Fact, people, the old GS450 had a perfectly adequate frame, reasonable, if remote, suspension and brakes that were more than a enough. Yes, the new bike, with the exception of the side panels, looks very neat, but in practice you'll be hard pressed to go around corners any faster than the old GS450. The mono-shock rear suspension and ridiculous rear disc will both cost loadsa time and money to keep up to scratch for absolutely no on the road gain!
These chassis mods would have been my had Suzuki seen fit to sort out their engine. The editor is ridiculously fond of mentioning that the 110mph CB450 managed 70mpg average back in 1965, thus had the GS been developed it would still do that speed and return 80mpg. The truth is that it’s hard pressed to do 50mpg. This is worse than the faster GPz500S, not to mention the GS450 itself.
Were it not for the ultra tough reputation of the GS twin motor and its relative simplicity, then the bike could easily be dismissed in the same breath as all those awful mid seventies Honda twins, but the strength of the motor is its saving grace; all the more important if you can wait a few years for them to appear on the used market.
Well, what's the damn thing like to ride? If you've ever ridden one of the older twins, then you'd soon realise that it’s more of the same. The old GS400 was dangerously remote in its suspension and there was little idea what the engine was doing. The 450 was more fun, the engine and chassis giving a little more feedback. The 500 goes a little further, at times there was even the odd hint of vertical twin vibration from the 180 degree crank and gear driven balancer.
However, the bike never gave the same feel of hiding a bit of a beast under its civilised exterior as per the Kawasaki GPz500S. If the Suzuki was always competent, it never made you leap out of bed raring go the way the Kawasaki did. The GPz always felt like it was designed by someone who rode motorcycles, the Suzuki felt like it could have come straight from a computer terminal.
Low speed running is perfectly civilised, but there's no real power until you get to 4500rpm, the engine never really takes off like a mad thing, it just gets a little more fierce around seven grand. It could cruise around 85mph, but getting past 90mph was play time with the slick six speed box (better than the Kawasaki's) and beyond a ton it felt no better than a good Triumph Daytona (which is pretty useless) sans the self destruct vibes. The GPz would romp away just about anywhere in the rev range.
Town riding was fine as long as you didn’t jerk on the front brake with the bike in a slow corner when the front wheel jerked up fast enough to give an OAP a heart attack. After some heavy four it’s delightfully easy to flick around blind car drivers, although I couldn't keep up with friends on Triumph twins. Wet, greasy roads slowed speed to a dangerous level as I had little feel for what the tyres were about to do - in fact, it felt less secure that the GS450, although it never did anything seriously nasty so I shouldn't really complain. But note this, a good Brit twin (or even Wop relic) will run around wet roads with a nice secure feel that is often lacking in Japs. Playing with tyres may help.
Country lane fun was less than it should have been, thanks to a slightly under-damped rear shock that let the back end leap around on bumpy bends. Steering symmetry and small wheels meant it could be ear-holed like a good ‘un, but it could stay with neither the GPz nor a friend’s Bonnie. Really crazed throttle action did not produce any tank slappers, the plot just felt a little queasy with the odd weave cutting in and out in a fairly random manner. Flat out, with 115mph on the clock, vibes do begin to intrude with a sort of grating feel like all the metal inside the engine was breaking through the oil film, but as it was a friend's bike I didn’t thrash it for more than a few moments. But I doubt if massive abuse will destroy these engines.
I managed to get fuel down to a two stroke 37mpg on one really mad dash, 45mpg was easily achieved but 60mpg was only gained by riding around at C90 speeds. Not impressed. Oil consumption was negligible, but with only 1500 miles on the clock this shouldn’t have been a big surprise. These motors are so tough they can survive running with a near empty sump!
If young ladies sat on the pillion were not reduced to simpering nubiles by sexy vibes, they didn’t whack one with their handbags in in protest at the discomfort. My girlfriend even found that she could reach the ground, and quite enjoyed a quick blast - so much so that she demanded I buy her one, but I soon pointed out that in the name of sex equality she should go out and earn the money herself.
If the bike never felt unhappy in any particular situation it never seemed particularly happy either. Some bikes come on cam, or hit a happy point in their rev range, when they really sing along. The Suzi would have none of that kind of nonsense. Thus the GS500E will not particularly appeal to those who have owned British twins or even CB450s. On the other hand, people used to small Jap bikes will find the GS perfectly adequate and will be wondering just what I'm wittering on about.
Ignorance amongst the mass motorcycle media about the virtues of old British twins (yes, I know the vibes make them fall apart) in the way they react to the road and make the rider feel part of the experience rather than removing them from most sensation, as per the GS500E, will doubtless have the pundits wetting themselves on the virtues of this bike, but it’s only real virtue is the relative simplicity of the engine design and its toughness (unlike the CB450S, for instance, the balancer is gear driven and therefore maintenance free).
Personally, I'm happy to have paid the extra £400 for the GPz500, which is immensely more fun and hopefully just as tough. If the discounters get the price below two grand new, then that equation may change.
Al Culler