Suzuki Gs 1000g
SUZUKI GS 1000G
CYCLE WORLD TEST
Shaft Drive, High Performance and Super Comfort
Suzuki is in some ways the most cautious of the Japanese motorcycle manufacturers. It was the last of the major companies to introduce four-stroke motorcycles, the last Japanese company with a shaft
drive bike and the last with a one-liter-or-over shaft drive bike. When the GS850 was introduced in 1979 it looked like a l000cc bike, was as heavy as a l000cc bike and even shared many pieces with the l000cc Suzukis. Only the engine was a built-up GS750 motor with bigger pistons providing more displacement.
Certainly there were reasons Suzuki’s first entry into shaft drive city was smaller than that of the competition. After all, Suzuki said, the 750cc market was larger than the market for 1000s and insurance costs would be less, too. Still, the GS850 felt like a 1000 and it should have been a 1000. Now there are both.
Looking at the GS1000G, the shaft drive version, it’s obviously related to both the GS850 and the chain drive GS1000E. Almost all the parts are off-the-shelf pieces from the 850 or 1000. Between the three bikes, the GS850, GS1000G and GS1000E, the overall measurements are almost identical. Both shaft drive bikes, in fact, share the same wheelbase, overall measurements and practically the same weights, our 1980 model 1000 being 3 lb. lighter than the 1979 GS850.
Such measurements, things like the 59.7 in. wheelbase and 31.8 in. seat height and 583 lb. weight, make the GS1000G a medium large motorcycle. Certainly it’s smaller than the competition’s largest shaft drive touring machines. It’s simply not in the same league with a GL1100 or KZ1300 as far as weight and bulk and sheer enormity are concerned. Size-wise it’s a Superbike, being lighter than a CBX, heavier than the 550 lb. GS1000E and about the same overall size as a CBX, GS1000 or KZ1000.
Only it has a shaft. Except that the shaft on the GS1000 is not like having a shaft on a GL1100 or a KZ1300 or an XS1100. Those machines are clearly and easily labeled touring bikes because they are big and heavy and invite being loaded down with fairings and saddlebags and lots of chrome, handling being a secondary consideration on those bikes anyway. Not so on the GS1000G.
The GS1000G is, ideally, for the man who wants a GS1000 but also wants a shaft. Sure, the 1000G is a capable touring machine, being able to zip across states or countries with no commotion or problems. And its comfort ranks right up there with the best of them. What separates the GS1000G from big heavy touring bikes isn’t so much that it offers less of something, but that it offers more performance.
Performance is the key to the GS1000G, as it has been the key to all the Suzuki GS 1000s. It doesn’t give the kind of tire smoking performance of the GS 1100 or the handling of a KZ7 50 or the tight response of a Ducati. Balance is the secret ingredient.
A 583 lb. lOOOcc motorcycle isn’t small. Add in a wide 5.8 gal. gas tank and a huge soft saddle and the GS1000G is a big machine. But it’s managed to retain a generally good level of handling. The four cylinder inline engine is narrow enough and high enough in the frame to provide plenty of cornering clearance for street riding. Pieces like the exhaust and mufflers and sidestand are well tucked up on the bike. At midrange preload settings the centerstand will scrape as soon as the footpegs scrape but it doesn’t happen often. At least not with a solo rider. Compared with, say, all other shaft drive bikes, only the Moto Guzzi would have more cornering clearance. Other big shaft drive motorcycles can’t be ridden around corners at the speeds the GS1000G allows because of cornering clearance problems. But that’s a matter of what the 1000G is compared with. Match it up against the GS1000E or a KZ1000 and it’s not going to win any races because it weighs more and thereby loses speed. But it takes a sensitive rider to detect the differences between the G and E model Suzukis.
Steering on the shaft drive model is a touch slower due to 1 ° less steering head angle (28 ° on the G and 27 ° on the E), the greater weight and a longer wheelbase. The 31 in. wide handlebars keep steering effort low, though changing direction quickly on a G requires more muscle, more time and more distance because it is just that much more inclined to go straight.
