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Suzuki GSR750 (2011): Bob Pickett rides out on Suzuki’s new middleweight naked, to find you can teach an old engine new tricks

With thanks to Johns of Romford for the loan of the bike

2011 Suzuki GSR750 The GSR750 is an important bike for Suzuki. The middleweight naked sector (I refuse to use the term ‘factory streetfighter’) is grabbing more and more market share, plus it comes in to replace the much-maligned and unlamented GSR600. With the Bandit’s days surely numbered, it will be Suzuki’s main mid-sized naked, sitting in between the newbie-friendly 600cc Gladius and the big, muscular 1340cc B-King.

A moan in some circles is that the engine – donated by the GSX-R750 K5 – has been reduced from 140 to 100bhp. Think about it; who can hold on to 140 horses on a naked bike? Oh yeah, and if it was built to handle 140 brake, then in this 100bhp guise it’ll be bullet-proof. Also, 100bhp allows you to market this bike in Europe, or more specifically Germany and (this is the biggie) France. These are the lands where the Z750 is king: grab a slice of that market and you’ll be in rolling in baguettes for a very long time.

The GSR750 takes the Kawasaki head on. The looks of the bike show a clear intention to collar some of that European market. It says “ride me hard”, with a short, stubby build, sportbike-like twin spar frame (though steel rather than aluminium to help keep the price down) minimalist rear and wide-ish bars that beg you to muscle the bike around. You sit in, rather than on the bike, with a separate saddle and (tiny) pillion perch; personally I’d lose the pillion replace it with a pod to add to the aggressive profile.

Despite that steel frame, the GSR750 weighs just 210kg wet – yes wet, with all oils, fuel etc on board. Compare that to the 216kg dry weight of the GSX650F and the team from Hamamatsu have done a hell of a job to keep this bike relatively light; important for a bike that is going to potentially attract inexperienced riders as well as old hands.

2011 Suzuki GSR750 Starting up, the bike is oddly muted, with that big exhaust seemingly absorbing any engine note. It puts out a quiet, typical four-cylinder whine – this does change higher in the rev range mind, but if raucous engine noise is your thing start saving your pennies for a replacement end can.

First pulling onto the road, I am reminded of the Gladius – no, stick with me here – as the riding position is nicely neutral. The footpegs are set further back than the Gladius or the now defunct GSR600, but the peg/bar placement has that instantly comfortable feel (and I can confirm after riding the bike for the entire morning with stops for photos and refuelling that feeling of comfort never goes away – I handed the bike back to John’s of Romford feeling fresh as a daisy.) Initially, I think the Suzuki is a little lumpy at commuting speeds… until a quick flick of the eyes to the clocks show that I am being pulled cleanly along at just 2,000 revs! It all smoothes out if you open the throttle just a touch, and as you move up the range it just happily builds the power in a silky smooth, controlled way.

That isn’t to say the GSR can’t accelerate. Grab a handful of throttle and those hundred horses go into a gallop. The fuelling is spot-on on the 750; Suzuki has put a lot of work into sorting out the stutter on wide throttle openings that was a major complaint about the 600. Overtakes on this bike are simplicity itself: don’t worry about down-changing (though it is fun to work the typically slick and precise Suzuki gearbox which, allied to a light-as-air clutch, makes gear changing in or out of town a joy), just get in position, crack open the throttle and drive past.

OK, the engine doesn’t snarl aggressively into action as in it’s donor GSX-R guise, but the response to big throttle openings is to feed power to the rear straight away, no delay, no fuss, no bother, just get on and go. It enjoys being revved hard, with peak power and torque coming in the top quarter of the rev range.

2011 Suzuki GSR750 The suspension is on the firm side for the class, which allied to the light weight and willing engine makes for a sprightly ride. Throwing this bike into corners is top fun. Slide the outside knee into the perfectly sculpted tank, shift your weight to the inside, lean your inside shoulder into the turn and give the bar a firm nudge. The GSR likes to swing into corners, appreciating rider input. On wider, swooping bends the trick is to swing in, then at the first hint of the bend opening up, wind open the throttle and let the bike sit itself up and drive forwards.

If there are complaints around the ride quality, when cracking on the handling can get flighty and on rougher roads there is more feedback than you need (at times I felt like every ripple was being translated through the front wheel), but most of the time the Suzuki’s manners are impeccable. Which is just as well, as only the preload is adjustable, so it is a good thing that Suzuki got this right.

Stopping all this fun is a simple, but effective brake setup. Basic they may be, but they’re more than enough to haul up the GSR. A hard squeeze will see the numbers tumble, but they work best when a firm, but steady increase in pressure is applied to the lever.

2011 Suzuki GSR750 Sticking with the practical stuff for the moment: I love the clocks, which cram in a lot of information (speed, engine temperature, clock, fuel gauge and fuel economy (46mpg most of the time, though I did manage to get this to drop ever so slightly when pushing the bike harder), which is easy to note at a glimpse. When entering a tunnel, the display is bathed in a crystal-clear grey glow, which I found much easier to read than the orange tone increasingly preferred these days. The mirrors are a bit of a mixed bag. They’re big and give a fantastic view either side (once you’ve spent time fiddling with them to get them just right), but do leave a big blind spot – at one point I had no idea a truck was behind me, until I did a lifesaver to move into the outside lane! Perhaps they would benefit from slightly taller stalks?

Tank range suggests the GSR750 could achieve 170 miles between trips to the pump. I know that I was in the strange position of giving the bike back with more fuel in it than when I picked it up! As I said earlier, I was all-morning comfortable, so making use of the tank range shouldn’t be a chore.

The GSR750 is one of those bikes that will fulfil a number of roles. It is fun to play with, but does the practical stuff well. The lack of fairing will make huge miles at motorway speeds tiring after a time, so why not stick to ‘A’ and ‘B’ roads and make use of the Suzuki’s strengths?

Thanks again to Johns of Romford for the initial loan of the bike

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