2024 Suzuki GSX-S1000GX | Technical Review

Welcome to Bennett's Bike Social. Now, the bods at Bennett's Bike Social have invited me to come to this industrial estate in the middle of Bedfordshire to look at a brand new bike, a bit of a scoop. Now, I don't exactly know what it is. I've got a suspicion that it's something to do with the colour blue because of where we are, but I don't actually know what we're going to be looking at. So come with me, let's go and have a look, see what we've got. Oh wow, it's the GSX-S. Well, I thought it was going to be called GSX-S 1000 X, but it's a GX. So this is Suzuki's tall rounder. I think it's their first tall rounder. So I think what we've got is a GSX-S 1000 GT engine that looks like the inline four. That's 150 horsepower if it's in the same state of tune, but of course it's on tall suspension. It's on semi-active suspension. That's new. I didn't expect that. Wow. Right. Okay. Should we start it up and see what it sounds like? Oh, that's good. Let's say hello to Paul Delusignore. He's the boss of Suzuki GB. How are you doing, Paul? I'm really well, Sam. It's good to see you again. Now, we'll get into the spec of this bike in a minute. I mean, it's quite a shock to walk in and see this. So we'll get into the spec in a second. But the first thing I want to say is that the last time we met and spoke really was talking about the Hayabusa, the Gen 3 Hayabusa, which was three, four years ago. Since then, Suzuki have been fairly busy. We've had a revamp of the 1050 V-Strom. We've had the V-Strom DE with the 21 inch front. We've had the GSX-8S. We've had the V-Strom 800. And we had the GSX-S1000GT building on the GSX-S1000 platform. And now we have the third bike in the trilogy. So I suppose the first question is, who is this bike aimed at? Especially referring to the GT, who's going to buy this bike? Who is the customer? Yeah, I think the great thing is we've got a fantastic platform in that GSX-S1000 platform, a really nice chassis, fantastic engine with that GSX-R derived K5 engine, which you and I both know really well. And we wanted to do more with it because we just wanted more customers to have the opportunity to ride that type of bike. And we see this kind of crossover section as doing really well, really emerging. And I think it appeals to quite a wide group of customers. And we think we'll have customers that maybe they might be in their 30s looking for a sporty but comfortable ride, or they might be in their 50s and looking for something with some real technology to it. There's something that's going to appeal to all of those. I think we'll take customers from other brands, but I also think we'll take customers, keep them in the Suzuki family, when they're looking for their next bike, they've got something else to offer them. Yeah. So it's not just here's the sports tourer, it's Suzuki's first tall rounder. Yeah. I mean, it's a new phrase to be tall rounder, but we like to call it a kind of sports crossover. And the emphasis really is on the sports there. I think that's one of the really important points about this bike. Okay, right. Cool. Because I mean, you know, it has got that GSX-R sort of originated platform and frame. Yeah. The styling of the bike is very much in keeping with the sort of the GSX family. Yeah. Because you can really see that kind of pointy front end, that slanty thing. But it has a few extra touches. I mean, is it sort of been developed in any way to to meet this new role as a tall rounder? Yeah. I mean, I think because it is obviously it's got a more upright riding position. Yeah. And that requires different set of aerodynamics. So there's been a lot of testing in the wind tunnel to get those aerodynamics right. But as I said, it's a sporty crossover. And so that also has its own sort of requirements of dynamics. And so that wind tunnel testing is really getting the perfect balance between sportiness and protection. Yeah. I mean, but as a kind of a dual purpose bike, in a sense, it has got more pillion accommodation as well. Because I think I was just reading the spec earlier, and I think it's a wider pillion seat, slightly deeper. Yes. So it's not forgotten, you know, aerodynamics presumably takes into account the fact you might have someone sat on the back. Absolutely. Yeah. OK. And the colours are quite interesting, too, because obviously you've got the standard sort of Suzuki blue, which I think is metallic triton blue, it's called. Yeah. There's the glass sparkle black version. Yes. But my favourite is the pearl matte green, shadow green. I think that's a really good colour. It's really nice. I think the, you know, I think it gives something for all riders. And I think, you know, if you if you want your bike to be seen and the blue is, you know, it's an iconic Suzuki colour. Yeah. But that new green is really nice. Very classy. I'm tempted to say it's the first green Suzuki, but I don't think it is. I think there have been a couple of others. It's pretty close. Yeah. Just looking at this bike, because this is the first time I've seen it in, you know, up close like this. Something I noticed when I was riding the GSX-8S is that there appears to be a sort of a step change in Suzuki, the perception of Suzuki build quality or finish quality. It kind of has a from the detachable subframe to the TFT dash. There's kind of like everything that you touch and you feel seems like it's got an extra tweak of quality. Even the depth of the paint seems nicer. I mean, is that me or is that actually something that's going on? Because it looks like this bike has got that as well. Yeah, I think, you know, we've always got a process of continuous improvement at Suzuki. It's