The Suzuki GSXS 1000 GT is seriously good (Full Review)

Behold, ladies and gentlemen, the antidote to the ADV class. Reject 19-inch front ends and 35-inch seat heights and embrace the tradition of the sport touring life. Boys and girls, today we have the Suzuki GSX-S1000GT. We're doing a complete review and rundown on this motorcycle. It was provided to us by a fan of the channel, and so we are going to give you all the ins and outs on this machine and tell you why sport touring bikes actually still kind of matter. Today's video is supported by Rockform. I'll tell you more about them later in the show. Let's take a look at what makes this motorcycle so interesting. So as I mentioned, this bike was provided to us today by a fan of the channel who graciously brought this thing out to Yamanoob HQ for me to test out. And so, fun story about her, she actually had a Ninja 400 for about six months and then decided to jump to a Suzuki GSX-1000GT. Kind of a big jump, but her use case for this was actually very specific. She travels from Austin to Dallas, and so big highway munching kind of machine, she felt it would be safer and better to have something quite like this. She's also a little bit older, in the 30s range, and so that kind of lends you to believe that she should be a little bit more mild-mannered when it comes to twisting the throttle on this thing. So I'm going to hit you guys with the two most important things for today's video. It's price and ergonomics because if you can't afford it and you can't fit on it, this bike ultimately won't matter to you. So it's going to be $13,799 for this GT Plus with the color-matched bags. Your results may vary depending on where you live and what kind of deal you can find. As an anecdote, the owner of this machine did get it for about $15,000 out the door. Ergonomically speaking, we're working with the 31.9-inch seat height, so that's pretty approachable. I'll swing a leg over this machine, and you'll find that it's a pretty comfortable riding position. Pretty neutral, nice and even seating on here. This is not a full-tuck sport bike, nor is it a big, bad ADV dad bike either. This machine actually sits pretty neutral, a little bit more on the sporty side, and ultimately should be a pretty fun riding experience. Now the name of the game for the Suzuki GSX-S1000 GT Plus, quite a mouthful, is comfort. Now this motorcycle features a nice, tall windshield, but it is non-adjustable, which is where you see Suzuki cut a few corners here and there on this bike. Moving back over here, passenger accommodations, really good on this machine. You'll notice that this owner has actually her bag that she uses for work right on top of here, kind of being her passenger, which is quite funny, but you could very easily fit a passenger on here. They're going to be very comfortable. All the touch points are rubber-mounted, so it's going to be really comfortable for that passenger to ride. This motorcycle also features 25.7 liters of storage here in the bags, and that's going to be a really nice feature. You can fit a full-sized helmet back here, so if you're doing a big, long commute or you're touring on this machine, that's plenty of space to put any kind of toiletries or anything else or camping equipment even that you could want on this machine. Suzuki's also outfitted this bike with quite a bit of tech. Let's talk about that next. The GT Plus features quite a bit of tech and some first-evers for Suzuki. Key among those is this gigantic 6.5-inch TFT screen, and it is actually the first fitted to a Suzuki. I know, it's 2023, and here we are talking about TFTs for the first time on Suzuki, but we'll cut them some slack, okay? Three rider modes, a ride-by-wire system on this throttle, which means that you can tailor the power on this machine, five levels of traction control, and you also have ABS as standard. Cruise control is also fitted on this machine, as well as an up-and-down quickshifter, which is a really cool feature. Now, this bike doesn't have an IMU, which is something that you're seeing more and more on motorcycles, so you don't get lean-sensitive traction control or ABS, but to be honest, that is a little bit of overkill, in my opinion, for a bike that's just designed to be a sport-touring machine and not an out-and-out race bike. Now, this machine also has a six-speed transmission and a cable-actuated throttle, which we love to see for that feel and fit. Now, this machine would not be complete if we didn't talk about the frame and engine, and if you love the classics, you're gonna love what's coming next. Now, the star of the show, of course, on this motorcycle is the engine. K5 Gixxer squids rejoice because this is the same mill from the mid-2000s, the 999cc inline four pumping out about 150 