This straightforward adventure tourer rocks an iconic engine and a comfy ride—when it's not trying to lift the front wheel

The finale, that “GX” appellation, is a little more difficult to explain. Suzuki’s new ‘crossover’ — a new market segmentation for motorcycling — is very much based on the GT (as in “Grand Touring”) version of the GSX-S platform, but, since it’s being branded as a ‘crossover,’ the “T” was replaced with an “X.” As for the “+” symbol, that simply designates that this particular iteration of the GX subset comes with saddlebags as standard equipment, while the bare-bones non-plussed GX does not.

What’s most interesting is that, as complicated as its name might be, the GSX-S100GX+ is actually a very straightforward motorcycle. Its engine, Suzuki’s legendary 999-cc, is an icon in sporty motorcycles; and its chassis is yet another rendition of the aluminum-beam frame that has been part of mainstream motorcycling for more than three decades. Even its digital instrument panel, so often complicated as they are these days, is understated. The whole thing is, in fact, as plainspoken as large-displacement mainstream motorcycles get these days, “plus” signs and punctuation points notwithstanding.

It’s also got a lot going for it. To wit—

The GX’s 999-cc inline-four is, as I said, an icon. It’s also 20 years old. Actually, it’s 21, as it first saw use in the 2005 GSX-R1000. That said, this is Suzuki’s famed K5 litre-four, a legend amongst superbike engines that has become requisite for every Suzuki litre-bike with even a pretense to sportiness. And even if the 150 or so horses it produces can’t match the crazy horsepower figures that modern homologation specials boast, they remain plenty stimulating.

It’s also plenty sophisticated. Maybe it’s always been like this (it’s been a while since I’ve ridden a 20-year-old Gixxer). It could be that in making its emissions Euro-compliant by reducing the valve overlap, Suzuki’s tamed some of its rambunctiousness. It could even be the fact its bore and stroke — 73.4 millimetres by 59.0 mm — is a little less oversquare than the current GSX-R1000 (76.0 mm x 55.1 mm).

Whatever the case, in GX guise, it’s plenty civilized. There’s barely a purr at idle, the torque at low speed generous, and yet it’s a screaming banshee once you get past 8,000 rpm, the front wheel getting a light (maybe a little too light) in your hands. Throw in the smoothest of gearboxes, the slickest of clutch-less quick-shifters, and some fine fuelling from the ride-by-wire fuel injection, and you have a powertrain that is both exhilarating and sweetly natured.

Indeed, the only fault I could find with the engine is that the big four hits a harmonic right at 125 kilometres an hour. Oh, it’s as smooth as glass at 140 km/h, but few are the gendarmes willing to accept vibration as legitimate excuse for such “stunting” speeds.

The same applies to the GX’s chassis. For instance, many motorcycles now offer electronically adjustable suspension. But few are as well-calibrated as Suzuki’s latest Advanced Electronic Suspension. Built by Showa, both the front fork and the rear single shock offer push-button adjustment through three ranges of stiffness. Those damping rates are particularly well-chosen, and there’s also an automatic rear pre-load function (as well as three manually selected positions) not to mention something Suzuki calls Floating Ride Control, which automatically detects how bumpy the ride is and adjusts damping appropriately. The softest setting really is quite cushy, and the firm setting offers a decent degree of control over such things when you start playing silly buggers.

Oh, I might have asked for a tad more compression damping on my foray around the Grand Bend Motorplex, but I’m thinking that not too many GX owners are going to do track days with the big crossover, much less, as I did, with fully loaded panniers still in situ. Know that it can do it, and understand that — because I performed the same nonsense last year aboard a Ducati Multistrada V4S — such tomfoolery is why you’d choose a crossover over an adventure bike.

The tighter steering angle and 17-inch front tire mean turn-in is sharper, the shorter wheelbase makes it easier to hold a line, and, if you so choose, the standard superbike-sized tires — 120/70ZR17 up front and 190/50ZR17 in the rear — allow you to fit even sportier rubber than the standard Dunlop Sportmax Roadsport 2s. When you combine its stellar handling with its most excellent ride on the street, the new suspension system is probably the GX’s most impressive technological feature.

The aforementioned suspension system is made even more palatable because access to its adjustment is such a doddle through the gauge set. Plenty bright, the 6.5-inch TFT LED screen is a model of simplicity compared with the ‘tablets’ some motorcycle makers are foisting on their semi-touring bike these days. And what you lose in Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, you gain in ease of access.

For instance, the engine, traction, suspension, and rear preload displays are monitored by what I dubbed the GX’s “circle of simplicity.” Using a single little toggle on the lefthand handlebar, you choose which of the four to modify, and then do so via a circular four-position switch similarly located on the left bar. An absolute doddle. If Suzuki would just let me change suspension settings on the fly, it’s be damned near perfect. Some will miss all the doodads that make up a modern instrument display (i.e. tire pressure warnings and the like). If like me, you won’t, you’ll like how Suzuki has packed the GX’s control.