Given an adequate amount of premeditation the 1000G is a pleasure to ride on kinked roads. Mind you, we didn’t say it was a thrill to ride or fun to ride or that it was a real kick in the pants. Those sorts of comments are applicable to smaller, lighter and more sporting machines than the G. Graceful is the word for the G. It bends easily and surely into corners, has enough cornering clearance to safely cope with unexpected dips or bumps, and holds its line without requiring additional steering effort.
Credit the suspension with the lOOOG’s handling aplomb. Even with the frame’s adequate stiffness and the proper geome-> try, it takes forks and shocks with proper spring rates and damping rates to make a bike handle on a variety of road surfaces and loads and the GS1000G has the suspension to handle any road or load. By now Suzuki’s air assisted forks and four-way adjustable damping shocks are not out of the ordinary. Yet on the 1000G the combination of spring rates and damping rates is an ideal compromise that enables the bike to handle well while being delightfully comfortable.
Rather than choose a single spring rate and damping rate that is designed for one weight rider and type of riding, the Suzuki offers substantial variation by the adjustments provided. For a light ride on straight roads the softest settings on the forks along with minimum damping and the least rear spring preload gives a supple and comfortable ride. Bump up the preload a notch and raise the damping one click and the big Suzuki is more controllable on rough roads or handles heavier loads. Maximum preload and damping, along with higher fork air pressure, enables the GS1000G to carry fairing, saddlebags and a passenger with little loss of control. Suspension compliance is excellent.
Contributing as much to the comfort as the suspension is the seat. Suzuki spent more than the usual amount of time testing various seat shapes and foam densities before the seat on the 1000G (or 850) was finished. The result is a wide, soft platform with two rates of foam densities providing just enough support and lots of room. As modern seats go, the 1000G seat is almost flat. There is a slight rise between the rider and passenger areas, though there’s no pocket on the seat to hold a rider into one spot. It’s easy to move around on this seat. The width does make the motorcycle feel taller than it is, because the rider must spread his legs more than usual when straddling the bike. Getting test riders to agree on what is a good seat is nearly impossible, but the GS1000G seat gets more Best Seat On A Motorcycle votes than anything else we’ve ridden in the past year.
Comfort and handling and suspension wizardry may be what set the GS1000G apart from the crowd, but the basic mechanical pieces of the bike shouldn’t be forgotten. The lOOOG’s engine is a derivative of the original GS750 motor. Remember that when Suzuki introduced the GS1000 in 1978 it was an updated, lightened and larger version of the GS750. When the GS850 was introduced in 1979 it used the 56.4mm stroke of the 750 with 69mm pistons, nearly as large as the 70mm bore used in the 1000s. But the engine cases of the 850 were, for the most part, based on the 750 engine, not the 1000. So now here’s the 1000G and it’s built on the 850 engine cases, but has the same bore and stroke as the standard 1000E. Cam timing, lift and valve sizes are the same for all the 1000s. All the engines use the same dual overhead cams, driven by the same roller chain and tensioned by the same automatic cam chain tensioner. The heads are the same and so are the 34mm Mikuni CV carbs. Compression ratio on the 1000s is 9.2:1, slightly higher than the 850’s 8.8:1.
Both the 850 and 1000 shaft drive models have some changes worth mentioning for 1980. Neither has a kick starter now, a change that saves 7 lb. through elimination of shafts, gears and ratchets. Electronic ignition is used on all the large Suzuki Fours this year, the 1000G unit being the same as that on the other 1000s. Alternator size has been increased from 200 watts to 230 watts, a welcome change, though the output is still lower than average and will be too small for much of the equipment-loving touring crowd.
A change to the clutch, the basket being reinforced, has resulted in a stronger clutch on the 1000G. A look at the right side of the G reveals a revised clutch housing.
Gearing is important on a shaft drive bike because changes can’t be made by a sprocket switch. Both the 850 and 1000 shaft use the same transmission gear ratios and the primary drive and final drive ratios are also the same. What’s different is the secondary reduction ratio linking the transmission countershaft to the driveshaft. On the 850 the drive bevel gear has 16 teeth and the driven gear has 17, while on the 1000 the ratio is reversed to 17:16. The net result of the gearing change is that the overall ratio in high gear is 5.61:1 on the 850 and 4.97:1 on the 1000. A better example is engine speed at 60 mph. On the 850 the engine spins over at 4471 rpm and on the 1000 it is a more subdued 3973 rpm. Tire sizes are the same for the 850 and 1000 shaft, so the secondary reduction accounts for the difference.
