For legal reasons, I want to stress that this did not happen. I am a safe and conscientious rider at all times.
So, if I were to tell you a story about the exact moment when I fell in love with the Suzuki GSX-S1000GT, it’s important for you to understand that the story is a lie – an AI hallucination. In fact, let’s say this story about a thing that did not happen is also not even about me.
HERE’S WHAT OTHERS THOUGHT WHEN THIS BIKE FIRST CAME OUT:
2022 Suzuki GSX-S1000GT – Ride review round-up
The story starts on an unnamed motorway in an unnamed country, during an unnamed time of year. Specifically, the story starts at a motorway services, where the totally made up protagonist of this totally made up story has stopped to rejuvenate himself with a cup of tea and a chocolate croissant.
Walking out of the services into the parking lot, some part of him registers that it is markedly less full than when he’d arrived. He doesn’t stop to think of why that might be, however. He is too focused on getting back on the sport-touring machine that he is finding to be far more enjoyable than he’d imagined.
Helmet on. He fires up the 999cc inline four-cylinder engine and revels in its menacing, deep bass hum at idle. Wallet, keys, phone – check, check, check. He snicks the bike into gear and rolls out of the services and back onto the motorway.
Which, he suddenly realizes, is completely deserted. In all three lanes of the motorway, there is not one other vehicle. Not one HGV. Not one car. Not even another bike. Just him.
He quickly works out in his mind what has happened. Somewhere behind him, traffic has been stopped ahead of the motorway services. That’s why the parking lot had been so quiet, and why he now finds himself all alone on a motorway.
All alone on a motorway that he knows well – well enough to know that there are no speed cameras ahead.
All alone on a motorway that he knows well, on a warm, sunny, dry day.
All alone on a motorway that he knows well, on a warm, sunny, dry day, and riding the 150bhp Suzuki GSX-S1000GT – a motorcycle with an engine derived from the iconic GSX-R1000 K5.
What would you do if you were in such a situation?
Again, I want to stress that this story did not happen and it definitely did not happen to me. If it had, I obviously would have carried on in a safe, prudent, and entirely legal manner.
I definitely would not have pulled myself into the tightest tuck that my lanky frame will allow. I would not have cracked the throttle to the stop, and I would not have discovered that the GSX-S1000GT can accelerate with terrifying ease, that it can go from ‘lovely day out’ to ‘Oh, God, we’re entering the Speed Force’ in an instant.
I would not have watched the world around me blur and the MPH numbers on the dash spin toward figures I’ve never before achieved. And at these psychotic speeds, I would not have observed that the engine had plenty more to give as I was losing my nerve, the balance of thrill and fear leaning too far toward the latter.
I would not have slackened my throttle hand, allowing the bike to bring itself slowly back to normalcy. And it would not be only at 120 mph that I would remember to breathe again, using that first intake of air to shout into my helmet: “HOLY F–K, I LOVE THIS BIKE!”
None of that happened.
But, theoretically, it could have. And if it had, you would understand why I think it’s depressing that more people aren’t buying these things.
SOME NUMBERS
| PRICE | £12,999 |
| ENGINE | 999cc liquid-cooled inline four-cylinder DOHC |
| POWER | 150 bhp at 11000 rpm (111.7 kW) |
| TORQUE | 78 lb-ft at 9250 rpm (106 Nm) |
| CURB WEIGHT | 226 kg |
| SEAT HEIGHT | 810 mm |
| FUEL CAPACITY | 19 liters |
SOME BACKGROUND
The GSX-S1000GT/GSX-S1000GT+ was first introduced in late 2021 for the 2022 model year. It didn’t get the best introduction to the UK market. With pandemic weirdness still upon us, Suzuki GB wasn’t able to host the traditional “sun and paella” type of press ride that one would normally choose for a bike like this. Instead, it took journos and influencers to Scotland for rain and haggis, with an extra helping of rain.
It was a setting that demonstrated the bike’s bonafides in terms of the ‘touring’ side of the sport-touring equation, but offered precious little opportunity to really make the most of its handling prowess and iconic powerplant. Perhaps the reports that came out of that event – “It’s good, but I don’t really know how good” – are part of the reason the bike isn’t more popular.
The GSX-S1000GT is a traditional sport-touring motorcycle, the likes of which had all but died out by the time it arrived on the scene.
Back in Ye Olden Tymes, of course, sport tourers were THE thing. Almost every manufacturer offered its take on the genre; some offered several versions.
ChatGPT tells me that the 1977 BMW R100RS was the first sport tourer. I’d argue that things go back further than that – at least to 1973, with the BMW R90S. BMW actually raced that bike, winning at the Isle of Man TT, Daytona 200, and in the AMA Superbike championship. Customers equipped the thing with saddlebags and, voila: sport tourer.
