Dear old Nan used to say, “Never judge a book by it’s cover” She was right.
At first glance it looks like some sort of wasp-like transformer with sharp lines and a fairly aggressive looking stance so I assumed that my 45 year old frame may just be glad that this was supposed to be a ‘quick spin’ but much to my surprise once aboard there was an instant comfortableness about this machine not just the pleasant seat but the riding position also, nice wide bars that I wasn’t hunching over to reach but instead a nice upright position with no weight on my wrists, and an almost cockpit-like sitting in the bike sensation rather than sitting on it. My legs were comfortable from hips to the pegs and the gear shift lever positon felt good from the get go, all that I needed now was my riding buddy to turn up and we were off.
Normally my bff would be banging on the door giving me the hurry up but he’d taken a bit longer to get ready, putting all of his winter woollies on because it was a brisk 8 degrees this morning. I took a couple of happy snaps that will probably end up as my next profile pic and before too long I could hear the familiar burble of his “Two Brothers” silencers breaking up the suburban morning tranquillity.
I had decided to set off with the Suzuki’s programmable traction control in mode 2 as it was a tad damp in spots. The GSX has 3 traction control modes, 1. is traditionally the Sports setting, 2. is for normal everyday urban riding conditions, 3. for miserable dodgy wet conditions oh and not forgetting the secret “wheelie mode” spelt ‘OFF’.
Getting out of the quiet Saturday morning back streets was quite a buzz – the underslung standard silencer sounds amazing straight out of the box. Coupled with a really responsive throttle and torquey short first few gears the GSX-S1000 is seductive off the line. Once you are out onto the main drag it becomes quickly apparent that you are astride what is essentially a superbike with copious amounts of torque on tap throughout the rev range, and a beautiful top-end growl. The fat, wide Renthal bar provides excellent feedback and the light steering makes the bike very flickable. The 17-inch front wheel dips nicely into corners and the rest of the bike follows effortlessly. And the four-piston Brembos up front grab quite well and wash the speed off smoothly yet swiftly.
One thing to keep in mind though, when heading out on a fresh winter morning in Melbourne, is the GSX-S1000 is a naked motorcycle and provides very little protection from the elements, especially when the speedo reaches triple digits (the AMCN neck sock does, however, keep the jowls nice and toasty!)
We had an awesome run and found a few spots to take a couple more mandatory facebook profile pics. I even spotted a Hot Jam Donut van on the side of the road, but was having so much fun that I forgot to stop on the way home.
Coming back into the burbs provided an opportunity to scoot through a little traffic and the Gixxer handled filtering a lot better than I expected. It’s easy to forget that you are on a big bore bike because of its nimble nature.
By the time we got back we’d been out riding for the best part of a day and, as good riding buddies do, we’d had a little to-ing and fro-ing on the way, so I was looking forward to a hot cup of coffee and a sit down. But surprisingly I was as fresh as a daisy. The ergos of this thing were just so good that I didn’t even feel the slightest ache in my weary bones – and I was expecting it from something that looks quick and sporty just sitting still.
Tucked away neatly in the garage the GSX-S didn’t take up a lot of room either, much to the delight of the wife and daughter who don’t like giving up their plum parking spaces too much. Now that I think about it, it wouldn’t look out of place there…
Test Darren Kersey Photos Marco Ewers
