I’m sure many riders out there have never set up their suspension, nor have they even attempted adjusting a motorcycle to their ideal rider triangle. Many motorcyclists simply buy their motorcycle right off the showroom floor and enjoy their iron horses as is for the entire length of ownership. While there is nothing wrong with doing so, if the bike is perfectly suited to your preferences, but if it isn’t, it can lead to the impression of the bike being uncomfortable, the suspension seeming too hard or soft, the bike being too tall or heavy and a whole host of other issues that stop you from buying that dream bike.
Good sales staff should set up the bike for a rider’s weight, height, riding style and as many other preferences as they can before you head out on that maiden test ride, but let’s just be honest, do motorcycle salesmen like that even exist in this modern era? The answer is a blunt no… We motorcycle journalists occasionally tweak our test bikes to our preferences before starting the review process; standard settings are usually close to being perfect, if you weigh 81 kilograms, but there’s always room for further improvements.
Motorcycles are way more personalised to fit us as riders compared to cars; you can be vertically challenged and have a weekly McDonald’s subscription and still drive a jacked-up Land Rover Defender with almost no difference in driving experience or pleasure. Luckily, motorcycles have evolved in electronics and suspension technology over the past ten years, which means you’ve got a built-in version of Dave Moss tuning (legendary suspension setup artist) in the form of electronic suspension within your switchgear and TFT display. No more riding to the garage, reading through the bike manual or googling what rebound, compression, and preload are.
With consistently changing road surfaces in SA, you’d have to sacrifice the ideal suspension setup for an in-between setting, as manually adjustable suspension cannot give you the best of both worlds, well maybe if you are willing to go through the pain of setting up your suspension a second time on the side of the road, while your mates ride into the distance laughing—tedious and not gonna happen. Whilst there is an argument over motorcycles becoming too PlayStation generation and causing many distractions, jacking up prices and, therefore, pissing off the hardcore bikers out there, we cannot deny that all this progress for many others its a blessing in disguise. With all this new technology being available across many brands, the price for premium tech is also starting to slowly drop and become more attainable.
Big Blue, our long-term Suzuki GSX-S1000GX, falls into the category of easy-to-set-up on-the-fly PlayStation generation motorcycles, with its “Suzuki Advanced Electronic Suspension” or ‘SAES’ for short. The GX is the first bike in Suzuki’s lineup to feature Showa’s semi-active suspension, and what it gets you in turn is a range of selectable modes to adjust your GX to your riding style, road surface and load. Witchcraft, you say, but no, semi-active suspension technology has been around now for years in the motorcycle world, with Ducati already having a proper Skyhook system back in 2013 on their Multistrada.
12 years later, we see Suzuki and many other motorcycle manufacturers equipping their premium models with this tech, and we are happy to see Big Blue equipped with its own. So, how simple is it to navigate and set up? Suzuki makes it easy, even for us journos to figure it all out within a few presses of a button with a clear and easy-to-read 6-inch colour TFT display and a simple switchgear toggle on the left side of the handlebar.
On the TFT to the right of the rev counter and speedo, you’ll see four cubes circling the gear indicator, which represent traction control, damping, preload and at the top you’ll see SDMS (Suzuki Drive Mode Selector), which is where you can store your preset riding modes for all parameters. Clicking on the back button sees one of the cubes selected in black, which allows you to scroll up or down to change the setting in the block. Once satisfied, a simple press of the ok button and your riding mode of choice is remembered and saved. What I quite like is that you can change modes on the fly within each preset if needed, but the simplest way is to set a preset for all types of rides.
For example, I’ll talk you through my two main presets in SDMS. ‘A’ mode is my everyday commute preset with TC1, preload on one rider with luggage and damping on hard for some sportier commutes. I don’t usually have much luggage, maybe a camera and laptop bag, but I like how the bike steers with a bit more preload set at the rear and a stiffer ride on the GX specifically gives me more confidence, so damping on H is my go-to for the faster and smoother roads. I’ve set up ‘B’ mode for touring with my wife, and that is set up on TC2, preload on rider and pillion and damping on medium for a plush yet sporty cruise.
You’ve got three presets available (A, B and C), 7 TC settings, 4 damping settings (Soft, Medium, Hard and Custom) and 4 preload/ride height options. There’s not plenty, but enough to choose from and once all your parameters are set, scroll up to the SDMS cube and press ok to save your preset mode.
Suzuki has made the settings on the GX easy to access, understand and adjust without being a rocket scientist. I mean, if you’ve ever had a go at setting up the electronic suspension or riding parameters on the latest Superbikes or European machines, you’d get cross-eyed in seconds by the sheer number of changes for one, and secondly, trying to understand how all the numbers affect or change the bike is near impossible without a test track. The GX is simple, and if your mind changes as you are riding, you can switch presets or make a change from hard to medium on the damping in seconds and ramp up the TC if the roads get a bit damp, it really isn’t that difficult or distracting. If it is distracting, just pull over and make those adjustments, it’s still much quicker than twisting clickers or getting a spanner out.
So there you have it, the GX is equipped with easy-to-use and top-quality suspension that anyone can use and very quickly appreciate. I must say the medium damping mode right across all the preload heights has really impressed me the most and is the best balance for SA roads. As we speak, there are only two other competitors in SA up against the GX, namely the BMW S 1000 XR and Yamaha Tracer 900 GT+. However, the Suzuki offers premium quality and sits right in the middle when it comes to standard equipment vs value for money, which gives riders their own choice of how to kit out the GX to their liking within their own budget and in their own time, rather than paying for more than what they need.
With the Suzuki Weekend Away approaching us, we will be testing out Suzuki’s ‘mySpin’ App, slipping on a few accessories from the Suzuki catalogue list and adjusting the rider triangle to make Big Blue touring ready, so stay tuned.
For more information on Suzuki Motorcycles, visit – www.suzukimotorcycle.co.za
