Not even Darth Vader could scupper our plans…
Could this unpretentious thing of blueness be one of the bikes of 2015? Maybe not in the aesthetical pleasures department but dynamically, the Suzuki GSX-S1000F is a superbike-derived weapon that genuinely surprised us. It doesn’t brag a gazillion horsepower, nor does it boast any wiz-bang chassis components, but that hasn’t halted Suzuki in producing a very capable and flexible steed.
After a collective few days at the press launch on the Isle of Man, a trackday at Silverstone, and several hundred UK road miles, it’s fair to say this was a pretty comprehensive assessment – and one that the GSX-S nailed, so long as we avoided any beauty contests. Some stuff we didn’t cover in the video…
It’s too sporty to be a sports-tourer: with its 17L fuel tank and genuine GSX-R chromosomes, you’ll be filling up every 100 miles like any other sportsbike under touring conditions.
Suspension set-up is on the firm side: another reason not to call it a sports-tourer, although the damping control and stroke action is beautiful, meaning an excellent road protocol. There’s also a wide range of significant adjustment.
It’s pretty handy on track, too: having spanked one round Silverstone at Suzuki’s all-star trackday recently, only the hideously long hero blobs and slightly too agricultural (for the track) ABS prevented any meaningful/fast lap times.
