Sounds familiar
Update to naked GSR750 in GSX-S1000 style More power but still a detuned 2004 GSX-R750 motor Same frame, better suspension and brakes - and traction control
IT TAKES ONLY 100 yards on a sopping wet Spanish road for the new Suzuki GSX-S750 to allay at least one of my fears: its low-speed throttle response is excellent. You see, exactly two years ago Suzuki debuted the GSX-S1000 on the very same Alicante tarmac and first impressions were less than ecstatic. Like this 750, the 1000 put a old sportsbike engine into an unremarkable chassis with aggressive but distinctly Japanese naked styling. And at low speed in town it had an annoyingly snatchy throttle. There was little to complain about apart from that, but overall the GSX-S1000 was an underwhelming experience.
So here we are again, 24 months later, in the same place and with another naked GSX-S, this time one built around the detuned 2004 GSX-R750 motor that’s been used in the GSR750 since 2011. And mercifully this time they’ve got the fuelling right.
The GSX-S750 spec is unremarkable. The motor’s kicking out 112bhp at 10,500rpm – which is 7bhp more than the GSR, but 500rpm higher. Peak torque remains the same as the GSR, at 60lb.ft. There have been some minor engine changes: Suzuki has added ventilation holes between cylinders in the crankcases to equalize under-piston pressure and also increased fuel atomization with better injectors, which could explain the lack of throttle snatch.
On any naked street bike, how the power and torque is produced is at least as important as how much is produced. It’s all about the character. The GSX-S has new airbox does indeed lend it a chunky, purposeful growl when you pin it, but the motor is a universal inline four and you’d struggle to find adjectives to describe it other than, er, inline four-ish. Linear. Smooth. Predictable. These are not criticisms, but they’re not words that equate to character, either.
This 750 has the same ally frame and steering geometry as the GSR750 it replaces, but the brakes benefit from improved radial calipers and wavy discs with ABS. There’s a new swingarm adding 5mm to the wheelbase, as well as new wheels. The 41mm KYB forks and shock are similar to the GSR units, with preload-only adjustment, but with fresh internals and settings.
The GSX-S750 also gets four-mode traction control from the GSX-S1000, along with the same customizable display LCD clocks. The traction control settings (Wet, Road, Sport and Off) are easily adjusted at the switchgear while the bike is moving. And, like the 1000, the TC is an algorithm-based system using wheel speed, gear position and engine revs to assess a slide and retarding ignition to counter it. Changing the settings only alters the trigger level of electronic intervention, not throttle response or power delivery.
Finally, and most obviously, the GSX-S750 gets a styling makeover along similar aggressive, angular, Manga-esque lines to the 1000. Suzuki say the new GSX-S750 is styled to carry an aggressive look (the headlamp apparently “expresses the fangs of a wild beast”) to attract younger customers.
If you ever rode a GSR750, then the riding position of the GSX-S750 will feel very familiar – though the narrow bars are tapered and the anodized black pegs are sporty bare ally, not the GSR’S commuter-friendly rubbered footrests. Still, the placement of seat, feet and hands is almost identical. At a standstill it’s an exciting, sportier stance than expected, plugging the rider in and tilting them forward over the front end.
The 213kg GSX-S is a few kilos heavier than the GSR and presumably it’d be even heavier if Suzuki hadn’t shrunk tank volume from the GSR’S 17.5 to 16 litres. I ask a Suzuki bod if the new airbox is taking up tank space: no, he replies, it’s purely styling. When I suggest most owners would prefer a larger tank he says the new bike’s improved fuel economy compensates. Except it doesn’t. When the GSX-S fires
up in the dripping rain before setting off on the test ride the dash says the range is 180 miles. After 90 miles the fuel gauge is half empty and average fuel consumption reads 44mpg, giving a full-to-re-fuel range of around 150 miles. In RIDE’S 2011 GSR750 test it did 49mpg.
Dynamically, the GSX-S750 is excellent. That riding position is instantly intuitive, with enough tilt to both feel engaged but also balance a 70mph breeze in relative comfort - though a brief 100mph motorway blast shows that’s as fast as you’d want to go, officer. Low-speed steering is light and fluid with plenty of lock and good walking-pace agility. The brakes, clutch, gearbox and throttle are all neat, tidy and easy to use with no surprises.
As speed increases as I ride up into the Spanish hills, the GSX-S responds with a completely viceless performance. Despite soaking wet asphalt and collapsing roadside rock faces, the Suzuki’s Bridgestone S21 tyres, beefed-up KYB suspension and uprated radial calipers deliver a stable, confident ride, with all the feedback required to maintain a vigorous pace despite the somewhat testing conditions. And with traction control set on maximum, a welcome orange light flashes reassuringly every so often.
It might be a smooth, linear inline four, but this engine has plenty of poke – with the sensation of low-down shove magnified by Suzuki adding a tooth to the GSX-S’ rear sprocket. Gearing down is the most cost-effective way of ‘improving’ engine performance. It doesn’t increase power or torque but it does increase thrust - the force delivered at the rear wheel. It makes the engine feel more lively and responsive and it really helps the GSX-S750 zip between corners.
Of course, you can’t have something for nothing. Lowering the overall gearing makes an engine rev harder for the same road speeds, which may explain the GSX-S750’S increased fuel consumption. It’s certainly why Suzuki has raised the internal top-gear ratio to compensate.
By the time the test ride is cut short by prolonged precipitation the GSX-S750 has managed to impress with its composure and civility. There’s literally nothing bad to write about - it’s a good motorbike.
Trouble is, for Suzuki, it’s not a great one. There’s nothing outstanding to write about either. But that’s what is needed when the mid-sized naked bike market is such a crowded place. Yamaha’s MT-09 triple is already well-established, Triumph’s 765cc Speed Triple is arriving within a month, and Kawasaki’s new Z900 lands on p72 of this very issue.
When I put this to a group of Suzuki engineers, and add that the equivalently priced MT-09 makes more or less the same power but now also comes with a quickshifter, slipper clutch, fully adjustable suspension and a funky, wheelie-prone inline triple motor, their best counter is that the GSX-S750 has one more level of traction control.
Suzuki say they anticipate a third of GSX-S750 sales will come from new riders entering the market (which, to some extent, makes a nonsense of trading on the motor’s 13-year-old GSX-R750 heritage). Any of them walking into a Suzuki dealer looking for a new, mid-sized naked bike will find the GSX-S as flawless and smooth as its fuelling. And with Suzuki’s finance deal offering a new £7599 GSX-S750 at £99 a month after putting down a £1735 deposit, it’s a tempting and entirely worthy prospect. It’s a good bike that will make you as happy as can be. Just don’t ride any of its rivals first.
“The GSX-S responds with a viceless performance”