2022 Suzuki GSX-S1000 GT+ Review | Daily Rider 

Strange as it might sound, I appreciate Suzuki's commitment to bottom barrel cheapness/thriftiness. There are other brands that specialize in high end machines. Suzuki specializes in making all the right compromises, and I'm here for it.

Let me guess: It eats highways all day long, ain’t too shabby in the twisties, and has the Suzuki reliability and build quality. All for a quite decent price.

I work in a Suzuki dealership. I uncrate these, assemble them, inspect them, prep them, and test ride them. They are rarely on the showroom floor for more than a few days. They find new homes quickly. What a fun ride. I think it's a great alternative to the 1300/1400 class Sport Touring bikes that are gargantuan and very unwieldy to move around. I'd love to ride one of these cross-country here in the USA.

People grousing about a 17 year old engine. Meanwhile, the KLR's is 35 this year.

I love Suzuki's way of business! Many criticize it for not putting the latest and greatest technology on their bikes, but Suzuki don't base their sells on numbers and spec sheets, they just sell really good bikes for fair prices

When you said "Another k5 engine" I expected Ari to parachute in and hit you with a steel chair

I ordered the 2024 gsx s1000gt+ in black. Finally arrived and have had it for just under a month now. I took it on its first group ride with other fast 1000cc leader bikes, R1M, CBR1000RR, GSX R1000R, ZX10r, etc. I had no problem keeping up and even over taking some of the bikes. The other riders had been “playfully” making fun when I arrived with hard cases and all. But the fun making, turned to fear when they saw me and my GT+ ripping up the twisties like a full blown sports bike and even passing them. lol This GSX S1000GT+ is no joke.

Listening to Zack accelerate is kinda like hearing a car engine with turbo, with his laughter sounding like a blow-off valve xD 15:55 18:52

How about regular maintenance? As a "daily rider", you don't want to have to bring your bike into the shop for the simple things, yet many motorcycles today require you to spend hours doing what should take minutes. I'd love for you to add a few words about ease of maintenance. I've had this burr up my ass since I bought a 1999 Ducati ST4. Jump starting the bike is simply impossible since you have to remove all but two of the body fairings to get to the battery. It takes about 3 hours to replace the battery on that bike! Rule #1: Batteries should be accessible by removing the rider's seat, PERIOD! How many cars have you owned that hid the battery from you? If all the cars made can manage to put the battery in an easy-to-access location, then shouldn't we expect the same from motorcycle manufacturers? Rule #2: An oil change should not take any longer than half an hour, and the majority of that time should be draining the oil. Most bikes are still pretty good about this, well, except for KTM. Rule #3: An air filter should be replaced in under 5 minutes. That's all the time it takes to do it for most automobiles, we should expect the same from motorcycles. Many now require you to remove at least one plastic bit, if not more, and it can take over an hour to do this simplest of tasks. Unfortunately, it is the people who review motorcycles that totally overlook this ease of maintenance issue. They have let the motorcycle manufacturers off the hook for decades for some of the stupidest maintenance requirements and now the manufacturers don't even give this subject a thought. If reviewers would start pointing these things out, perhaps manufacturers would listen.

My track riding instructor recently bought this bike and a couple thousand miles, multi-day trips later he is absolutely loving it.

I hope we see more sports-tourers (or just tourers) coming back into fashion.

I love what Suzuki are doing, the produce motorbikes for motorbikers: affordable, capable modes of transport not stupidly expensive weekend toys. A GSXS1000GT or V-Strom 1050 is half the price of a GS or Multistrada once you pay for all the add-ons and 99% as good in real world riding.