horsepower, so definitely detuned from a superbike engine, but still pretty stout. Now, the internet tells me that this thing will dyno at about 136 rear-wheel horsepower with 73 foot-pounds of torque, so Suzuki's numbers are probably pretty accurate here. The other thing I want to point out on this machine is the frame. Now, the keen observers among you might say, yeah, I mean, that is a pretty stout frame for a sport touring bike. Well, that's because this is basically a Gixxer superbike frame, and that's gonna mean that laterally this thing's gonna feel amazing to ride, and I'm really interested to see how it feels. Moving towards the back of the motorcycle, you see a really nice beefy swingarm and a link-type rear suspension as well, cluing you into the fact that this bike has superbike roots. Now, the subframe is where things are gonna be a little bit different. This is a trellis-style reinforced subframe specific to the GT+. This means that you're gonna be able to accommodate more weight and more load on the rear of the motorcycle as opposed to a superbike that has a pretty flimsy little subframe that you wouldn't really want to put more than one passenger on at a time. Moving to the front of the motorcycle, we have 43-millimeter fully adjustable KYB suspension so you can really dial in the GT Plus to your heart's content, and I think that's pretty cool. Now, given that this is a very street-oriented model with a big fuel tank, about five gallons, the wet weight on this thing is about 521 pounds. That might sound pretty portly if you're looking at superbikes, but actually for this Sport Touring category or even the Open Class category, this thing's very lightweight. You know, I'm thinking of stuff like the K1600 from BMW or even a Goldwing. Those machines are 700, 800, 900 pounds sometimes, so this thing should be pretty fun and rideable. But with all that being said, let's get it out on the road and let's finally feel what Suzuki's best Sport Touring bike has to offer. So let me get this straight. You spent 20 grand on your motorcycle, you spent 1,500 bucks on your phone, and then you're gonna get some cheapo mount off Amazon to connect the two? No, no, no, no, no. What you need is this. It's called a Rockform, and it's the best phone mount for your motorcycle and your phone. Rockform has pretty much pioneered the game. This thing's made of all-metal features of vibration damper, and it's gonna make sure that your phone stays nice and connected. The first thing you're gonna wanna do is get the Rockform case. This thing's drop-tested, and it's gonna ensure that your phone is never gonna break. The next step is to take the Rockform case and attach it to the mount like this, and now that phone's not going anywhere. It's magnetic as well, and this baby's gonna stay put. You can use it for navigation or to check things on the go and make it a whole lot easier. Fans of the Yam are gonna get 25% off by using my link down below and using the code YN25. We're a long-time partner with Rockform, and that is for good reason. They are the best of the best. So hit that link down below, use the code YN25, and get yourself 25% off of any Rockform products. On the road with the Suzuki Gixxis 1000 GT Plus, which from now on, I think I'm just gonna call it the GT Plus, because that's kind of a long name. So what do I make of it? Is it a sport bike with handlebars and a big fairing and bags? Ehh, not exactly. Uh, so this is a great motorcycle, I just want to get that from the get-go. The value for money here is tremendous. You have tremendous value for money here, $14,000 under MSRP is a great, great buy for this motorcycle, however, I do think it's a little bit compromised. The power delivery is fantastic. The engine makes a great linear amount of power, really, really nice to ride, but as I jump on the brakes here, that's my first gripe. Not a whole lot of stopping power or feel from the lever, which is a little bit of a bummer. Now this is an ABS system, so the hoses are going all kinds of which way, backwards and forwards on the motorcycle, so those fluids have to travel a whole long way, and that obviously is going to limit the feel, but the very first thing I would do to this motorcycle, if it were my own, would be to get a master cylinder. Just get that tightened up, maybe even go direct on the brakes, because, I mean, yeah, I get it, ABS is safer and I would want to keep it, but if I can't get the feel to be dialed in, then I would definitely want to get a set of direct brake lines, just because it is a little bit dicey. You combine that with the fact that this motorcycle has really long gears, and you can very quickly outbrake yourself on this thing. I found myself kind of closing in on the top a second, and I looked down and I'm doing