Sports tourer renergised
Price: Engine:
» £12,749 » 999cc 16-valve DOHC inline four Power: Weight: Seat height:
» 150bhp » 226kg » 810mm
The GSX-S GT is proof you don’t have to do anything particularly clever to create a fantastic motorcycle. Sure, us journalists get frothy over flashy electronics, automatic gearboxes and snazzy Öhlins, but do you need all that to have a great time and arrive at your destination feeling perky rather than hurty? Of course not. Suzuki’s recipe for the GSX-S GT is spot on: install an outstanding engine, surround it with components that are all pretty good, then make sure there’s nothing to annoy or distract the rider. So no vibey mirrors, noisy screen, uncomfortable saddle, baffling switchgear or silly riding position.
The result is a delight in almost every situation. You can hoon from corner to corner at nigh-on superbike speeds, powered by the greatest road-going GSX-R engine of all time – the 2005 K5 – and then carve round bends on the entirely competent KYB suspension. Or you can sit comfortably on the motorway with your helmet in the smooth airflow above the screen, while your shoulders and body are protected by the fairing. Or you can trickle through town with the 1000cc headcase between your ankles behaving like a docile middleweight commuter. And when you stable the GT at the end of the day, you can linger a while and enjoy staring at it – not something owners of the gopping old GSX-S were in the habit of doing. The GT looks positively handsome, particularly without the optional panniers cluttering the view.
The new electronics package with its modes, TFT screen, quickshifter and cruise control, isn’t class-leading or innovative, but like the rest of the bike it works flawlessly and lets you get on with the main event: riding. And because Suzuki have sorted the slightly snatchy throttle response afflicting the old GSX-S, you can stick the GT in its most sporty mode – A – and leave it there no matter what sort of riding you’re doing. The way the power builds is so smooth and linear that there’s little to be gained from using the softer engine maps, and should you decide you want to arrive somewhere three minutes ago, you can always tap into that searing 150bhp top-end.
The GT is so fast, so comfortable and so good that you get off and wonder why no-one has done it before… then remember they have: Kawasaki’s Z1000SX has been plying its sports tourer trade for years. But the GT is different and better. It’s 9kg lighter and 13 measured-bhp more powerful so it feels a bit faster, the suspension is slightly firmer and gives a sportier, friskier feel, and because the GT is a new bike, the dash and styling look contemporary. Ride the SX after the GT and the Kawasaki feels like it needs a refresh. Given how brilliant the SX is, that’s some compliment.
The alternative view
This has to be Suzuki’s greatest hit since the K5 GSX-R1000. Not only is it nice to see a conventional sports tourer back again after a bombardment of identikit tall-roaders and adventure bikes, the GT does everything it’s supposed to do. It’s fast, comfy and thanks to its K5-derived engine it has a naughty edge to it, too.