[blueglue]

Well i know some of the other members from the UK were meeting the Suzuki team who flew in from Japan this week but here was my experience.

I arrived at the dealership to see two other GSX-S 1000 sat outside and went in for a meet and greet.

Inside there was a total of six owners (including me) ranging from about 30-70+ years of age!

Welcoming us was the UK Suzuki representative and regional manager and several Suzuki engineers who flew in from Japan. About two of them spoke English so there was a little language barrier but nothing a lot of arm gestures couldn't fix :laugh:

Straight away they were all very aware of complaints about the throttle but didn't go into too much detail. All of the owners i spoke with didn't have any throttle issues but im unsure whether anyone had mentioned it at their other visits.
We sat down in groups of two and basically went through a 70+ questionnaire detailing any issues or bits we liked, even down to my weight and how often i cleaned the bike.

Unfortunately it wasn't really a session of firing questions off at them regarding problems ive heard on here and could only really talk about issues i have with my bike specifically. My issue was more to do with the paint rubbing through on my tank after 300 miles (see my gallery). This seemed to alarm the team who took copies of my pictures and were forwarding them to head office along with my VIN number. Unfortunately as i had put side tank protectors on they couldn't inspect the tank more closely but Suzuki UK is flagging my bike in case any further problems arise.

My group seemed to take the longest filling the questionnaire so i didnt really get to chat to the other owners regarding their issues, but the team seemed genuinely interested in ironing out the problems. A few of the engineers went outside and looked over our bikes detailing things but some owners had driven in their cars which was a bit of a pain.

We were asked about three or four questions regarding throttle response, idling, low speed riding and they stated this was in relation to the press articles which slated the throttle response. Apparently some had been invited back to ride production models after the launch with pre production machines but refused... (i got this third hand so take with a pinch of salt).

Anyway i know a couple of other issues came out regarding the finish rubbing off the foot guards etc and headlight beams etc.. so watch this space.

I even suggested they put on a rear licence plate holder that can be shortened (Yamaha do one of these).

All in all a good afternoon and the £100 pound voucher i got was a bonus too. The engineer even presented it to me with both hands bowing. I kind of half bowed and shook his hand 0

If anyone else of the forum was at there it was nice to meet you.

 

[blueglue]

if any other have been i would like to hear your experiences too.

 

[bikenut]

hiya blueglue, i was also at the meeting. i arrived a little late with my partner as i was not feeling to good (cancer is a bitch) and nearly didnt go. but i decided to go in my car as that way i could just pull over and do the necessary if took ill. sorry if that was a pain. i also went outside with the engineers to discuss the stalling problem i had on my bike which wasnt hard to do without my bike being there as it was talking about position in the road, what revs and was the clutch in or out. they seemed very interested in the problem of the throttle being snatchy at low revs, and were asking opinion as to whether i thought it should be addressed . Not my bike, but as a whole. i told him they will be getting complaints from around the world so that will be the decider. also mentioned the very poor paint finish.but on the brighter side, the bikes great, good fun and good to look at. i did ask why the power was toned down so much from the gsx-r1000, and he admitted it was totally down to cost. the gsx-r has titanium valves the gsx-s has steel, also some machining for oil ways in the crankcases were avoided, and of course no slipper clutch. enjoyed the meeting, nice guys. also took the car to help haul all the freebies away , not expecting a £100 gift voucher, very nice. lol

 

[blueglue]

Yeah the voucher was a good touch.

Sorry the regional guy said it was a pain that some of the bikes werent there not the engineers.

Glad they talked it through with you as i wasnt sure anyone had that issue.

Did they give any indication whats causing it in some and not others?

All the best with your health too.

 

[bikenut]

my bikes throttle problem is very minor compared to others we have read about, he stated adjusting the throttle cable would help (as already mentioned on here). he also said some newer riders might find it a little alarming , but also said they will look at a fix if its a problem. so all people who have a problem let Suzuki and your dealers know. (i know many already have). some people have said the newer ones have no problem but MCN test rode again september 23 issue and still had the problem. i can say i took an MT09 tracer out recently which is supposedly now cured of the problem, but it was loads worse than my gsx-s.

