BEN SUZUKI GSX-S1000
THIS MONTH I HAVE MOSTLY BEEN… “Wanting to ride.”
At the time of writing this month’s update, we’re four weeks into the sprogs’ school summer holiday, which means that although I’ve had a mega time causing all sorts of chaos with my two mini-me’s, consequently juggling them and work has left me with little time to make the most of my set of wheels.
However, when a good friend and fellow former racer Ricky Elder belled me to see if I fancied joining him to spin some laps at Donny for the day, I hastily cancelled my plans to wreak havoc at yet another soft play centre, got my priorities in order and booked myself on.
Having only briefly ridden the bike a couple of times since my last track day at Silverstone, I was keen to delve a little deeper into the bike’s true capabilities. But before I do that I wanted to swap out the OE Dunlop Sportmax hoops for something a little better suited for a bit of track spanking while still being suitable for commuting in all weathers which led me to settle on a pair of Pirelli Diablo Rosso Corsa IIs.
This time out I wanted to treat the GSX-S more as if it were my own toy and set about bringing the forks through the yokes by 5mm to try to improve the slightly lethargic steering. I then wound on half a ring of preload on the front and added two increments of preload to the rear that was easily achieved with the stepped collar adjuster on the rear unit. Next came the diet to shed a few pounds by stripping off the unused passenger pegs (I’ve yet to persuade the missus to come out on the back), turfin’ off the number plate, whipping off the mirrors and removing the tool kit from under the seat. The result was a net weight saving of... around the weight of a good dump but the biggest difference is that it now looked ready to tackle the twisties that Donny had to offer.
If I’m being brutally honest, I’m not the biggest fan of the GSX-S’s styling, and although everything has been well considered and tidily put together, personally for me it’s just a little, erm, dull. I believe a true naked, and even more, a super naked, requires a certain air of attitude and aggression about it but with its soft lines and sedate graphics, it comes across a little ‘Bridget Jones’. However, stripped back and sat there in the garage perched on paddock stands my ride now appeared to have gained a more muscular, menacing stance which filled me with promise of what to expect from the day ahead.
Thankfully after a wet start, the track dried nicely to enable us to go and play. From the off, the additional changes that I had made transferred nicely on track providing a more stable and reactive ride but unlike at Silverstone, the ABS gave me no end of grief. Breaking hard into the Melbourne Hairpin and Goddards was where the issue was most noticeable. Initially I was surprised that I hadn’t had this feeling with the brakes before and left me wondering if the fluid had boiled at Silverstone so I thought I’d try bleeding the system. Doing so did provide a nicer feeling on the lever but confirmed that it was the electronic ‘aid’ which was hampering my fun. Frustratingly I knew I could brake much deeper and harder, and the brakes themselves were more than up to the job but the brainbox of the bike simply wasn’t having any of it.
All in all, the naked K6 Gixxer proved itself to be more than capable. Yes it’s not the fastest naked, nor is it the most refined, however it does do everything and does it pretty chuffin’ well, especially when you consider it’s price tag. It costs £10,099, compared to the BMW S1000R weighing in at £11,190 and the biggest MT in the Yam range starting at £11,499 for the entry level bike. Then there’s the likes of KTM and the monster Super Duke R priced at £14,299 and Aprilia offering its exquisite V4 Tuono for £15,999. With those numbers in mind, you soon start to make allowances for the Gixxer’s small imperfections.