Suzuki GSX400

The usual hustle and bustle to find another motorcycle. MCN, Bike Trader and the local rag all consulted in the search for that elusive bargain. I even got so desperate I popped along to the one remaining large dealership in Newport. Could buy imported new stuff cheaper than their secondhand stuff - still, it passed the time in a convivial way, if you have a sense of humour. After nearly ruining my eyes on the small print in MCN my attention was caught by a GSX400 import at 1200 notes. The usual stuff, low miles, excellent nick, only used for three months in the UK...but it was in Gwent.

Much to my surprise the glowing terms applied to the four cylinder Suzuki weren't a pack of lies. Except for the plastic OE Jap tyres I couldn't find anything wrong with the 16000 kilometre machine. The test ride revealed it needed loads of revs to get anywhere fast but I was used to that with my previous mount, a GPz305 - lovely little thing until complete engine melt-down and chassis disintegration just as the mileometer clicked on to forty thou. After some haggling over the rubber, it was mine for a thousand notes.

Up to 70mph, acceleration wasn't any harsher than the GPz but from there onwards there was a much improved violence in velocity gained, the speedo clicking all the way up to 120mph! It stopped dead at this speed, only slowly creeping around to 125mph. At this point I thought the M4 mid-afternoon wasn't the safest of places to speed test a motorcycle. An unlikely armada of fast pursuit vehicles, look-outs on bridges, cameras and helicopters all trying to justify their existence.

I hadn't tried the back roads between Cardiff and Newport for a couple of years - just a car wide, they twisted back and forth on themselves and used to be fun on a learner. Imagine my shock when I rode into a massive traffic jam - a plague of housing estates meant it had become a trendy short cut between the two cities. Stupid prats! They were so irate at having to slow down for each other to pass that they tried to run me off the road! I got out of there with everything except my pride intact.

I had time to figure out that the Suzuki was a bit more of a handful than the flyweight Kawasaki in those kind of tight curves but that it also shook about less over the pot-holed road surface. Comfort was far better as I'm a bit wide across the arse for the beanpole GPz and high speeds lacked the buzz put out by the madly revving little twin...turbine smooth being an understatement for the four cylinder Suzuki. At the end of the first day's ownership I was well pleased with my purchase.

There's always a slight sense of dread on the next day - had the bargain of the week turned out to be a disaster waiting to happen? Would the suspiciously new looking electrics and battery play up? I hit the choke and the starter button, the engine exploded into life immediately and settled down to a nice tickover rustle. I surveyed the controls before me, smiled widely, turned the choke off and set out for work.

A vicious clanging noise stopped us dead. You stupid f..king idiot, thought I. The U-Lock I'd forgotten to remove making its presence felt! I peered at the cast front wheel, but it hadn't cracked up on me. It was at this point, perception widened by fear, that I noticed that the caliper's bleed nipples were missing, replaced by what looked like brazing rod. Not the kind of thing expected on a low miler. I ran my fingers down the forks, convinced myself there was a bit of bumpiness where they'd been straightened!

A scenario ran through my mind - the bike was low mileage but had, in the past, suffered crash damage. Slow and careful was my progress into work that day, expecting the front end to drop off and crack up at any moment. Coming home, I shrugged off the paranoia and let rip - if I was going to die, I was going to die. I made it home in one piece, with the obligatory grin. There weren't any real signs of poor handling once on the road, and even the brakes managed to combine fierceness with smoothness. When was the last time you changed the brake fluid? No problem, huh?

Good news was found in the low running costs - fuel at 65-70mpg, tyres went for over 12000 miles on decent Avons, the O-ring chain rarely needed attention and the disc pads did a reasonable 7500 miles. Reasonable insofar as I braked heavily, did the good old cut and thrust, through my favourite A-roads, where the bike's lack of mass and good high revs kicks were much appreciated. For such a small, old-tech, engine it would also waltz along at unlikely speeds on the motorway, quite happy at 120mph for as long as I thought my licence would last - not long in South Wales. Apart from the minor fact that the acceleration failed to knock my eyeballs through the back of my head, I couldn't see the need for anything faster.

Until I hit the German autobahns, some of the Merc's making me seem like I was going backwards. I can report that a GSX400 strung flat out for half an hour will put 130mph on the clock and finally emit a little bit of buzzing. The front end also goes a bit loose, with the feeling that a slippery surface and a bend would have us off. The disturbing thing was that I soon got used to such excessive velocities (by UK standards, anyway) and was panting for more and more... not helped any when a trio of CBR900's blew past at what looked like 195mph! My consolation prize was much better comfort and protection; the half fairing being something of a miracle worker as speed increased. Though pushed, I was impressed with the way the Suzuki managed to deal with the autobahns.

The French roads were next on the menu. Amazingly deserted and wide once off the autoroutes which were a bit too like killing fields. Loads of bends, a heavy sun and a lack of mad cagers; what more do you want? A bike that didn't suddenly refuse to start, would've been nice. It ground away on the starter in some French village, the peasants turning out in force to watch the Anglais pig grow increasingly foul mouthed. It wasn't the GSX's fault, some sod had swapped the HT leads over! By then the battery was almost dead so I nearly killed myself with a bump-start - not the weight of thing but those dragging discs.

Overall, though, the bike was definitely a winner, taking things much further than its capacity, looks and design might suggest. The more miles you do on such a machine the better it becomes, the more the joy and love shines through. I know it's only a bloody motorcycle but riding through strange lands at improbable speeds, it was like I was on a magic carpet, transported to another realm where I was the centre of the universe rather than an oily oik! Good kicks.

Ralp Larriter