Suzuki adds to its streetwise GSX-S saga with another chapter in its 2022 GSX-S1000. This is the base-model that serves as a platform for a handful of units, and is a good candidate as someone’s first road-use literbike with tractable power and baked-in safety features as part of its upgraded package.

This may be a somewhat tamer machine than its GSX-R cousin, but it really doesn’t look like it. A compact headlight housing leads the way with over-under LED headlight projectors and an aggressive, modern mien. It rides over a well-vented front fender with the usual, foil-shape uprights that aid penetration and protect the exposed inner-tube section of the inverted front forks from grit and road grime.

Minimal vanity details leave the front end looking uncluttered with nothing of the superfluous, just a set of high-mount turn-signals that are well out of harm’s way and some minor trim items, but no protection for the color LCD instrument screen. The screen has blue backlighting and high-contrast metrics for improved visibility under a variety of ambient lighting conditions, and doubles as the rider’s interface for the higher electronic features.

A fat, 23 mm-wider handlebar runs with a bit of rise – not much, just a couple inches or so – but it’s enough to push the rider a bit more upright than you could expect from clip-ons or a drag-style bar, and this enables a more-upright/more-comfortable riding position. Forward-swept body panels add to the aggressive attitude the GSX-S1000 already has in spades to lend it an apex-predator look to match its street-dominating performance.

A tall, five-gallon fuel tank and lofted pillion pad leave the pilot’s seat in a deep swale that pulls the rider down into the machine. Plus, it sports a narrow waist that lets the rider pull their legs into the bike as well, and leaves plenty of room to throw around some body English.

The subframe comes to a blunt point with the taillight ensconced within, while the blinkers, taglight, and plateholder ride on a lick-’em stick-’em mudguard. A swingarm-mount hugger completes the fling containment out back. Overall, this newest version may be built for public consumption, even if the somewhat sinister and aggressive looks puts it under a particular subset of rider, generally speaking.

The factory borrows from its proven GSX-R technologies to bring racebike-level goodies to the GSX-S1000. It starts with the twin-spar aluminum frame that delivers high torsional rigidity with a light overall weight. The designers then finished the bones with the Gixxer’s very own swingarm unit that adds its own considerable strength to the mix.

A link-type rear suspension relies on a single, coil-over shock to take care of business with adjustable spring preload and rebound-damping values. The 43 mm inverted front forks sport the full trinity of tweaks over a 4.7-inch (120 mm) suspension stroke that’ll take just about anything a civilized road can dish out.

Lightweight, six-spoke, cast-aluminum wheels round out the 17-inch diameter rolling chassis that come lined with Dunlop’s new Roadsport 2 radials in a 120/70 ahead of a 190/50 to make the connection to the tarmac, all in a top-tier “Z” speed rating. Dual, four-bore, Brembo Monobloc calipers bite 310 mm floating discs to slow the front wheel with a single-pot Nissin anchor and 240 mm disc out back, all under the protection of the dual ABS feature. The front brake control comes with an adjuster that lets you dial in the distance between the lever and the grip to accommodate a range of hand sizes.

The electronic ride-quality controls on the GSX-S1000 extend well into the engine management systems. Now bestowed with the Suzuki Intelligent Ride System (SIRS), it comes with a bundle of goodies that include Suzuki’s Drive Mode Selector that lets you dial in power delivery and a five-channel Traction Control system. For good measure, the factory chucks on its Low RPM assist that helps prevent stalls on takeoff as well as its Easy Start feature that makes for one-touch startups, even in cold conditions.

A 73.4 mm bore and 59 mm stroke gives it a 999 cc displacement with a hot, 12.2-to-1 compression ratio. The combustion chambers rock Suzuki’s Twin Swirl technology that helps improve flame-front propagation along with more complete combustion that leads to greater fuel efficiency. Ride-by-Wire throttle control sends rider demand to the computer, which then makes calculated responses in each of the four independent throttle bodies for controlled, seamless transitions.

What’s the power look like? Well, it’s pretty doggone good for a street bike with 150 ponies that top out at 11,000 rpm and 79.66 pounds o’ grunt. A stock quickshifter lets you bang your way both up and down the range with a slipper-style clutch between the engine and the six-speed transmixxer to prevent wheel hop on hard downshifts. The final drive ratio turns out a top speed of 150 mph, plenty ’nuff for public roads to be sure.

You can expect to fork over $11,299 MSRP to score one of the newly updated, MY22 GSX-S1000 base models. Choose between a new, monochromatic Metallic Matte Mechanical Gray paint package and the Metallic Triton Blue livery.

Rather than going with a domestic foe or one of the other usual suspects from Italy or Germany, I decided to go straight to British giant Triumph and its Street Triple R model. Trumpet bills this bike as a “Definitive Streetfighter,” so let’s see how it performs against Suzuki.

In the looks department, the “STR” is even more Spartan in its appointments to leave it decidedly more skewed toward the naked category. The typical alien-insect housing and goggle-eye headlights lead the way on the Triumph below a short-but-broad flyscreen to present a much different visage to the world.

While the STR lacks the spiky bodywork of its counterpart, it still manages to convey a certain sinister note that should appeal to the same sort of rider. But a bike like this is more about the performance than just looks, and Triumph falls a skosh behind here. It relies on a 765 cc in-line triple for power and with that drop in cubeage comes a concurrent drop in power with only 116 ponies and 57 pound-feet of torque against 150/79.

Suspension is almost a wash. Triumph offers the full trinity of tweaks out back, which adds adjustable compression damping to the mix for a slight edge to the Brit. It looks like the ABS on the STR is of the vanilla variety to cede another win to the Suzuki. Trumpet also skimped on the electronics with only a trio of Riding Modes and Shift Assist feature in the suite.

To compound the pain, Suzuki sells more bike for the buck versus the $11,050 sticker on the base Sapphire Black model, a lower price to be sure, but not low enough to justify giving up that performance and level of electronic support.

Read our full review of the Triumph Street Triple R.

“Yeah, this is a mean-looking ride to be sure, and you can go ahead and pencil me in as a fan of the head-on look with those boss, over-under projectors that keeps the entry nice and narrow. As for the capability, it’s cool to have a stupidfast bike and all, but it must kinda suck to have to hold back that much, ’cause you ain’t going to be able to open her up on public roads, not without making making the smokies powerful mad.”

My wife and fellow motorcycle writer, Allyn Hinton, says, “Not loaded with tech – though what’s there has been upgraded – but definitely big on performance, the GSX-S1000 is perhaps one of the most-value-for-your-bucks bikes out there. The inline-four banger is an evolution of Suzuki’s legendary GSX-R engine now with a smoother torque curve and better low-to-mid-range torque, which is where the fun is. You get strong roll-on just about anywhere in the rev range and while fiery-eyed peg-draggers will be disappointed with the early drag of the pegs, the rest of us can enjoy a snappy, thrill-filled ride.”

Source: 2022 Suzuki GSX-S1000: The Beauty of Naked Aggression

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