The Suzuki GSX1400 Owners Club

Reviews

A review by Steve Sherwood comparing GSX1400 to XJR1300 - 19/08/01

When I first saw a picture of the GSX 1400, I immediately wanted a test ride. This proved impossible as every dealer in the south of England I visited had just sold the bike. I was then informed of a dealer in Chesham, called Ford & Ellis, who had said bike. I was straight on the XJR and hurtled over there at what could only be referred to as "an example of irresponsibility in the lack of respect of the countries maximum speed limit". 

Upon my arrival I was not disappointed. The marketing pictures could not hold a candle to the image that blazed before me, and that's a high compliment coming from an XJR 1300 owner who swore blind that he would never part from his beloved bike. The man in question, a Mr Peter Jones, was not your hard sell, squeeze it out of you, dealer , but a nice chap who went out of his way to help. Unfortunately, he was unable to give me a test ride as the bike hadn't been PDI'd. This, of course, was no drawback as I had already decided, after seeing it in the flesh, that I was going to upgrade. 
After the nitty gritty of trade-in and finance, the deal was done. I could pick the bike up on the 4th of August.

Now comes the comparison with the XJR.

Handling: At speeds in excess of 70mph, the XJR would wallow in and out of bends. 
The GSX holds the line right the way through up to 110mph ( I'm writing this before my first 500 mile service).

Wind Resistance: You needed Arnold Schwartzaneggar (excuse the spelling of our foreign cousins name) neck muscles to ride the XJR over 90mph. The GSX has a wind free zone, which I assume is created by the clocks, so that although your arms may be flapping like a chicken, your head remained static allowing you to concentrate on the road ahead, without double vision. 

Braking: Even though there's a difference of two pots between the bikes, I think the GSX only marginally outbreaks the XJR.

Pillion: My missus loves the comfort and smoothness of the GSX, and she loved the XJR. She says that she doesn't feel the need to grip the grab rail like she did before because the acceleration is so smooth. And considering I've had the XJR doing 146mph with her on board, this is a bonus for future "to the limit " riding.

Overall Looks: Well, we all know that the GSX was designed to compete with the XJR ( the Bandit doesn't even touch these two classes). But my personnel opinion is that they are giving a lot more for the money. The only thing that is stopping people looking is the exhaust note. With my XJR they could here me coming (because of the twin race ART cans), at the moment the GSX can only be appreciated when stationary. And this is true, as I get people who obviously have no idea about bikes, tell me what a "nice / wicked / rude / badass / rasclatt" bike I own.

Update (15/09/01)

Since my last review, I have fitted a pair of ART oval alloy race cans (which were originally fitted to my XJR 1300) and I am not disappointed with either the sound or the performance. I had only just got used to the grunt of the bike, until the cans were fitted and the unexpected pull of the bike caught me off guard. I have already had the bike up to 160mph on the standard cans, but up til now I have not had the opportunity to open up with the race cans.

I'm not into all the tech that the majority of you preach about, however I have consulted various people who are and I am happy that no re-mapping needs to be done. I know that I will have the needle off the clock (as 160 is the limit) and that I can out accelerate a large number of sport bikes (which really pisses them off). 

I am in 7th HEAVEN

Update (21/11/01)

Since my last review I've managed to get the bike off the clock without much effort. So you can believe that I've reached the speed of in excess of 160mph. I've managed this by fitting a pair of after market cans, whose name I will not mention, and laid across the tank on a 1quarter mile stretch of road. I've yet to read such accounts on your site.

It seems to me that your site is more interested in keeping the bike bog standard and raving about fly screens than pushing the bike to it's limits and bolting on as many accessories as possible to improve performance. I've been riding bikes since I was 13 years old, and I am now 39, on and off road, and there is always one thing that has to be achieved, THE LIMIT OF THE MACHINE. After all, the bike is as only as good as the rider. If the rider is a stay at home slipper wearer than the bike will perform as such. But if the rider has a smidging of risk (balls) about him than he is just starting to test the bikes ability.

How can anyone spout the greatness of any bike when all they do is nip to the local store to collect their pension. My previous bike was a XJR 1300 and I ran down to Amsterdam and back, 2 up, at full velocity without any hiccups, headaches or hangovers (as I don't smoke pot and very rarely drink).

Your readers may think that I may be some sort of Neanderthal greaser, but this is far from the truth. All I'd like to see is bikers riding bikes and not talking about riding bikes. I am currently in the latter stages of an IAM course so I am not a reckless person, but one who enjoys biking to the fullest extent. I don't expect everyone to ride like me, but I do expect people to push to their limits so as to get the best out of what's on offer, regardless of what bike they own.

I hope you have the balls to show this review!