I just came back from a test ride on an 06' Suzuki GSX1400. The guys at Savage Suzuki in Midland were kind enough to allow me to take one for a blat and I was really looking forward to at least a little ride since i havent been on a bike for about a month now.
Went down in the morning to arrange for a ride after work, to make sure they had time to get the bike ready or whatever they needed to do.
Arrived at Savage and the guy brought a second hand Black GSX1400 round for me, I opted for the one that had 12,000 K's on the clock rather than the one with 300 K's on the clock as i wanted to feel the bike running properly and not have to baby the bike just beacause it is new.
Threw all the gear on and did the usual stuff warmed the bike up, adjusted mirrors etc etc. The first thing I noticed was how silky smooth the engine was, it really really was a smooth idling engine. It revved quickly and instantly and always came back to that smooth idle without hesitation.
Now I only had 20 minutes to take the bike for a ride which really isn't a long time, also as soon as I took off the fuel warning light came on so that really was quite annoying. Gave the bike a chance to warm up and me to warm up too and whilst cruising through backstreets of Midland I found the bike was very pleasant and easy to ride in a commuting environment, stopping and found there is no issue with weight, the bike is quite well balanced in that respect although the figures of 220Kg dry dont indicate that.
Now I headed to some close by semi-rural areas to really get a feel for the bike. My god does it pull. This bike is a torque machine, moreso than others I have ridden, it was just great fun. I was sitting on $1.00 without knowing it and on the highway it kicked over to $1.60 without a blink, really was a pleasure to take on the open road.
Did i mention it pulls like a tractor ? Now i got into abit more spirited riding around some streets i know and, it was really a different bike to ride. It enjoyed and liked to have the rider not move around alot as i found when hanging the bum off the seat and powering out, the head felt extremely light and twitchy - this isn't a problem at moderate paces but if you turn it up a notch this would be an issue for me.
Reading up on other riders views this is seem everywhere and all riders recommend you change the stock suspension settings and tweak a few things here and there (Some even recommend a complete overhaul of the suspension, not unlike what the XJR requires)
Sadly, this little blat was over far too soon as i was due to head back to the shop before they decided to call the cops with a stolen bike report .
Now rounding up, this bike stays on my 'possible bikes for 2008' list because it represents AWESOME value for money, at $12,990 + ORC it really is a bargain. The engine is smooth, responsive and pulls like a train. The seat position is comfortable I could ride it all day and pull up refreshed.
However the suspension NEEDS TO BE TWEAKED, it will definetly need a new pipe, and the chassis is quite sloppy but can't really fix that one. But for the price well what can I say.
On a side note, if i was to ever get one, there is a bolt on Supercharger kit for it available from a crowd in the UK that brings the engine to 200bhp easily and from what the reviewer was saying , it really hauls ass then.
Cheers