I have a GSXS750; these S model bikes are interesting because of how Suzuki tunes the engines. I would agree about the throttle; the fueling is absolutely perfect on these bikes and nobody can touch Suzuki on that. It's so 1:1 in the throttle twist with how much fuel you expect to drop. With the S models, they're made to be comfortable and easy to ride, but they LOVE to be wrung out at the top end; they're not extremely exciting or scary, but if you love smooth power and accelerating out of a flowy corner in a "spirted" ride, these bikes are awesome for doing that. They don't power wheelie like other bikes do, but they're really stable because of the long wheelbase. I ride in FL, and can easily, EASILY do 90 mph on the interstate in the rain because of the weight and geometry (Michelin GP tires). If you wanted to break a riding style down for the S models, think of a 30-40 year old guy who has grown out of the GSXR, "wheelie and triple digit back roads riding" phase, and into an "I have a job and am not getting arrested, but I know how to ride the hell out of a bike" phase. That's kind of how this bike runs. I've taken mine to the track 3 times; you could easily run intermediate class with it, but it really shines from 0-100 mph. It's a jack-of-all-trades sport cruiser for those who want to have the power and comfort but also would love to do a WOT, 150 mph run on a back road if they knew no cops were out there. It's not scary, but when you're banging through the gears you have a nice grin on your face and might give a quick yell after you ease off the gas. That's how I ride mine anyway; I wouldn't trade it for something faster/crazier because I don't do that kind of riding on the street anymore. And I wouldn't want something more docile because I like a bit of pepper with my eggs in the morning. Lastly, they're cheap to maintain, reliable, and cheap to buy. My 2015 model has no ABS, no TC, no fuel maps, nothing. It has a throttle, brakes, and clutch. All cable-operated. Again, it's for that guy who just wants something consistent, stable, reliable, but is ready to rip if you want.

I kind of frown at Suzuki for being slow when it comes to updating their bikes, but one thing I have to give to them -- they've got the sound of their inline fours figured out. I liked it from the moment Zach fired the thing up.

Put some EBC sintered pads in my GSXS1000GT and it made a hell of a difference to the braking performance. Thanks to Daily rider for the suggestion 😀💨💨

Anything with 150HP will be exciting enough for most people. Having experienced the issues of being an early adopter (aka a manufacturer's R&D guinea pig) on newer technology, these days I definitely look for something that is tried and trusted (reliable) and I don't care if it isn't the newest or fastest thing out there. Suzuki built a very solid reliable motorcycle for a good price.

I bought this bike due to this review. Absolutely amazing machine.

Seems a lot like my 2010 Honda VFR 1200F, long wheel base puts the big power down and comfortable enough for a long ride without being a monstrous touring bike.

I've had mine since 12th April and now on 4200 miles , absolutely loving it!!

i think it's actually good to have longer wheelbase for sport-touring bike, so it doesn't wheelie all day long. after all it's not hyper-naked or su-mo bike and people choosing it for a bit different purpose.

This is one of my favorite shows on RU-vid. I look forward to Zack's reviews

For Zack and anyone else wondering, the cruise control adds or subtracts 1km per click which the owners manual says is approximately .6mph

5:41 It switches screen color when you're in the dark environment, damn that's cool

My first bike was suzuki, I love the gixxers and will love them forever.

Love the daily rider series; the only suggestion for improvement would be to throw a 60 second segment in about maintenance. (Where and how difficult is it to access the filters and fluid ports, etc). I’m not the first to suggest this, just add me to to that list.

My Saturday morning fix. Thanks for the fun road trips around Long Beach, Ca. On new exciting rides.

Excellent review. I have had a down payment on this bike for 6+ months in my region. This was very helpful for me to keep perspective. It may NOT be the bike I am looking/hoping for. I LOVE the TFT.... best one I have seen and the ability to link G-map and REVER is a huge advantage. I'll give it a good test and make sure it's going to match my riding plans (serious mile-munching but I'm not a tourer/cruiser guy). Love the twisties and don't plan any significant off-road action. Well done!!

I always look forward to Daily Rider. This time it's even on a bike I'm interested in. Made my day. Thanks

I’ve been hoping you would test this out. Hoping to pick on up in the next few months. Seems to be the best bang for its buck in the sport touring market

Another great ep. Thanks for always being fair and informational without sounding fake.

yet another excellent review. Suzuki does a great job of building real world bikes.

I love the styling and I also love that there are some more proper sports tourers coming out instead of yet another adventure-tourer, which is to motorcycles what the SUV is to cars

I think for the price and features it offers, it's a great value. If I was in the market for a sport tour bike, I would seriously consider it.

I've been waiting for this one!

Thanks for the video! It would be great to have the milage Zack gets in L/Km in the description. Love daily rider, keep it up :)

Awesome vid Zach, I would really appreciate a quick rundown on headlight performance. For myself and many others, half our commute is in the dark so that would be a great addition to this awesome series!

Very very nice to say the least and that's coming from a Ninja Man at heart. Big thumbs up to the rider, you always make a bike look good.

