable experience. There is a lot of information on there, and it’s all a bit messy but it does the job, I suppose.
As soon as I got my leg over (as an actress said to a bishop) I soon realised it was a bigger and more spacious bike than I remembered. The fuel tank is wide and the windscreen high, so a slightly taller than average, slightly fatter than average rider like myself actually fits on the Gixxer quite nicely – me and my gut felt perfectly at home on the big Suzuki (I’m sure that was a key consideration at the design stage).
The bike’s big stature was matched by the sound of its big engine. Sparked up, the motor sounded full and as if it really meant business, despite that oversized end-can doing its best to hush the motor’s bark to a mere whisper.
When I got on the road, the engine only continued to impress me. Being, as it is, an inline four with a normal configuration crankshaft (rather than the cross-plane jobby that’s in the R1M’s lump), you might expect bags of top-end poke and a lacklustre midrange from the Gixxer (à la ZX10-RR), but that’s not what’s on the cards. I’m not a newcomer to the L7 Gixxer, but I was still amazed at the sheer grunt that the thing manages to kick out.
And it’s not just tuned for low-end torque either; the midrange is strong, yes, but the thing just keeps pulling and pulling all the way to the red line. The strong midrange and bananas top end makes for a really versatile bike on the road; fast as fudge when you want it to be, but you don’t have to be wringing its neck at the naughty end of the rev range to make it move.
Braking can be an issue on the Suzuki if you are in a hurry, with its keen-as-mustard ABS system. I found that if you were really progressive with the lever, you would usually be all right and you could actually brake quite hard, but if you forgot to be gentle with the old girl the ABS would kick in and literally feel like it was pushing the front brake lever out of your hand. It wasn’t a whole lot of fun when that started happening. On such an amazing bike, the piss-poor ABS really did let the side down.
Once you’d got all your braking done and dusted though, the Gixxer was more than happy on the side of its tyre. The initial turn-in wasn’t always the sharpest and the bike sometimes felt a little bit long when pulling it from one direction to the other, but in the middle of the corner, however long or fast, the thing felt as planted as anything.
In fact the Gixxer is one of those bikes that never really gets too worked up, no matter how hard you push it. I found myself riding the big Suzuki faster and faster until it started wheel spinning and wheelying underneath me, cutting shapes left, right and centre, and because the bike wasn’t fazed, neither was I. There aren’t many bikes that I’d feel so comfortable taking so many liberties on, on the road, but the Gixxer was one of them. Bumps in the road, changes in tarmac and
FAST AS FUDGE WHEN YOU WANT IT TO BE, BUT YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE WRINGING ITS NECK AT THE NAUGHTY END OF THE REV RANGE TO MAKE IT MOVE
BUMPS IN THE ROAD, CHANGES IN TARMAC AND WHOPPING CRESTS WERE ALL CHEWED UP AND SPAT OUT BY THE SUZUKI’S SEEMINGLY SUBLIME CHASSIS
whopping crests were all chewed up and spat out by the Suzuki’s seemingly sublime chassis, and for that reason, it was very easy to get carried away.
And a faster-paced ride soon highlighted the worth of the high windscreen which, at 70mph, directed every one of the elements over the top of my head, which was very helpful, and I can only imagine it’s even more helpful at, say, 150mph. But I wouldn’t know about that – honestly, officer. Comfort wise, the Gixxer was up there with the best, but there was a little bit of numbness to the old derriere after an hour or so in the saddle, but only a little bit.
It might not be perfect, but at £16,599 I think the Suzuki represents the best value for money road bike in this test. It’s not going to be the most glamorous thing to be parked up at your local biker’s cafe, but you can rest
assured that if you turned up on one of these, there would be more than a few people that would be mega jealous, even if they didn’t want to admit it to their mates. You could spend another £5k on something Italian, if you really wanted to, but I bet you wouldn’t get from A to B any faster on it. No, on the Gixxer you’d have no bother keeping up with your mates, whatever they are on, and the more you push it on the road, the more it’ll reward you. It’s a bike that you’d be quite happy to pop to the shops in town on, but one that’d also make you opt for the long way home. I’d be made up if I owned one of these; I’d probably look for an aftermarket can for it, though.
Verdict 8/10
The Gixxer is a bike that anyone will feel at home riding, at whatever pace, but it’s been too many years since it’s had a proper overhaul and it shows.
AS HAPPY ON THE ROAD AS IT IS ON TRACK. TECH IS YESTERDAY’S NEWS