I’m sure others would go back even further than that. The inability to definitively name THE first sport tourer speaks to the malleability of the genre’s definition. Often, a sport tourer – a bit like an adventure bike – is simply whatever you choose to say it is. But perhaps the easiest definition is this: a sportbike made comfortable.
Traditionally, that meant taking a sport bike, altering its ergonomics a little and, usually, tweaking the engine’s performance to make it more road friendly. The idea was to deliver a sportbike that could be ridden from the flat, uninteresting places where most of us live to the curvy, undulating places where sportbikes shine.
Over the last decade or so, the definition of sport tourer has changed. Arguably, there is now far greater emphasis on the ‘tourer’ side of the equation, with adventure bike-style ergonomics offering an easier ride – especially for those with a long inseam or creaky knees.
Sure, there are still some sport tourers that go like stink – eg, the BMW S 1000 XR or the recently unveiled Ducati Multistrada V4 RS – but even they make some concessions in terms of trading cornering ability for comfort.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
The first time my 2-year-old daughter saw the GSX-S1000GT she said, “No, Daddy. Put away,” and started walking in the other direction. She didn’t like its menacing stance, and she definitely did not like the sound it made on start-up.
To each their own. I personally love the look of the bike. It’s one of only a handful of sporty bikes that I find myself genuinely drawn to. I like the sharp lines – the way its front end looks a bit like a shark in Minecraft.
Sizewise, it’s not as bulbous and physically imposing as its most direct competitor, the Kawasaki Ninja 1100SX. It looks manageable. And it is. Despite its weight, the bike is easy to wheel around in your garage/driveway.
The rider’s seat is of an acceptable size. Not massive, but I had no complaints. The pillion seat, however, is tiny. It doesn’t look that way in photos, but when you see the thing in person you can’t help feeling the passenger accommodation was lifted from a GSX-S125. If I could change my daughter’s mind about the look of the bike it might be sizable enough for her, but not a normal adult with a normal adult butt. Something to consider if you’re keen to do two-up touring.
Throw a leg over, and you’ll find that the acceptably sized seat is plenty comfy. I put in a handful of 300-mile days on this bike, having to travel a fair distance from the congestion and speed cameras of West Sussex to find a place to stretch its legs. I was never uncomfortable, despite the fact that sport-touring ergonomics aren’t typically my thing.
To that end, the bike does encourage you toward a sportier riding position. I say ‘encourages’ because you can, if you want, sit mostly upright, not placing too much weight on your wrists. But the whole show performs better if you lean into the spirit of the machine. Cornering is easier, the mirrors are more effective, etc.
Looking forward, the dash is occupied by a 6.5-inch TFT screen that is easy to read in all light. Theoretically it has smartphone connectivity (more on this below). And you get plenty of info without connecting your phone, such as: speedometer, RPM indicator, tachometer, average fuel consumption, riding range, instant fuel consumption, cruise control setting, SDMS mode, odometer, traction control mode, dual trip meter, gear position, fuel gauge, water temperature, clock, ambient temperature, and voltmeter.
Clicking through all this info – as well as the setting of modes – is done via a not entirely intuitive switchcube on the left grip. You’ll figure out things eventually, but you’ll always be left with the feeling that: A) You’re missing something; and B) Suzuki didn’t totally think things through in terms of user experience.
Buttons for setting cruise control are also on the left grip, along with the buttons and switches you’d expect: horn, indicator, high beam. The right grip is home to the starter/killswitch, hazard lights, and a button you have to press to activate cruise control.
The windscreen is possibly a bit short (or, I just wasn’t riding in enough of a tuck) and non-adjustable.
ENGINE AND TRANSMISSION
The 999cc inline four engine of the GSX-S1000GT comes pretty directly from the GSX-R1000 K5.
The K5 is a legendary powerplant. Originally designed as a superbike engine – for the 2005 GSX-R1000 – it was quickly found to be so functional and tractable that Suzuki put it to work in numerous applications. At present, it’s the four-cylinder wündermotor that drives not just the GSX-S1000GT, but also the GSX-S1000GX, GSX-S1000, and Katana.
As a result of the engine having appeared in several models, it’s estimated that well in excess of 200,000 units have been produced over the years. And you’ll find plenty of people who will argue that it remains better than any modern powerplant.
“Even against today’s engines, it still offers the best combination of strong low-end torque and high peak power,” says former MotoGp and Superbike racer Martin Bauer.
Smooth, torquey, and powerful pretty much everywhere in the rev range, the GSX-S1000GT’s engine is an absolute joy. Critics of Suzuki raise an eyebrow at the presence of a 20-year-old engine here, but when you ride the bike it becomes clear that there’s no room for improvement. There’s nothing you can really do to make this powerplant better. You could change it, tweak it, harm one aspect in favour of another, but you cannot, across the board, actually deliver an engine that is better than the K5.