almost 90 miles an hour, and I'm like, whoa, that's kind of fast. So a lot of speed on this motorcycle, which is the fun part of it, of course. Now I did want to make a point about the throttle response. When you are kind of stuck at a stoplight, it seems to have really crisp throttle response. However, once you kind of get this motorcycle up and going a little bit, on-off throttle isn't fantastic, I got to say. It's a little bit peculiar. The first initial bite of throttle rolls on a little bit too smooth. I'm not getting a nice actuation on the throttle to make sure that it's a nice opening and closing of the throttle. It's a little bit bizarre. You guys will notice I'm taking some funky lines because I'm avoiding some of the gravel through the road there. Now one super positive point I have for this motorcycle is the quick shifter system. What a blast to use. Suzuki's really dialed that thing in. One of the crispest auto blippers I've ever tried on a motorcycle. I really do have to commend Suzuki for that, because that is pretty amazing. Now the fact that this does have a Gixxer Thou Superbike frame does make it laterally so nice. You know, you get this thing on the side of the tire, it really holds a line very, very well. But I got to say, I think they adjusted the rake angle on this thing because the initial turn-in is a bit weird, I got to say. The initial turn-in on this motorcycle is not really what I would have expected. I thought it would be much more darty and planted, and the initial flick-in is a little slow, I'm not going to lie. I was expecting a much quicker initial tip-in. I thought it would be really a lot more laser-focused as I flick it over here on this decreasing radius. Yeah, I don't know, it's a little odd. Really nice broad spread of power though. That 1000cc is no slouch, even in this detuned version, even with these longer gears, this motorcycle definitely makes its presence known with the power. I think the wind protection combined with the smooshy brakes and the long gearing is a weird combination on this bike. You can really outride this motorcycle a little bit without really intending to, because you don't get a good sense of speed through the windshield, and then the gears are so long, you're like, well, I'm only in second gear, I can't be going that fast. You look down, like I said, 85 miles an hour all day in second gear. It's got some long legs. To be honest, here in the twisties, I've never even gotten much out of second gear. I kind of play with the gearbox a little bit, but I really don't need to. It's quite the experience to just leave it in second gear, and you can just ride most canyons and twisties without much trouble at all. At a more casual street pace like this, we're stuck behind a student driver in some sort of SUV, and, you know, the motorcycle feels planted, it feels secure. I think Suzuki's done a really good job at kind of giving you everything you need and nothing you don't, you know? That's what Suzuki's been really good at these last five, seven years or so, is they're providing you just absolute no-nonsense motorcycles. I think this thing has the TFT and the ride modes and stuff just because Suzuki feels like they have to in order to kind of keep up, but I swear there was probably a decision in the boardroom to just slap on an analog LCD display from the jigs or thou on this thing. I guarantee it. I bet you Suzuki wanted to do that at some point. Other features I think are really nice, you've got a USB outlet right over here, that way if you wanted to put on a nice little rock form mount, get your phone charging up, it would be super easy to do. You know, I just test rode the Rebel 1100T DCT out in Florida a while ago, and I gotta say I'd rather be on this Jixus and doing the same thing. This is so comfortable, man. The ergonomics here are really nice. Like I'm sitting here, I'm very upright. As many of you might know, my T5 ligament in my back is a little not so great, and so I can't really spend that much amount of time on a super sport motorcycle on the street. Can do track work no problem, because it's a little bit different and much more athletic and aggressive, but just sitting there in that tucked over position is not super fun for me. But man, I gotta say, this motorcycle, I mean it's a K5 Jixxer wearing dad jeans, let's be honest, that's really what it is, but I will say of my gripes on this machine, I'd say there's three. Number one, the turn in, not so great. I find it to be a little slow, not exactly what I would want out of a sport motorcycle. I'd want a little bit quicker turn in, because I think they messed with the geometry a little bit. There's no way. This does not turn in like a Jixxer. Number two is the throttle response. I just find it to be not so crisp