2024 Suzuki GSX-S1000GX

A Superbike in a Comfy Suit

Suzuki took the inline-four from its superbike family, wrapped it in a tall screen, hand guards and upright bars, and called it the GSX-S1000GX. Which is a terrible name. From ten feet away you'd swear it's an adventure bike. It isn't. It rolls on 17-inch wheels front and back, and it's a sport tourer.

The big deal is the suspension. This is the first production Suzuki with electronic, semi-active suspension, reading the road and changing the damping as you ride. In theory that means plush on the highway and firm the second you find a good road. I spent the day finding out if that's true.

Here's the thing. Suzuki got really close to something special here. The touring half of this bike is done. The sport half isn't.

Performance Highlights

Start with the motor, because it's the best part of the bike. The 999cc inline-four traces back to the GSX-R1000, and Suzuki's motto is clearly "if it ain't broke, don't fix it, and put it in everything." I'm fine with that. Down low it's sleepy. Pull away from a light and you feel it feeding in, feeding in, feeding in. Then the revs climb and it wakes up in a hurry. In A mode, with 150 horsepower on tap, it rides like a supersport.

The 40-80 proved it. I launched in first, and even at 40 mph first gear wasn't in the power band yet. Then it was, and the front wheel came up. That's a 511-pound touring bike pulling a wheelie on a highway on-ramp.

The power modes earn their keep too. C mode takes nearly everything away, B is livable and A is the real bike. They feel genuinely different, which is more than plenty of bikes manage. And that slow build works as a warning system. Keep the revs low and it's a casual commuter. Hold it open and it lets you know things are about to get fast.

The suspension is where it slips. I love that it's electronic, and I love that it changes with the ride mode. But even in the sportiest setting it never firms up the way a bike with this engine deserves. It's also strangely reluctant to tip into a turn. On 17-inch wheels it should fall into corners. Instead it asks for real effort, and around town that gets old. The flip side is stability. Over bumps, through sweepers, at 90 on the highway, the GX stays locked on its line like it's on rails.

The Brembos stop it just fine. The lever just tells you almost nothing about what they're doing. On a bike this quick I want feel at my fingers, and here it's a vague pull. If it were mine, braided lines and a better master cylinder would be the first order.

Rider Experience & Tech

The seat surprised me. It's firm, so you sit on top of it instead of sinking into it, and that's exactly right for a bike you're supposed to ride all day. The lower half is a little sporty, the top half barely leans forward. It reminds me of my MT-10, which I've owned for six years, so take that as a compliment. On the highway in sixth at about 6,000 rpm the engine is barely working. Move the windscreen up a notch (it adjusts, but only with tools, and the lowest setting put the wind right on my visor), add heated grips, and this is a legit tourer.

The tech list is solid. The two-way quickshifter pops you into the next gear smoothly with a little nudge of power. Cruise control cancels when you roll the throttle forward. You get cornering ABS, traction control, hand guards, a USB port and a light, assisted clutch that makes stop-and-go traffic easy. But the cruise buttons sit too far for my right thumb, and the menus are a scantron of acronyms. SRAS, ADC, QS. The 6.5-inch TFT gets the job done. It just feels a generation old.

Then there's the vibration. At 6,000 rpm in town the mirrors buzz so much I couldn't tell what kind of car was behind me, and a little of it comes through the bars and pegs. Most owners won't care. I noticed because I was looking for it.

The Chase Score & Final Thoughts

The 2024 Suzuki GSX-S1000GX lands a Chase Score of 66/100, which puts it in the Good tier. Ride 33, usability 33. Dead even, which is exactly how the day felt. A great engine and great highway manners, with a sport side that doesn't keep up with either.

The price is why I'm being picky. At $18,499 new, I want the suspension and brakes dialed. Find one used around $15,000, like the one WOW Motorcycles loaned me with 773 miles on it, and it makes a lot more sense.

Who's it for? The rider with a few years under them who wants to knock out a couple states of highway on a Saturday and still have a bike that rips when the road opens up. Skip it if your weekends are all canyon roads, or if this would be your first bike. I put it in D tier on the Beginner Bike Tier List for a reason.