That gearing change is more important than just a few numbers on paper. Combined with the greater power of the 997cc engine in the GS1000G, the 1000 cruises more easily with the engine spinning slower, reducing vibration and irritating noises that are bothersome on the 850. The 1000 even gets better mileage than the 850 because of the lower engine speeds resulting from the gearing change. Our GS1000G averaged 45 mpg on the CW 100 mi. mileage loop, compared with 41.9 mpg for the slide throttle carb 1979 850 and 40 mpg on the fully equipped 1980 GS850 tested in the touring bike comparison (May, 1980 CW).
Better yet, the GS1000G exhibited none of the annoying carburetor response problems of either of the previous GS850s tested. It started easily cold or hot, ran acceptably when cold and perfectly when hot, never displaying any hesitation or unevenness. Characteristically Suzuki, the GS1000 likes to rev freely when the choke is pulled out on a cold morning, and a little careful choke knob fiddling is called for to keep the idle speed below 4000 rpm, but it’s a lot easier on the 1000 than it was on the 850.
Combined with the greater mileage of the 1000, the G also has the 850’s 5.8 gal. gas tank. That gives a total range of 261 mi. on the G, better than average for touring bikes and important to the touring motorcyclist since the last change in Iranian despots. On the 1000G both gas capacity and ass capacity are above average.
Nice touches abound on the GS1000G. Not only is there a fuel gauge, but it’s relatively accurate. Unheard of on motorcycles. And there’s still a petcock with reserve and everything, while some of the other Suzukis with a gas gauge have no petcock. The self-cancelling turn signals are easy to use, even if you want to cancel them yourself. Instead of having to push in or down or some other strange direction, just push the turn signal lever back toward center and the signals cancel, rather than switching in the opposite direction as some other systems do.
Fitted with the same instrument package as the 850, the 1000G has a digital gear readout, which some riders find handy. And there’s a 9000 rpm redline on the tach, unlike the 8500 rpm redline on the 1000E tach. Apparently overrevving the shaft drive’s motor is less likely than it is on the chain drive 1000, the tach from the 850 had a 9000 redline and the engine can certainly hold up with that redline, so the shaft drive 1000 has a higher redline than the chain drive 1000 even though the engine internals are the same.
Maintenance on the G is easy in that there isn’t very much maintenance, but difficult when it comes time to adjust the valves. Like other GS 1000s, the same shims are used, although these do hold their adjustment for an incredibly long period of time or miles. Otherwise, maintenance is straightforward. There are no points to set. The battery is easy to reach, unlike that of the 1000E. The tool kit comes with special tools that lock up the swing arm and will collapse the forks so the rear tire can be changed on the road. Nice touch, that.
So are the front brakes. For a couple of years now Suzukis have been coming with the best brakes available. They are powerful, controllable and don’t fade. They even work acceptably in the wet. The 850 in our touring test, which had the same brakes as this 1000, demonstrated how much better Suzuki brakes are when used on heavily loaded motorcycles, and this GS1000G is every bit as good.
The rear brake, however, is hard to control in fast stops, hopping and skipping off the ground as the wheel locks. This could be as much a problem with more wheel weight and not-quite-right shock damping as the brake itself.
Although the G can’t be strictly labeled a touring bike, it does perform admirably as a touring mount. With a 1112 lb. GVWR and weight of 583 lb., that leaves a load capacity of 529 lb., much higher than most of the larger touring machines. It’s a shame, really, that the 1000G wasn’t available for our touring comparison test. The 850’s shortcomings; its marginal fuel economy, poor carburetion, high noise and vibration level, and irritating optional seat are all absent from the GS1000G.
How it would have compared, all equipped with touring accessories, is still something of a question. But around our office, no motorcycle tested in the last year has been more sought after for long trips.
A GL1100 may offer slightly more pure luxury. A BMW has more range on its larger fuel tank. The GS1100 is certainly faster. The Kawasaki KZ750 handles better. As a package, though, the GS1000G is the kind of high performance touring bike that’s closer to meeting our desires than just about anything.
SUZUKI
GS1000G
SPECIFICATIONS
$3699
ACCELERATION
PERFORMANCE