kind of part of our ethos. And we're always trying to add, you know, provide value packed products for our customers. And so it's kind of getting those two things and really understanding what the customer wants. And I think what we've seen over time is that increasingly customers want more of that. They want to be able to see and feel the quality here, not just the quality of the actual bike and its riding dynamics. Yeah. And so there's been, you know, increased concentration in those areas because that's what the customers are looking for today. Yeah, I think it's a definite kind of step change, a definite step up. And so, as I said, we've got Suzuki's first tall rounder, its first semi-active suspension as well. So that's quite a big change. It's been, it's fair to say it's been quite a long time coming. But is this a sign of Suzuki kind of stirring again, this like sleeping giant? It's introduced so many new bikes in the last four years. Is there more to come? Yeah, I think we've, you know, over the last couple of years, we have introduced a lot of new bikes. You know, in the UK, we've doubled our sales volume in the last two years. So it's a really, you know, it's a really significant change in the market. Of course, we'll have more bikes to come in the future. I can't talk about those today. But, you know, it's been a really active period for us and I think we've bought some fantastic bikes. So it's really nice to be here today with the GX. Yes, it must be good for you guys because you must be thinking, alas, we've got some more new stuff, you know. Yeah, I mean, we've been, we've been very busy over the last few years and this is just the sort of cherry on the cake, really. Recently, in this sort of tall rounder segment, we've seen a couple of other manufacturers start to get into some kind of crazy horsepower race and building really high performance, high premium value versions of their tall rounders. I know you said you couldn't mention anything coming up, but is there any chance we could see like a GSX-R1000RR motor in one of these with 200 horsepower? We could build one in our shed. That's a good idea. You can do that, do it at the NEC, it'd be perfect, the motorcycle live. Great. So anyway, seriously, when is it available and how much is it going to cost? Can you tell us that? First customers could be on their bikes by Christmas. Wow. And the price is £14,499 on the road. £14,499 on the road. Okay, so that's pretty competitive in the marketplace. I think it's very competitive in the market and it comes with some great standard equipment. Your quick shift, the bi-directional was there straight away. Cruise control's there straight away. You can change gear with the cruise control. You've got your hand guards there straight away. Obviously, there's all the electronics, which I know you're going to talk to Steve about, but there's a lot all in that price. And plenty of accessories because it doesn't come with the panniers, but I'm assuming- It doesn't, but we've got great panniers available for the bike. We've got a center stand available. So we've got lots of things that the customers are going to want. Excellent. Excellent. Thank you very much, Paul. Good. I look forward to riding it one day soon, I hope. Right, should we dive into the spec then? Let's get into a bit of a deep dive and find out what's under the skin of the GX. Right, now we're going to have a deep dive into the spec of the new GX with Suzuki product specialist, Steve Hacklett. Hi, Steve. Nice to see you again. Nice to see you again as well. Right. Wow. What have we got here? Where do we start? I mean, I guess it's not probably the most important thing in the sense that there are other things that are new to this bike, but if we just run through the engine and frame, and I've had a quick look at the spec, but I haven't had a deep dive, so I'm very much in your hands here. What are we looking at with engine and frame? So there's a huge amount of beneficial DNA baked within this bike. Like you said, there's lots of stuff that's really new and really exciting, but there's a foundation which is not to be missed. The 999cc engine, huge amounts of peak power and torque, 152 PS, 106 newton meters. So that is the full, that's the same power as the GT and the- Everything you're getting on that bike. And importantly, not just the peak figures or the mid-range or the low RPM thrust, it's all there for riders to tap into. Copyright the best engine that Suzuki have ever built. Yeah. Okay. That's cool. And the frame is again copied over from the GT. Yep. So swing arm, mainframe, subframe, critically with the subframe, that capability for hard luggage as well. Okay. But I'm guessing there's a lot more to this than it's just being a GSX-S1000 GT on stilts. Massively. Yeah. There's a huge amount for customers to tap into that offers something tangibly different. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. So being a tall rounder, I guess riding position is quite important. So if we just sort of run through, what's different about the riding position between this and the GT? Yeah. Riding position is one of the key facets. The tall rounder, as you call it, or crossover as we deem it, it's about enmeshing the best bits of sports tourers and adventure bikes and where your hands sit, where the rider's posture is, their eyeline overall is one of the benefits of this bike that is noticeably different from a sports tourer. So it's like a more imposing riding position, more of an adventure riding position. Okay. And then specifically in terms of things like seat, bars, pegs, what kind of stats are we looking at? I mean, clearly the seat is higher. Yeah. So take the sort of tank interface and the foot position as a fixed point, but then you've got a thicker seat. Okay. Because of the longer travel suspension, you've got increased seat heights. You've got more distance between where the rider sits and their feet. So opening up that knee angle, even greater levels of comfort. Bars are nearer to you, wider, so even more leverage through the corners as well. Right. Okay. And in terms of absolute seat height, what are we talking? Because it is taller. Did we? Yep. So GT sits at 810 mil. Yep. This one is 845. Right. Okay. But I guess that's part of the, that's quite tall, but then that's kind of losing the name, I guess. Yeah. But then back to horses for courses, this is a fantastic new bike, but for some people, the GT will still be the right composition of performance and features. And an inherent part of the crossover model is not only the aesthetics of that longer travel suspension, but also the seat height dynamics as well. Albeit there will be a low accessory seat for it as well. So if you want to make it more attainable and still tap into all the other great stuff we're going to talk about, there's still that accessibility piece there. Right. Okay. That's cool. So that's the riding position and the engine and the frame. Let's get into suspension shall we? Because that's quite a big difference. Massively. Tell me about Suzuki's semi-active suspension system. Whose suspension is it and how does it work? Yep. So this bike pioneers our first foray with semi-active and electronically adjustable suspension. So front and rear, these are showy units. Okay. With it being electronically adjustable, before we get into all the dynamic things that change on the move, you've got the ability at the rear to change preload. So a little bit back to seat height like we were just talking about, it's never been easier to quickly and simply adjust the preload. So there's an auto leveling mode that you can leave it in as you wish, or you can select from luggage, pillion, luggage with pillion, so you can change the attitude of the bike. Oh, I see. I didn't know that. So it will self-level if you let it, you can adjust it manually? Yeah, all visible on the killer TFT dash. You can either leave it to auto sort itself out and it will detect the load condition based on the stroke sensors that are in the rear shock, or you can manually change it. And over and above that, there's further fine tuning that the rider can make to those settings as well. Okay. I'm guessing the overall philosophy of the suspension is kind of, I couldn't see the word Skyhook specifically in the material, but I'm guessing that it's that same idea of suspending the chassis while the wheels do their thing underneath. Exactly that. So we deem it floating ride control. Right. Okay. And when we get into the detail, there's actually more than one mode. It's not something customers can manually change, but there are two important different iterations of that same system that act on the bike. As you say, it's all about trying to keep where the rider's sat, the handlebars and the top line of the bike stable while the electronic semi-active suspension uses that data from the sensors, uses that data from the IMU and will change the characteristics of what's happening with the suspension, the tyres and the wheels. So whether you're on lots of shallower high frequency bumps or whether you're on more undulating bumps to perfectly dial in the damping characteristics to give you the best ride possible from this base mechanical engine and chassis. Right. Okay. That was interesting then because you hinted at something, you hinted at it's got kind of a mode where it does like standard semi-automatic suspension, semi-active suspension, but there's something else you mentioned there? Yeah. So over and above what we talked about so far and things like the fact that you've got a hard, medium and soft setting that you see on the dash that's built into the riding mode, but that's changing your range and your damping characteristics. But the overarching suspended from a hook in the sky element of it, so the floating ride control, there are two different sort of actuations of that mode. Okay, that's interesting. So normally it will be tuned to responsiveness. So part of the crossover model is the fact that you're getting enhanced levels of comfort and different rider stature, but still being a highly capable sports orientation machine, albeit the sports crossover. However, when you start to hit those bumps, when you start to hit those sort of more uneven surfaces within the road environment, it will change the focus from being purely on responsiveness and it will then use different settings to be more comfort orientated. So that flight and ride control has got two different settings. You've got a base setting, which is all about the responsiveness. And then when you do encounter those bumps, it will trigger a different actuation of that system where it will then go more comfort orientated to dial out those bumps, and not only for comfort, also to obviously maintain the posture of the bike as well. And when it does go into that latter, it also affects the throttle response of the bike as well. So if you can imagine you've got it in A mode with a pin sharp throttle, tapping into all the performance that engine's got to give them the smiles that go with it, but then you suddenly hit some cobbles or some loose bits on the road. If it detects from the information from the bike that you've hit that road surface condition, it will then change the damping characteristic in terms of the float control, but also the throttle control as well. That's really interesting because one