when you're on off mid corner. Everywhere else it's pretty good, like right here just kind of poodling along street traffic, no problem, but I found that trying to get it completely closed is a little bit dicey, and yeah, it's just not, I'd rate it like a seven out of ten, it's fine. And third are these brakes. Squishy, squishy lever feel. Maybe this one in particular just needs a master cylinder bleed, but it only has 2,000 miles on it, and the owner, she told me that it's always kind of felt that way, so I tend to believe that it's a Suzuki issue, but I'd love to see maybe a swap on a new master cylinder and get that proper pull on the lever, get this thing stopping, no problem. Otherwise, the positives for me, man, this gearbox is so good. This gearbox is so freaking good. This is one of the best gearboxes I've ever felt. It's snappy, it's engaging, it's got a really nice positive action on the lever, got that rifle bolt feel. The down, the auto blipper's incredible. Look, I'll put it up into fourth here just so you guys can see. It's so good, dude. It's so good. Yeah, I love the gearbox on this thing. I love that it's just a normal cable actuated throttle. The Suzuki easy start system coming off a stop sign is super nice as well. Really makes this motorcycle very enjoyable to do kind of commuting duty, which really is what it's designed to do. It's designed to be long distance or everyday commuting kind of bike. I think if the old Zach Kortz were to get his hand on this machine, I think you'd really appreciate it for its daily rider potentials because the bags are big, it's comfortable, it's pretty good. And I got to say, too, pretty decent wheelie potential. We'll get a little one right here. Yeah, you could definitely learn to love the wheelies on this thing, that's for sure. Very easy to just flick the clutch and get the front wheel to pop up a little bit. I bet you on power in first gear, it'd be pretty simple as well. I've got some traffic in front of me, so I can't quite do first gear, could maybe give it a shot. I'll just whack it open here, see what it does. Should be able to get a little one. There you go. Yeah, again, it's a detuned K5, but it's still a K5. It's got a lot of punch, that's nice. Now with all that being said about this bike's kind of initial impressions, the twisties, all that stuff, I'm going to get it out on the highway and see how it feels doing the kind of highway duty thing it's really designed to do. It's great in the twisties, and it's supposed to do that, but let's see on the highway how this thing feels. All right, folks, here we are, slapping it up on the highway with the big tuna, the GSX-1000 GT Plus BB. How does it do with this? That's pretty freaking good, dude, not going to lie. As I mentioned in the twisty road vlog, the ergonomics are really comfortable, man. This bike is genuinely extremely comfortable. I'm sitting here going about 70 miles per hour. I've got wind buffeting basically right to my neck, so if I had the ability to increase this windshield just slightly a little bit, it would make a big difference. Effortless power to pass there, as you can see, fifth gear, not even in sixth, fifth gear here, and I've got plenty of power to scooch on by and get by people as I need, so I'll go ahead and cut over to the lane here, pile on quite a bit of speed, very stable, shares a little bit of that Busa DNA, you know Suzuki had to do it to them, and it's perfectly happy doing this sort of thing. I bet you it would return incredible fuel economy as well. With a five-gallon tank, you would probably see very, very good range on this thing if I were to guess. Let's go ahead and try out that cruise control. It's over here on the right. We'll click it to activate it. You see a big cruise control symbol pops up on there. All we got to do is press the button down to set it, and we are set. We are cruising 72 miles per hour. I can get my hand off of the throttle here and just cruise along with this motorcycle. That is a massive thing. If this bike didn't have cruise control, it would be ridiculous to call it a GT, to my opinion. To deactivate it, all you got to do is tap the brake a little bit, just tap the brake, and you are deactivated. Now, that is one of the benefits of having such a mushy braking system. It doesn't take much to deactivate the cruise control because the brakes don't do a whole lot on the first pull of the lever, so kind of a nice thing, honestly. It's not a kind of jerky cruise control cancellation. I'll go ahead and set cruise control back again. We're at 69 miles an hour, 68 or so. I'll go ahead and cook it down on the cruise control. Let's see what it does. We're rezzing it down. Yeah, there we go. Settling it down. I was actually increasing the speed. That's funny. I'll