Other worthy additions include a cruise control system that allows you to “quick”-shift between gears while still maintaining the same speed; a MySpin app that connects your cell to the aforementioned 6.5-inch screen for easy access to incoming calls, navigation, and even your calendar; and a USB port on the left side of the instrument panel to keep the whole thing charged up. It’s also probably worth mentioning that the lights, front and rear, are LEDs, the front particularly bright with excellent low-beam control that reduces the glare that so many modern lighting systems cause. All in all, a comprehensive if not quite state-of-the-art package.

The GX is also more than passably comfortable. At its most basic, the GX+ is just a Suzuki GSX-S1100GT with a dirt bike — okay, “adventure touring” — handlebar and a taller fairing. There’s still a gentle lean forward, but it is totally lumbar- and wrist-friendly. I did six hours straight in the saddle — except for a gas stop — with nary a whimper from spine, forearm, or shoulder. For everything north of the sacroiliac joint, it was as perfect as riding positions get. Sixty-year-old men — at least those 60-year-olds looking for a superbike shriek — will find no problem with the reach to the bars, their height, or, I suspect, their bend.

That said, despite having a healthy 845-millimetre seat height, they might complain about the seat-to-peg distance. Ancient knees, especially those that have suffered years of shinny and training like we’re going to enter a marathon every week, are just not meant to bend that much, at least not for six continuous hours of riding. Eventually there was enough numbness in the right leg — both ankle and knee have been damaged on that side — that finding the rear brake pedal was a little problematic.

If your knees still work, though, it’s a great riding position. You can adapt a fairly aggressive band to the waist for the twisties, you feel right in the middle of a fairly sporty motorcycle, and you can even stand up — a la adventure bike — to stretch out your legs.

Ditto the fairing coverage. With just enough bleed over the screen to make you feel like you’re on something sporty, the fairing is large enough to eliminate most of the wind-blast, even at serious speeds. It also offers a fair amount of protection from the rain, with just enough bleed around the sides that you can get a little respite from our recently climate-changed temperatures. If I were 35 again, the GX would be amongst the most comfortable bikes I’ve ridden.

That’s not to say that the GX+ is not without its downsides. Suzuki’s largest crossover — an SV7-GX, based on Suzuki’s evergreen SV650 sportbike, completes the lineup — has two significant flaws that will limit its appeal. Or at least its versatility. The first is that the windshield is all but unadjustable. When I say “all but,” I mean that, while you can, in fact, adjust the stock screen’s height, you need to remove four bolts, four rubber grommets, and then press the former into new holes and replace the latter in their new threads.

Compared to the manual and sometimes electrically-actuated adjustable windscreens that dominate the touring and adventure segment, this is spectacularly inconvenient, and not the sort of thing that one does on a daily, let alone hourly, basis.

Considering that the point of such adjustability is to elevate the screen for more protection on the highway and lower it on twisty back roads for a greater sense of control, having to stop and grab an Allen wrench every time you want to change the GV’s aerodynamics is a significant omission. That said, I found that the standard screen in its mid position worked pretty well for me.

The other aspect of the GV that might compromise some of its touring promise is that Suzuki doesn’t offer a rear top case on the S1000. Oh, the aftermarket — Shad, for instance — does offer alternatives, but Suzuki’s official position is that there should never be more than six kilograms stowed in the rear, whether that be the stock rack itself or a top case attached to it.

As for the why the limitations to cargo capacity at the rear, it seems that the bulkier fairing and the rider’s more upright riding position creates some serious aerodynamic drag at speed. Enough so that the GX’s front end can get a little light in the front end. And indeed, despite the addition of some downforce-producing winglets up front, I found that the GX’s front end did indeed get a little lighter than I’d like when I was scooting down Grand Bend’s long back straight (admittedly at speeds much faster than Canadian roads allow). A fully-loaded topcase might well have made the situation even worse.

Now, few Canadian bikers — at least not those wanting to keep their license — will cruise this country’s back roads at 100 miles per hour (160 km/h), but that is something of a consideration in some foreign markets, and, obviously, Suzuki is opting on the side of caution by limiting the luggage availability on GXs, no matter where they are sold. That said, mounting luggage would very much be a boon to two-up tourability — offering both more luggage-carrying ability and a backrest for the passenger — so I suspect more than a few owners will ignore Suzuki’s recommendation. I suggest they remain circumspect about the speeds at which they do so.

Cargo capacity and wonky windshield adjustment aside, I have to say I quite liked my time aboard the big Suzuki. It won’t embarrass itself on a twisty road — it certainly didn’t at the track — is quite comfortable (if your knees aren’t past their sell-by date), and has, in my opinion, an excellent balance between sophistication and over-complication. Were I 35 again — and my knees still worked — the GX would be in the running for my next new bike.

Suzuki’s 2026 GSX-S1000GX+ retails for $22,195, some $1,300 more than the non-“plus” model that is identical but for the lack of the saddlebags.

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