thing I've noticed, especially where I live at the end of some really bumpy, long roads, is that, especially with sort of fly-by-wire throttles, is that you can, if you get excessive bumps through the front end, it can actually give you sort of a bit of a jerky throttle sometimes, because it's quite hard to keep your hands still while the front end's bouncing up and down. So the bike effectively has two active suspension modes in the sense that it has conventional semi-active that has, did you say three modes? There's three modes of- Yes, so hard, medium, and soft. Yeah, and it's incorporated within the rider modes. Yes. But then it has this extra layer of control, which is when the bike goes, oh, hang on a second, something is on some cobbles. A cattle grid or something like that, and it will suddenly change the characteristic. Then it's sort of, right, okay, that's interesting. To the point you just made there though, as well as having those two different versions of the floating ride control, there's also one other adjustment, and it shows the level of attention and detail that the engineers go to. Although it's a ride-by-wire throttle, there's a mill of play that's been added. So again, when you do hit those unforeseen bumps or that uneven surface, albeit on a paved road, there's just that extra little bit of play, because obviously you can't tune a ride-by-wire throttle the way that you used to a conventional one. So again, it's about keeping that connection between rider and bike and that natural feel that you get on the motorcycle. Was this bike developed at Suzuki's test track at Ryoyu in Japan? Yeah, sort of part of the development, yeah. That's pretty bumpy, like a straight line. No wonder they've done that, I understand. Yeah, that makes sense. Okay, that's good. So let's just move on a bit then from the semi-active suspension and get into the advanced electronics, because again, I've had a quick look through the spec, and there are pages and pages and pages of what this thing is capable of with its electronics. But if you could keep it brief and whittle it down, in terms of the user, what have we got? I think there's two key things to remember as well. Rider aids are there to aid the rider. We make fantastic engines and chassis that are beautifully mechanically integrated. This is about adding a level of personalization to the road conditions, the rider's style, and it's there to support the ride or for the riders to be able to turn them down if it's not a level of intervention and activation that they want. These are motorcycles at the end of the day, and the enjoyment, the exhilaration, the passion and the excitement is all intrinsically part of it. So that's really important. As comfortable and practical as motorcycles can be, keeping that passion and that excitement part of it is key. Right, okay. But in terms of the rider modes and detail, when I get on it, I've got presumably multiple levels of traction control, I've got lift control, wheelie control, is there going on? Yes, so what the rider will see on the 6.5-inch color TFT dash is a really nice framework to see the biggest and most important points about what the bike has got to offer. I think when you spoke to Paul, there's certain levels of things that people will already be familiar with, like bi-directional quick shifters and cruise control and things like that. Over and above that strong foundational level of tech, the three riding modes govern the power output from the engine. So you've got the active, basic and comfort, so you can tune it to the conditions and how you're feeling as a rider and what you want from that power plant. So effectively, is comfort like a wet mode kind of thing, like a rain mode? Yeah, or if you're on a long journey and you're tired, sometimes you just want that little bit of a softer response. You don't want all the power, all the torque and a really sharp ramp from the engine. When I'm riding and I'm tired, I just speed up. That keeps me more awake. A-mode for you. As you go counterclockwise, the next thing for familiarity with customers of not only Suzuki but other brands, it says TC, meaning traction control, but what it actually is, is TLR control. The T is traction control, the L is lift control and the R is roll torque control. So traction control, most people will be familiar with. So that is all about the speed differential between the wheels and it's a reactive system. Depending on what number you've got it set in, there's seven modes or the ability to completely disengage the system and our bikes remember ignition off as well. The higher the number, the earlier the activation, so slipperier conditions and then you can dial it all the way down however you wish. Next is lift control. Again, something most people will be familiar with. On a number of our models over the years, the sort of anti-wheely is baked into the traction control. The big new thing here as well as the IMU power in that lift control is the roll torque control, which also takes a feed from the IMU and this is a predictive system. So this isn't waiting for the problem to happen and then sorting out afterwards. It's looking at vehicle speed and it's looking at lean angle from the IMU and based on that, it can see the bikes, what it's planning to do through a corner, the power output and the speed and it's sort of setting softer limits in terms of torque and engine output. So it thinks you're going to go beyond what is capable for that speed and that lean angle. It will set a lower ceiling, albeit the rider can still obviously manage both the lift control and the roll torque by lowering the overall TLR control. Right. Okay. So effectively then, you have three rider modes that you can set a kind of different levels of traction control, different levels of throttle control, throttle feeling and different levels of semi-active suspension. 