I've been super happy with my 2016; this would be the natural evolution should I decide to upgrade. Good to see that Suzuki figured out the fueling on this motorcycle; as it was snappy as hell on my model year.

Great detailed review. The center stand and the third case would make this bike on the top. Sat on this bike and it feels OK, but I thought it was even better. Anyways, keep up. You got my like.

Hey Zack, great review as always! Do you ever plan to review the Multistrada V2? Given how pricey the V4S is, it really isn't a realistic option for most people. The V2 IMO is the realistically approachable Multi for the everyday motorcyclist and I'm really interested to see how it stacks up to the rest on the leaderboard.

I've been eying one of these. I think I've watched every video about it. I haven't finished this none yet, but I'll take it as a sign to just get one.

Please also do the Ninja 1000sx

I’d love the ride one of these. I’ve wanted the GSX-S1000 since 2016, despite its flaws, but never pulled the trigger. I’d happily buy a 2018-2020 model with the small improvements, but I sat on the 2022 naked version. It was so comfortable and felt well made, definitely an big improvement over the previous version. I echo the sentiments already on here that Suzuzki is excellent at offering value for money and keeping things simple without sacrificing quality. Everything just works. Yeah the engine is an updated older design, but they’re not the only brand doing that, and it was always an excellent engine. Here’s to possibly buying one next year! Btw, I saw one of these in person and I absolutely love the pale blue metallic paint. It wasn’t at all what I expected based on photos and videos from Europe. I really hope the naked gets this color within a year or two!

After many years of riding European bikes, this Suzuki caught my attention so hard that I bought one. My first Japanese bike in almost 20 years, so it says a lot about my enthusiasm for sensible, affordable yet fast sport touring motorcycles. I totally agree that the GT is a sportbike with some touring capabilities as opposed to all the people complaining about the lack of tour-bike amenities. If I were more inclined towards the touring side, I would have considered a BMW RT or a Yamaha FJR. I think this model will appeal to Suzuki riders (and sport riders as well) who will eventually modify the hell out of it.

So happy these are back!

Awesome sauce 👌. I'm keeping my eye out for one of these at my local dealership.

It’s a beast with bags! Such an underrated bike, love it!

OMG! You really took it through it's paces! Kudos and suscribed! Hats off! Chapo!

Loved the review Zack, as usual. Any chance we might see a Gen 3 Hayabusa on the Daily Ride?

Great review, that last 30 sec was hilarious!

I agree with your comments on the gearing. I had a 2016 ZX1000sx that was geared too low. I bought a 2020 Katana that was lower in 6th gear than the Kaw in 5th. Seems like most motorcycles are geared low for that quarter mile time. I try to gear up for about 4k rpm at 65 mph, seems like the sweet spot for most larger engines.

I just rode one of these today on a demo ride. Don't get me wrong I really enjoyed riding it, but I thought it would be more torque-y than what it was. The quick shifter also took a little bit of excitement out if it. Just my 2 cents. Breaks were amazing and was super flickable and very comfortable too.

“As always the ride will tell” Love it!

Great review as usual. At a time when bike prices seem to be spiraling into the stratosphere this is a lot of bike for $13k. It's not really a touring bike, as judged by modern standards, but it seems like a hell of a lot of fun in addition to being great value. I would want a larger fuel tank, but I almost always want a larger fuel tank. One man's opinion.

I test rode one today and I can endorse everything said above. Beautifully docile bike with enormous low-down torque comparable with any twin I’ve ridden. My only niggle is that the indicator button is too close to the button on its right and I had difficulty picking it out. A lovely machine and I will probably be ordering one. Thanks for the video!

A really great presentation of the Gsx s 1000 gt.I have just purchased one. the more I drive it the more I discover how good and easy handle it is.

I'm late to this game but this helped make my decision... Unfortunately I can't take delivery until April I'm told here in Iowa. No biggie, I will impatiently wait. Quality review, informative and entertaining.

Great review Mr. Quartz!!!🙂 I think Suzuki nailed it on this one, from a value proposition perspective. It has a couple of issues, but as a whole, it's alot of bike for the money. There are alot of riders that have been holding on to their aging SPORT-touring bikes because there are so few choices out there for a traditional looking Sport-touring bike (ie not a Sport-tourer dressed up as an ADV wannabe). I am one of these riders. A motorcycle closer to 500lbs than 600lbs, 150hp, hard luggage, sporty chassis, and not a ton of e-gizmos, checks off many boxes. I will be looking hard at buying one of these.... unless an Aprilia Futura V4 happens...