Peak outputs are 150 bhp at 11000 rpm, and 78 lb-ft of torque at 9250 rpm. Delightfully, however, the torque curve is ridiculously flat, so you get the bulk of it from about 2500 rpm. Which means that the GSX-S1000GT is addictive out of corners or roundabouts.
The six-speed transmission is slicker than the slickest slick thing. To the extent that the bike doesn’t really need the standard bidirectional quickshifter. Clutch pull is syrupy smooth and false neutrals are nonexistent.
That said, the quickshifter is the best I’ve ever experienced. Up and down, it works every single time, shifting smoothly and accurately. It was so good that at certain points I would force myself to not use it, for fear of growing too accustomed to it and forgetting to shift on other bikes.
CHASSIS AND BRAKES
“Agility, comfort, and riding pleasure were all design goals for creating this sports touring chassis,” says Suzuki.
Conveniently, it was a goal that had largely already been met; the GSX-S1000GT uses pretty much the same basic chassis layout as the GSX-S1000 that was introduced back in 2015. Whatever the case, it’s a good set-up.
Suspension-wise, the front fork is fully adjustable, while the rear suspension is adjustable for damping and preload. Interestingly, despite sharing almost exactly the same chassis and engine as the GSX-S1000GX, the GT does not have its sibling’s electronically adjustable suspension. I guess the thinking is that riders of an old-school sport tourer prefer an old-school suspension.
Not that it matters. The suspension is brilliant. Paired with a more sporty riding position, it gave me the confidence to hit corners with more enthusiasm than I might on other bikes.
A lot of the reviews I’ve read have complained about the brakes on this bike, calling them “wooden.” That wasn’t my experience. Or perhaps I like wooden brakes? Either way, for me they were positive but not over-the-top.
FANCY BITS
The GSX-S1000GT is loaded with technowhizzbangery and acronym-heavy rider aids. They include:
- LED lighting front and rear: Those teeny little headlights look useless, but they throw a surprising amount of light. I am not sure, however, that they give the bike enough daytime presence in traffic.
- Bidirectional quickshifter: As mentioned above, this works brilliantly. I still don’t think it’s necessary, but it’s certainly nice to have.
- Suzuki Clutch Assist System (SCAS): This is Suzuki’s term for a slipper clutch. It works exactly as you’d hope, even when you’re someone like me, who is often inclined to make a bad gear choice right before hitting a corner.
- Suzuki Traction Control System (STCS): You get five different traction control settings, as well as the ability to turn off the system completely. I opted for a middle of the road number and never once had it intrude.
- Suzuki Drive Mode Selector (SDMS): You get three riding modes. These are basically the same riding modes that Suzuki has been offering on its bikes for more than a decade; I had them on my 2015 V-Strom 1000.
- Cruise control: Easy to set. Works exactly as it should.
- Heated grips: The bike I rode was the no-frills GSX-S1000GT, but Suzuki no longer sells that model in the UK. Now your only choice is the GSX-S1000GT+, which is exactly the same but comes with heated grips, panniers, and a slightly taller windscreen.
- Smartphone connectivity via the Suzuki MySpin: Suzuki says this offers an “array of useful functions,” but I could not get it to connect. I am not surprised by this. Smartphone connectivity via an app is an inherently daft idea. It never works as it’s supposed to. Ever. Manufacturers need to give up on this personal-data-infringing nonsense.
WHAT IT’S LIKE TO RIDE
I have always liked the look and idea of the GSX-S1000GT. It was the bike that pulled me back from the brink during my “I’m annoyed at Suzuki for not doing anything new” phase. It’s not that Suzuki is really doing anything new here, but that it’s doing the same old thing so damned well.
As mentioned above, acceleration on this bike is frighteningly easy and dangerously addictive. My overall impression of the GSX-S1000GT is that it is a bike I should not own because I would inevitably earn myself a license ban. It would be the sort of thing that I’d do inadvertently – not even trying to go fast.
Indeed, for several weeks after returning the bike to Suzuki I lived in fear that a summons would show up in the post. That, completely unknowingly, I would have been caught by a speed camera doing 100 mph in a 40mph zone.
“Gee,” I’d tell the magistrate. “It didn’t feel like I was going that fast.”
Related to the bike’s easy speed is its deftness in corners.
Almost every rider has a regular route – a stretch of road that we’ll hit when we’ve only got an hour or so free. And in that stretch there is always The Tricky Bit, that run of corners that, despite having navigated them dozens of times, we can’t ever get comfortable in.
