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Enthusiast Rishaad Mody had a chance to ride the Suzuki GSX-S1000 for 6 days through India on both bumpy roads and on track and he’s written a review covering everything from its amazing 1st gear speeds to his rubber brake hose scare.
A few of you may have already gone touring with your GSX-S1000 so you may have come to the same conclusions as Mody. The liter bike has ample space on its flat rear seat for most soft bags and the pillion foot pegs can be used as strap anchors. He managed to strap on a fully stuffed Dirtsack Gypsy to the back and even though it’s filled with 6 days’ worth of clothing and a full race suit, there’s still enough room on the seat for him not to feel overly cramped! Though you may want to avoid the slow going city streets since the engine radiates a lot of heat.
Also tested during his 6 day riding stint are the speeds that you can achieve on first gear. Yes, what you’re looking at is indeed Mody going 120km/h at 11,000rpm and this is in first gear.
As for how the GSX-S1000 performs on track, there’s plenty of power for you to throw around but he did point out a few flaws. Tank grips may be necessary as he had a hard time hanging on during hard acceleration and the first gear acceleration is just brutal.
What’s worth a mention are the rubber brake hoses that failed to perform when he tried to brake hard at around 240kmph. The lever went limp and he was forced to stop while using both the rear brake and gears. A very dangerous failure especially when one is moving at high speeds.
Overall, an informative and entertaining read if you have the time.
Living With A Superbike: Suzuki GSX-S1000 - Overdrive