Suzuki Gs700es

SUZUKI GS700ES

CYCLE WORLD TEST

A SILVER LINING JUST WAITING TO BE FOUND

STAR-CROSSED IS WHAT IT IS. Or maybe it's just plain cursed. Whatever the reason, Suzuki's GS700ES can't seem to shake the dark cloud that follows it everywhere it goes.

Just look at what has happened to this hard-luck sportbike ever since its introduction in 1983. It was heralded as Suzuki's new-generation 750, and was an outstanding performer right from the start, with an air-cooled, inline-Four engine capable of impressive speed and acceleration, and a new single-shock chassis that offered crisp handling and superb comfort. But nobody noticed. Because 1983 also was the year in which the 750 Interceptor made its debut. And amidst all the fanfare and accolades that surrounded Honda's radical new V-I our sportbike. the rather conventional GS750 got lost in the shuffle.

Last year wasn't much kinder to the GS750. It was deleted from Su/uki's 1984 lineup altogether—not through being unworthy or unsalable. but because Suzuki had a surplus of unsold 1981 and 1982 GS750s stacked up in warehouses. And the corporate strategy was to unload the older 750s before wheeling in any new ones.

Those non-current models are mostly gone now, so the GS is back in Su/uki's stable once again, this year w ith a 699cc displacement that lets it dodge the ITC 's steep import tariff. It's largely the same machine it was in 1983. though, with slightly different styling and a few new engine bits that are related to the drop in displacement. But although the '85 CiS is neither all-new nor high-tech, it still is. as it was two years ago. one pretty slick sport machine nonetheless. It handles gracefully and nimbly, accelerates as fiercely ;ts anything of its displacement, and is fun to ride. It's a delightful motorcycle by anyone's stan dards.

But whoever put the doublewhammy on the CiS did one hell of a job. because it is being upstaged once again —this time by Su/uki's own CÍSX-R750. a bike that won't even be on the market until late this year. The CiSX-R is such a hot topic right now ( turn to page 95 ) that some people regard the GS700 as little more than cannon fodder, something intended merely to fill the 700/750-class void in Suzuki's sportbike lineup until the GSX-R arrives. So once again, the GS is the right bike at the wrong time, a motorcycle held hostage by fate.

That’s too bad. Because anyone who writes off the GS700ES as anything less than a thrilling, satisfying, completely legitimate sport machine is missing a good bet—and a lot of good rides. For one thing, the Suzuki has survived its drop in displacement better than most other bikes that started life as 750s. Our GS700 posteda 12.17-second, 1 10.97-mph run in the quarter-mile, which isn't far off of the 11.84/112.35 performance of the last GS750 we tested (May, 1 983). If you think that a 0.33second-slower ET doesn't speak all that well for the 700, consider two things: The GS700 was clocked at Carlsbad Raceway, infamous for its marginal start-line traction, whereas the GS750 ran at the now-defunct Orange County strip, where bikes could be launched much more aggressively; and the mere 1.38-mph difference in terminal speeds indicates that the GS700 really isn't down all that much on power compared with the GS750.

Surprisingly, maintaining 750class performance didn't require extensive tweaking of the 700ec engine. To offset the 48cc loss of displacement that resulted when the stroke was shortened from 53mm to 49.6mm (the 750’s 67mm bore was retained), Suzuki simply upped the cam lift (9 percent on the intakes, 8 percent on the exhausts), extended the exhaust-valve timing (by 4 degrees). and did some juggling of exhaust-system dimensions. The engineers also bolstered the GS700’s acceleration by bolting up a rearwheel sprocket with two more teeth (45 vs. 43) than its GS750 counterpart. But other than those few differences, the engine is the same dohc, 16-valve Four that it was in 1983.