Daily Rider is the perfect place to test the Hyper Commuter bike!

Oh what a rainy Saturday treat! I’ve been looking forward to this one! Thanks Zack! Btw not sure if this is the place to ask but have you ever considered releasing just the audio of these first rides as just a podcast type thing? I and a few people I know are always hunting for more bike content to listen to while stuck driving cars.

The GSX-S 1k really wasn’t on my radar until I watched this video (a few times). After visiting a local dealer and sitting on a Ninja 1000SX, Tracer 9, Multistrada and Versys 1000, I liked the feel of GSX-S GT the best. took it for a short test ride and then bought the Ocelot! Ironically my current bike is a replica of the guest on the first episode of Daily Rider, the venerable Versys 650.

Thank you for the review, very informative as usual. How is the foot peg position vs the old one?

When my 01 K1 Gsxr became too focused for my aging frame I installed an LSL super bike handlebar kit and Ventura luggage instant sport touring and wicked back road blaster, christened the ‘GixOno’

I just rode it on sunday and that animal analogy is absolutely on point! I absolutely love the bike and I'm really thinking about buying one.

Another great review from Zack. I ordered this bike, but can't seem to part with my Monster 1200 R for it.

If I had the money to add another bike to my stable it would be this Suzuki! I ride 300 miles regularly from where I live to where I grew up to visit old friends and this Suzuki would make that trip so much quicker, more comfortable and more fun! Not to mention this bike is drop dead gorgeous!🤘🏼Oh and as for the windshield whiners Suzuki does offer a larger touring windshield. Doh!

looks like my 05 kawi 1200 ZZR. Great review thanks!

Nice looking bike. Cross shopped the old model with my Fz10, but this version looks way better than the old one!

I bought a Hayabusa for touring two weeks ago since deliberating since 2020. I had a GS 1200 & a Ducati Diavel. The is perfect for ME. Smooth, well insulated, QS smooth, maintenance cheap , reliable. East for traffic. High speed- less fatigue than a GS, cos my arms aren’t spread out like doing a bench press at 200kmh

Another superb review,thank you

These videos are great! How about the Suzuki SV650. I think it would be a great bike to get on this list.

best review I have seen yet

Zoooook! I have a '17 Ninja 1000, & I'm happy with my bike & also happy to see some competition in the reasonably priced sport touring segment.

My 1250 bandit makes a bit more power and plenty more torque than the GT, but I may have to start looking at this bike. A lot lighter, better brakes for sure as you can't get much worse even with the mods I have on it, suspension miles better... something to think about I guess. Thanks for the review Zack

You should make the audio from this a podcast :) love the videos

Thank you for an enjoyable test ride review.....I especially liked the giggle after every 1st gear pull. I just got home from a trip to the Suzuki dealer pricing the OTD price. While $13.7K is tremendous value for this bike, adding another $5K in freight, prep, taxes, and doc fees has put a damper on my excitement......my salesman did say there was some "wiggle room" in the price. I'll sleep on it tonight

thank u for a most informative vid. I was especially attentive to the segment about the windshield height. I am 6'1" and don't want any wind on my head. I am gonna shop around and if somebody makes a taller and wider windshield for the spike, then I may just buy one. again thank u for an awesome vid!

I'll watch this happily, just to hear Zac giggle as he accelerates hard but oddly enough I've been looking forward to the promised Rebel and the BMW airhead daily riders promised?

Hey Zack, great review like always :) Could you please test ride it's direct competitor Kawasaki Ninja 1000 SX? Thanks!

Re: cruise control quirks, I've found my FR-S cruise very analog and old fashioned-feeling as the accel/decelerate lever works for as long as it's pulled--it's quite literally a throttle switch, and it then resets the cruise to the speed you're going when you stop pulling the lever. There is no cruise set speed displayed and no incremental changes by tapping the lever. Just adds to the '80s Celica-style charm of the car in my opinion. By contrast, my wife's more civilized and modern feeling Mercedes adds 1 mph for a half-tap or rounds up to the next -0 or -5 mph with a full tap of the lever, and does display the set speed.