 

[tonyt]

Well done lads all very interesting I have to say................ I so want this bike asap............. but for £9500 it's got to be free of teething troubles...Think I'm gonna wait for the 2nd batch to be imported, as I said before approach the dealers in Dec/Jan/Feb for a deal... !!

 

[bikenut]

hi tonyt, there are very few vehicles out there that havnt got some sort of problem or other. my Ducati Diavel wouldn't select neutral very often , when i googled it some Ducati forum said to turn it of at traffic lights, select neutral then restart ! riding home one day the clutch started to drag, thinking the clutch was going i went to my ducati dealer who told me to bleed it at the master cylinder as they all do that ! lol they cost £17,000 new.hence i didnt keep it long. lol you really need to get your suzy , for the price its a steal lol

 

[Just_me]

No words if there will be any updates or extra options available next year, like a quickshifter?

 

[rcannon409]

I could say this about the ninja 1000 as well, but it would have been nice if suzuki did not try to put this bike into a budget class.

9500 is expensive, but not if you compare that to the cost of the gsxr 1000. I think suzuki built a foundation that could compete with the bmw if they had only spent a few more dollars on suspension.

Sure, we can do this ourselves but its more expensive than if they had done so.

 

[jong]

I could say this about the ninja 1000 as well, but it would have been nice if suzuki did not try to put this bike into a budget class.

9500 is expensive, but not if you compare that to the cost of the gsxr 1000. I think suzuki built a foundation that could compete with the bmw if they had only spent a few more dollars on suspension.

Sure, we can do this ourselves but its more expensive than if they had done so.

don't be using the word 'budget' or dreaming about 'what if's' around here mate.
Some people are easily offended if you dare to speak your thoughts on what could have been.

 

[fog ducker]

" This seemed to alarm the team who took copies of my pictures and were forwarding them to head office along with my VIN number. Unfortunately as i had put side tank protectors on they couldn't inspect the tank more closely but Suzuki UK is flagging my bike in case any further problems arise." They shouldn't have been shocked. They've been dealing with a similar paint issue on the Vstrom.. Known problem me thinks.

 

[blueglue]

Just a quick update.

Suzuki have sent a new tank regarding the paint issue as they want my old tank sent back to Japan for analysis.

(I hope they are going to pay for new tank protectors!)

 

[ackack]

I've noticed the red above the headlight is on the pink side, like not enough paint went on. I've only just noticed because I've parked the bike inside at work and we have these fancy day glow light bulb things. I'll be having a word with dealer soon. Plus I've gone through another heel protector and the paint is starting go on that.

 

[tonyt]

I've noticed the red above the headlight is on the pink side, like not enough paint went on. I've only just noticed because I've parked the bike inside at work and we have these fancy day glow light bulb things. I'll be having a word with dealer soon. Plus I've gone through another heel protector and the paint is starting go on that.

'Kin ell.... was going to see about a deal the weekend.... Bloody £9.5K bike for ***** sake... !!!!

 

[Gixxus]

'Kin ell.... was going to see about a deal the weekend.... Bloody £9.5K bike for ***** sake... !!!!

What the heck is this ramble....... LOL

 

[ackack]

Despite these very minor issues it hasn't put me off.

 

[tonyt]

What the heck is this ramble....... LOL

I so want the bike but I keep ummming and aarrrhhhhring after learning from here all the stuff not right for a £9.5 bike .. just don't want it to get the name of a budget bike......................................... Still going to have another look at the weekend though ....

 

[ackack]

I so want the bike but I keep ummming and aarrrhhhhring after learning from here all the stuff not right for a £9.5 bike .. just don't want it to get the name of a budget bike......................................... Still going to have another look at the weekend though ....

You'll be hard pressed to find any bike in this price range without some niggles.
This is a brand new model that's 5 months old and most of the issues are easily sorted out.
I like to think of us as pioneers of Suzuki's entry into the litre naked market.
If you're ummming and ahhing then I don't think you're worthy of joining the elite

 

[blueglue]

Got my tank replaced under warranty yesterday and was pretty painless taking two hours.
I ran the fuel down to 10 miles then it showed 4 when i left the dealership. Was a bit worrying as the petrol station was 5 miles away and the range turned from 1 miles to dashes as i got to the pump haha. Managed to put 16.6 litres in with it on the side stand.

 

[blueglue]