FUELISH ANTICS
Famous for a GSX-R-based engine and terrible fueling, but what’s it like to live with?
It’s so easy for bikes to become famous for an inexplicable weakness; something that should never have made it past the skilled factory test riders whose only job is to ensure perfection (or something close). And that’s exactly what’s happened with the GSX-S. So, let’s expunge the elephant from the throttle bodies so we can move on. The fueling has some problems, and they’re unforgivable – but they don’t ruin the bike as some have claimed. Keep it on the gas and the deliciously silky motor is turbine-smooth, delivering a snarling, surging wave of power that always entertains. Close the throttle though, especially at low rpm or in the first three gears, and you’ll be cursing those test riders. It’s like someone shot the puppet master halfway through a dance routine. But you do learn to live with it, to tune into its idiosyncrasies and ride around them, and keeping the revs high helps dramatically. Let the digital tacho read below 3000rpm on anything other than an open throttle, and it’s very poor indeed. The harder you hammer it, the less you feel the glitches. The other elephant we need to banish is the one that’s jammed its foot in the rear shock. On smooth
‘Suzuki should sort the problems out and then it’d be a right little nutter’
tarmac it’s pleasant and pliant enough, but the high-speed damping is absolutely awful, kicking my 18 stone out the seat over sharp bumps and delivering a spine-tingling thump with it. But let’s not dwell on these imperfections, not least because both could be addressed with a relatively small amount of time and money – and what you’d be left with would be well worth the effort. The engine is an absolute peach, which entertains throughout the rev range. The chassis (shock aside) is well up to the job, with the traction control providing a safety net that’s not at all intrusive when having fun and games on the road. It feels genuinely exciting and engaging to ride, and even on the stock exhaust it’s rorty and aggressive. There’s a lot to like with the GSX-S, and I like it more the longer I spend with it. But Suzuki would be well advised to sort its relatively small problems out with what should be easy solutions. Then… well, then it’d be a right little nutter.