I'd say above the Dirt Glide as the HD knobby tires wear out on road after about 2000-2500 miles, and to switch the HD to full on road touring tires requires you to take it to the dealer for reprogramming.

The original 1970s GS1000 was a carbureted engine which was quick to rev from low speeds. When you were moving above 10 to 15 MPH, the bike was very ridable, but when you were slowly maneuvering around in a tight parking lot, you were "clutching" quite a bit to keep from "surging" at part throttle. The GS1000 I rode, almost fifty years ago, exhibited the same characteristics as you experienced on this bike. Bang on the throttle, and the bike quickly gets in a hurry. Then as the engine revved, the front wheel would simply lift of the ground in the first three gears, then through forth and fifth gear, pull the front end to the stops, while leaving the front wheel on the ground. I wasn't able to check 6th gear, on my test ride, as I was quickly overtaking a school bus and had to shut down. Looks like Suzuki hasn't forgotten what made the first GS1000 so great.

Excellent review style and humour. At 16.45 mins, what is "Body English " ?

I would be curious for Zach’s opinion comparing this Suzuki to a new 2022 Yamaha FJR300 ES. I was able to buy a new FJR1300 in May 2022 and can’t be happier. I think as a sport tourer you can’t compete with the Yamaha with its electronic suspension settings, ride modes, cornering traction control, clutch assist, electric windshield and shaft drive instead of a chain but I am partial as an owner. I think Suzuki has the price point right (especially only charging $700 for bags) for this bike which should attract buyers. As an adventure bike owner too, I am glad the sport tourer segment has a bit of new life in it, as it’s been on life support for awhile now. Good video as usual

Quad Lock is an Australian invention by motorbike enthusiasts. Been around for some time now, however it’s great to see the brand reach the rest of the world as apart from being biased they do make the best phone mounts and cases for every mobile. 👍😎🇦🇺

Love the bike! Owned a 2015 Suz GSX-S1000 ... great bike!

Good review. One of the better reviews out there. Suzuki does make a taller windscreen. I'm surprised that Suzuki didn't put a centerstand on this sport tourer. Also missing are heated grips, and steel braided brake lines which should be standard equipment. But the GT Plus is half the cost and some 80-90 lbs lighter than the Kawasaki Ninja H2 SX SE. It is stripped down and you would have to spend a lot to accessorize it. The H2 comes with almost everything except the saddlebags. It even comes with a tank protector and self healing paint. Didn't get to test ride the GT but test rode the Ninja 1000SX, and the 2019 H2 SX SE +. Also rode the 2020 Katana, which shares the same engine as the GT. The only thing I liked about the Katana was the engine, smooth linear torque curve. The GT replaced the Katana which was a flop.

The TFT screen changed colors based on the ambient light, that was kinda nice.

Love the daily rider video rather good 🇬🇧

Great review! I love suzuki. I have a sv650 but I think I wanna get the gsxs 1000 gt. It looks great and has enough power for me.

Glad you brought up the MT-10….I send them to gap town on my GSX-S1000FZ.

Great review. Question, while doing a review have you ever wheelied and caught the attention of the local Johnny Law?

I wouldn’t dream of trying to wheelie my Triumph Trophy SE 😳😳 670lb on the back wheel would be too damn scary 😟 you da man Zack 🙏🙏🙏

It's superb for me, the cruise control needs a bit of getting used to, same with the initial brake bite…which is a bit strange. But all of these small things for me were only noticeable the first times I rode the bike. You get used to that really fast, and now it feels perfect.

The life of a moto journalist. Going to work at 10:20am! Love your work, by the way.

I rode it amd loved it. MY ONLY issue is the lack of cornering IMU and a very very soft front brake...Ninja 1000SX ftw.

Great video! Why would you preffer the tracer over this one?

I'm not sure, but did you talk about the capacity of the saddle bags? PS love your videos!

I was going to have a second go at a GS,until I took one of these beautiful beast out,love it❤

Nice review. Question: You said something about the engine not really being that exciting. It's "fine" I think was the adjective. How would you compare to say the fjr, which was a great bike? Obviously it's lighter, more sporty, etc. I'm a guy that loved a FJR for nearly 4 years, but then experienced the glory (but somewhat lack of practicability) of a Tuono 1100 Factory and then S1000RR, and now a Multistrada 1200 (with its horse-like stature and quirks). This seems like a good in between. What do you think, Zack???