Riding the GSX-S1000GT on my regular route, I found myself thinking at one point: “Wait, where’d the tricky bit go?”
I had shot through it with such ease that I’d forgotten to get stressed about it.
On these two counts alone, the bike is worth the money, in my opinion. It is a traditional sport tourer with enough emphasis on the first part to be delightful, and enough emphasis on the latter to be manageable and comfortable.
On the subject of comfort, I will admit that I still prefer the relaxed ergonomics of an adventure-style bike or a proper tourer, but the GSX-S1000GT was much more conducive to long days in the saddle than I was expecting. It really is the sort of bike that you could use to cover the big miles between you and your nearest patch of really good roads.
As long as you’re travelling on your own. There simply isn’t room for two on this bike. Equally, there’s not a great deal of room for stuff. The panniers that come standard on the GSX-S1000GT+ are insufficient. I suppose, though, that you can use the tiny pillion seat as a spot for a Kriega bag or two.
COMPETITION
| NAME | SPECS | PRICE |
| Kawasaki Ninja 1100SX | 1099cc liquid-cooled inline four DOHC-134 bhp at 9000 rpm-83 lb-ft at 7600 rpm- 235kg curb weight-835mm seat height-19-liter fuel capacity | £12,249 |
| BMW R 1300 RS | 1300cc air-/liquid-cooled boxer twin-143.4 bhp at 7750 rpm-110 lb-ft at 6500 rpm-245kg curb weight-815mm seat height-17-liter fuel capacity | £13,700 |
Whereas the traditional sport tourer was once the ‘it’ segment of motorcycling – as popular as the adventure bike segment is now – there are really only two alternatives to the GSX-S1000GT.
There are loads of modern sport tourers with adventure-style ergonomics, but if you want the old-school ergonomics and spirit of sport touring, you’ve only got the Suzuki, Kawasaki, and BMW.
The Kawasaki, in its various iterations – the Ninja 1100SX, Ninja 1000SX, and Z1000SX – has been the UK’s best-selling sport tourer for more than a decade and still has a hell of a lot going for it, including the fact that it is better suited to two-up riding. Its starting price is lower than the GSX-S1000GT+ (again, the only option in the UK these days), but keep in mind that the Suzuki comes with panniers and such that would have to be added to the Ninja 1100SX.
VERDICT
I’ve been cheeky here in saying this is a review of the 2026 GSX-S1000GT, as the bike I rode was a 2025 model. But, I’ve also not been misleading. Outside of paint options, the GSX-S1000GT has not changed since it was launched roughly five years ago.
This is probably the biggest thing it has going against it. The GSX-S1000GT is an old idea (traditional sport tourer) built of old components (K5 engine, GSX-S1000 chassis) that hasn’t been touched since the Covid pandemic.
BUT, what Suzuki does well, it does really well. And reliably so. With the exception of the smartphone app, everything works on a Suzuki. And it works every time.
“You can find a KTM that’s got more to it, sure,” a Suzuki mechanic said to me. “But this thing always starts. And that’s kind of the choice, really: do you want a bike that has all the latest gizmos and such, or do you want a bike that actually works?”
I thought about that a lot as I rode around on the GSX-S1000GT, and I thought more about the fact that I didn’t see anyone else riding one. I feel badly for Suzuki that more people haven’t flocked to this bike; and I feel bad for many riders that they haven’t been willing to give it a chance.
All the things that a rider would ask for are there.
I can’t help but think of an observation that a representative from a certain American motorcycle brand made to me many, many years ago: “The customer doesn’t actually know what they want until we give it to them.”
This is it. This is the bike that people were asking for on the internet. The bike that some seemingly out-of-touch riders are still asking for. It’s here. It’s right in front of you. And yet, according to How Many Left, there are currently just 738 registered GSX-S1000GTs on UK roads.
As I say, it’s a shame. Because the GSX-S1000GT is so, so, so good. It occurs to me that there are people out there who are missing out on their ideal motorcycle. So, go ride one before Suzuki gives up on the idea entirely. This is the sort of bike that needs to exist.
THE THREE QUESTIONS
Does the GSX-S1000GT suit my current lifestyle?
Yes. But for the fact that it would almost certainly get me in trouble, it is a bike that I could very, very happily live with.
Did the GSX-S1000GT put a smile on my face?
Yes. Several times. I felt a deep pang of sadness upon returning it to Suzuki.
Is the 2026 Suzuki GSX-S1000GT better than my current motorcycle, a 2012 Kawasaki Versys 1000?
Yes. Easily. In pretty much every way but comfort and the ability to carry a passenger. The Suzuki is faster, more powerful, handles better, stops better, looks better, and has better tech. The Kawasaki only wins if I’m carrying a passenger and luggage to Marrakech.
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