go ahead and press the button. You settle it down. Easy peasy. Really intuitive cruise control system to use here on this bike. If you add power, you're still set just like a normal cruise control system. You let off the throttle, it'll settle back down to the original speed that you had. Go ahead and cancel it. You just got to tap on the brakes a little bit. You can do it while you're on the throttle and it's even smoother. Just be on the throttle a little bit and just yank on the brake lever a little bit with your middle finger, and you have canceled the cruise control. I would happily, happily do 3, 400, 500 miles on this thing and be happy as a clam. I would maybe invest in a more comfortable seat if I am going to be slabbing that many miles. The stock seat is pretty decent, but an aftermarket seat makes all the difference. Get a high-quality Corbin seat or something like that and get yourself feeling real good on this motorcycle. But the highway cruising potential on this thing is extremely high, very, very high, and it's really nice to just cruise along. The motor, because it's an inline-four, an under-stressed big 1,000cc engine, man, it just feels like it could turn mile after mile after mile, and you know that because it's a Suzuki, it will reliably do so very, very easily. I bet you this motor would probably turn 100,000 miles no problem. You would have no issues whatsoever with this engine doing those kind of miles. It would actually be pretty, pretty easy to do so. Cruising here on this on-ramp, I'm in fourth gear going like 38 miles an hour. I'm going to click it up into fifth just to be the ultra-mileage, hyper-mile guy that I can be. And what I want to see is the kind of passing power and the kind of pulling power that it has from low down. Let's see here. Fifth gear, we're going 50. No problem at all. Really nice honk of the engine there from this thing. Really refined. And I like this bike, man. This makes a really strong case for itself as a touring bike. It's so cheap. Frickin' Goldwing, eat your heart out. It is so cheap to buy this thing, man. 14 grand for all this bike? That's pretty good, dude. In a world where, you know, Multistradas and Tiger 1200s and BMW GSs are all getting pretty close to $30,000, again, this is the antidote to that whole stupid adventure bike is a touring bike thing. This is really all you need, guys. Like, if you want to go slab on a bunch of road miles, get a frickin' GT Plus, dude. This is all you need. You really don't have to sit there and reinvent the wheel when it comes to this sort of thing. You don't need a bike with a 19-inch front end and 10 inches of suspension travel and a 36-inch seat height and a $29,000 price tag. Just get the GT Plus. Do yourself a favor. Yeah, it's not great in some areas, but it is plenty good enough to do this kind of thing, man. And it looks pretty snazzy, too, I gotta say. It's got that weird stumpy nose thing at the front. It kind of looks like Squidward from Spongebob. Because it's a Suzuki, what are you going to do? It's not perfect, you know? Yeah, let's go ahead and wrap up our thoughts on this machine. We'll jump off the bike and give you a holistic impression of what I think of it. All right, folks. Suzuki GSX-S 1000 GT Plus. Pretty good little motorcycle. I gotta say, I like it. It's not perfect by any means. I do think that that throttle could be a little bit smoother, the brakes could be a little bit tighter, and overall, the front-end feel could be a little bit sharper. But I think for the intended audience for this thing, which is people who are chucking down big miles, touring, God, this thing makes a great case for itself, you know? Great value for money, really solid motor, proven, reliable, Japanese, kind of funky styling, you know? I think if you're in the market for a touring bike, this thing definitely deserves your attention. This thing definitely puts the emphasis on sport touring. I'd say it's a capital S sport, lowercase touring. But I would happily, like I said, do 300, 400, 500 miles on this thing. I would go cross-country with this thing, and it would happily do it with me. So guys, thanks again to Rockform for supporting today's video. Big shout-out to the fan of the channel who provided this bike for us today, and we'll catch you in the next one. See you later. Hell, well, well. What do we have here? A mighty fine steel horse, if I ever did say so myself. They don't make these at the rodeo anymore. I'm going to just swing a leg over this bike. Now, if you want to see me spool some boost, got to click this video right over here. This is your Turbo Hibusa. It might be featured in the next video you see here on EMInube. Tell you what, partner. I'm going to turn off the lights. I mean, this bike is going to do some things.