100%. That's the third facet, the suspension. Yeah. And then you've got, presumably you've got a custom mode where you can basically say, I want to mix and match a little bit. Absolutely. What's key is not only to make it easy to see and navigate, so through the screen and then the switch gear on the left-hand side, but it's rider customisation for you as a rider, for the conditions you're in and whether you've got luggage pilling and whatever's right for that moment. One of the things that I have noticed is that I'm grateful for is that Suzuki, I mean, this is an enormous amount of information you can get in and control. We've got really simple buttons on the switch gear. Yeah. That's a blessing. Yeah. And even with winter gloves, you can still feel it. You're not going to be looking down at the switch as you can feel what's going on. Excellent. Okay. That's good. So yeah, in terms of electronics and that is a pretty, pretty sophisticated package. And then in terms of sort of just like the basic trim of the bike, I noticed that we've got, I mean, these sort of like rubber mounted mirrors we've got going on here and these are a bit thicker. That's more of an aesthetic item here where you're covering some of the bolts that are holding it in place. But I think again, you were talking about earlier in terms of the level of quality and detail. So the nice finish on it, but even things like the mouldings that have gone into the rubber finish here, the fact that you've got form and shape into everything. Mouldings cost what they cost, castings cost what they cost, but it's just that attention to detail, every single little component where it can be made aesthetically better or functionally more effective for the rider. And then suddenly when you add that up across the whole bike, as well as the engineering and the electronics we've talked about, just to lift the whole level of the bike for the customer. Right. And a few other little bits of detail. We've still got a USB port. We've still got, we've got hand guards. Standard, yep. Which is quite cool. This is a 100% standard trim. One of the things with the GT that kind of bugs me a little bit is the screen's not adjustable. Okay. This is adjustable? Yeah. It looks like it is. Yeah. Mechanical adjustment. So it's nicely been hidden at the front, but you've got three points of adjustment. So it's a quick Allen key bolt in four different positions. And then you've got incremental adjustment that offers 50 mil difference in the overall height of the screen from the top to the bottom. Okay. That's cool. Excellent. So, uh, and also I noticed the aluminium grab rail, which is quite nice. I mean, is there a, there's a top box accessory or? There isn't. So with it being sports crossover, there is always a balance here. Um, fantastically with a longer travel suspension, we've got the ability to have a center stand. So for a change of and dry fantastic for maintenance and the kind of mileage that people are going to do, but the further back and the higher up you put mass on the bike, the less stable it can make it at high speed. So again, there is still a balance, but given the choice, there's 36 litres in each pannier, but that mass sits lower and it helps maintain that level of vehicle dynamics, as well as having the luggage capability with the rear rack, though, you've still got a really solid point for a pillion passenger to feel safe and secure again, even with big thick winter gloves. And you have still got a mountain platform on there for say soft luggage and smaller items. Right. But you can't officially condone putting a top box on there. Sadly, there isn't a genuine item available. I'm sure there'll be plenty of aftermarket top boxes available. Excellent. Okay, good. Right. Well, I suppose I think we've just about wrapped out there. We have, we have everything. Um, hasn't got heated grips. Not a standard. Um, Paul talked about earlier, all the tech you need a standard, but part of our manufacturing ethos is value packed products. And sometimes that's not putting absolutely everything we can on because then it will push the price point and it becomes less attainable to every customer. So we still want to allow that degree of personalization. Obviously, the bike's going to be sold across Europe and across the, across the world. So for some markets, heated grips, not appropriate, but I think for us in the UK, we'd love a UK edition that's heated grips as standard. And obviously, uh, weather temperature control would be fantastic too. Yeah. Excellent. Right. Well, thank you, Steve. That's a pretty comprehensive overview of the bike. Like I say, there's, there's a lot to get into the electronics and I'm pretty sure there's a launch coming up of the GX fairly soon. I think in sort of end of November. Not far away. No. And hopefully I'll be riding it as well, which I'm really looking forward to. So maybe we can do a slightly deeper dive, uh, when we get to the, to the launch. But anyway, thank you very much. Really appreciate that. So there we go. That is Suzuki's new GSX1S1000GX. Did I get that right? That's it. Good. Um, so there we go. Yeah. Uh, tune back into Bennett's Bike Social for the launch when it happens. Um, remember to get your insurance with Bennett's please. Remember to become a Bike Social member. And, uh, thank you very much for watching. Did, did, did that go? Or did I forget something at the end? I kind of, I was like getting to the end and my brain was losing track with where we were.