SUZUKI GSX-S1000GX (2024 - on) Review

Riding Suzuki’s new £14,499 GSX-S1000GX sports tourer here at its world launch in Portugal is a joy. It’s sporty, superbike-fast, easy to ride, comfortable and every inch a ‘tall rounder’, in the same vein as BMW’s fiery S1000XR and Yamaha’s uber popular Tracer 9 GT+.

It offers impressive day-long comfort, speed and tech, but falls short on being the complete package. Its new electronic suspension gives a plush ride and sharpens beautifully at speed, but better tyres and stronger brakes would elevate the handling and riding experience. Its undeniably quick, but the engine lacks lowdown spice, a taller top gear for cruising and more balanced riding modes. It’s well finished and equipped, but it lacks some of its rivals’ goodies, adjusting the screen needs tools and there’s no top box option.

Based on the GSX-S1000GT, the Suzuki GSX-1000GX has longer travel suspension, a thicker seat, higher bars and a riding position somewhere between a sports tourer and an adventure bike. It’s relatively roomy for a six-footer, but not so tall that smaller riders will struggle to get their feet on the ground.

Not only is the GX a relaxing place to sit, it’s also Suzuki’s most advanced road bike. Like the now discontinued GSX-R1000R, it has a new Bosch six-axis IMU that controls cornering ABS, traction control, anti-wheelie and lean-sensitive torque control. It all combines to add a slice of safety when you’re firing in and out of corners. But to take the battle to its lofty rivals, the GX also arms itself with new semi active Showa forks and rear shock.

Suzuki might be late comers to the electronic suspension party, but it suits the GX’s versatility perfectly. You can choose a soft or stiff ride at the press of a button and rear preload can be set in auto (self-levelling) mode or static presets for rider, rider/luggage, rider/pillion.

It all needs an amount of fiddling to get right, though and on its standard settings the 232kg Suzuki (6kg more than the GT) understeers, especially at low speed, but it’s easy to adjust with a deft press of a button.

We settle on a medium damping setting and extra rear preload to load the front and maximise grip from the low grip Dunlop Roadsport 2 rubber and slippery Portuguese roads. Handling isn’t crisp at normal speeds, but the quicker you go the more the fork and shock damping increases and the sharper the GX steers, ably assisted by its wider new bars. At speed it rails through corners and oozes feel. That said, it would shine even brighter with stickier tyres and like its GSX-S1000 siblings, it has plenty of stopping power, but with a disappointingly wooden feel at the lever.

Electronics have a few extra tricks up their sleeves, too. Power softens riding over severe bumps, although it’s barely perceptible and if the IMU senses the GX wobbling at high speed it buttons off the power to reign things in. Elsewhere the standard issue up/down quickshifter is sublime, the non-adaptive cruise control works well and starts at a handy 20mph. Its new top fairing shelters the rider nicely from windblast and the screen is quiet at motorway speeds. It can be bolted in three positions to give a 43mm height difference.

Although the GX’s 150bhp, 999cc inline four is derived from the hallowed 2005 GSX-R1000K5 (Suzuki have made over 180,000 of them since then), it’s the least impressive part of the GX’s make-up. The bulletproof motor is smooth with a raw, but unobtrusive edge thanks to rubber mounted bars and rubber-topped pegs edge and there’s no questioning its power. But despite being retuned from its superbike days it still thrives on revs and lack the richness and immediacy you’d expect from a sports tourer at low rpm through any of its rider modes.

The sportiest ‘A’ mode is too snatchy from a closed throttle and ‘B’ is slightly too docile. ‘C’ is way too steady-Eddie. The riding modes can all be customised and we end our ride with ‘B’ power, medium traction control and suspension. Like the GT, the GX is slightly too short-geared at motorway speeds. We’ve averaged 48mpg on the GT in previous tests, so expect similar for the GX.

Suzuki have got it spot on when it comes to build quality, finish and its new look and colour schemes (blue/silver, green/silver, black) are classy. Even better news is it’s essentially the same GSX-S1000 that was released in 2015, give or take the odd bell or whistle. And of course, the K5-derved engine was around a decade before that. There are no reports of mechanical or electrical problems from our online owners’ reviews, except for a few reports of thin paintwork in places and fasteners corroding during winter riding. Some owners have upgraded the brakes and fitted a more modern 55-section rear tyre, too.

Gone are the days when machines like this would hover around the ten grand mark, but the Suzuki GSX-S1000GX undercuts its closest rivals: the similarly-equipped £15,740 BMW S1000XR and the Yamaha’s £14,910 Tracer 9GT+.

That said, the Yamaha is better value with its standard issue panniers, centre stand, heated grips, bigger dash, radar cruise, backlit switches and adaptive cruise control.

As well as its new rider aids and electronics, standard equipment includes cruise control, hand guards, a rack, USB charger, an adjustable screen and a 6.5in colour TFT dash that’s clear and crisp. Rider aid functions, from power modes to TC and suspension support is simple and controlled via the left switchgear buttons. Panners (36 litres), heated grips and centre stand are all extra and there’s no official top box available.