If that little bit of hot-rodding has had any adverse effect on the 700ES’s power output, it’s in bottomend performance. Even as a 750, the engine was never renowned as a lowrpm locomotive, so it’s only logical that making it smaller and giving it more-radical camshafts would result in even softer low-end power. The 700 carburâtes cleanly at low revs and doesn’t fall flat on its face anywhere, but the acceleration below 4000 or 4500 rpm won’t peg the needle on your thrill-meter, either. Instead, the low-end and midrange rollon performance is about like that of an above-average 550-class sportbike: steady, but not likely to give even the most pencil-necked rider a case of whiplash.

Matter of fact, the 700's engine wants to be treated like a 550 much of the time, particularly when the bike is in full-sport flight on a challenging backroad. The motor responds nicely to 550-ish go-fast techniques on twisty roads, meaning that you hold the throttle wide-open and do a tapdance on the shift lever to keep the engine singing happily in the top onethird of its rev range.

On the other hand, the 700 isn't peaky and explosive like so many hot-rod 550s are. Rather than lunging forward as 550s usually do when they hit their magic rpm, the GS700 gradually and linearly goes from soso acceleration at lower revs to downright hard acceleration by the time the tach needle hits 6500 or 7000 rpm. And at anything above 8000 rpm, the engine pulls so strongly and relentlessly that it’ll easily zing right past its ten-grand redline, even in the taller gears.

Not only does the GS700ES run like a 550-class sportbike, it handles like one, as well. The bike responds to steering inputs aimost instantaneously, and the rider can toss it around like something weighing much, much less.

In truth, the GS700ES isn't all that light (493 pounds with a dry gas tank), its 16-inch front wheel is not unique, and its steering geometry is not exceptionally quick by today’s sportbike standards. Honda's 700/ 750 Interceptor is only about 20 pounds heavier and even has marginally quicker geometry, but it generally feels like a truck compared to the Suzuki. That’s because the GS has a significantly lower center of gravity than the Honda. The Suzuki’s seat is about an inch lower, the slightly sportier seating position tilts the rider’s torso further forward (and thus lower), and the engine mass seems lower, even though the GS’s inlineFour is considerably wider than the Honda's V-Four.

What all of this means is that the Suzuki will bash its centerstand and exhaust pipes on the pavement at lesser lean-angles than a lot of other sport machines will, especially if it encounters a bump in mid-turn; but up until that point, it handles more willingly and forgivingly than most 700cc-and-larger bikes. The rider can almost think the GS into a corner instead of giving it any physical inputs, and he can flip it back-and-forth through ess-bends and chicanes with uncanny ease. And the 700 maintains a wonderful neutrality through fast turns, rarely showing any tendency to resist leaning, even if the brakes are trailed when going hard into a corner.

Really, the only significant hiccup in the GS700ES’s otherwise exceptional handling is a bit of imprecision-some of it imagined, some of it real—when the bike is pushed hard through a turn. The imagined part is due to the bike’s soft suspension, which generally allows the sprung part of the chassis to move around a little in the turns. But even though this softness contributes to the early grounding-out in hard corners, the chassis movement is no big deal so long as the wheels stay planted.

Trouble is, the wheels don't always stay planted. The culprits are the 700’s tires, which are unusually skinny for a bike of this class and prone to break traction at high leanangles. They don’t break loose often enough or badly enough to be considered dangerous, but they do manage to destroy the very rider-confidence that the rest of the bike engenders.

Those tires also seem to cause the Suzuki to twitch as it crosses grooves and paving transitions at shallow angles. The condition isn’t all that noticeable at first, but it worsens as the front tire wears. And the front tire does wear; in just one 300-mile ride that included about 200 miles of backroad corner-charging, our test bike's front Bridgestone went from about 10-percent worn to about 90percent worn. That’s unforgivable.

Otherwise, the GS’s chassis gives its rider precious little to complain about. It’s remarkably stable in a straight line at all speeds, despite its imprecise tires and ultra-responsive steering. The bike is quite comfortable, as well, largely due to its compliant, highly adjustable suspension. The front fork is air-assisted, and the Full Floater single-shock rear suspension has nifty external adjusters for spring preload and rebound damping that the rider even can regulate from the saddle.

Using the minimum settings delivers the kind of plush ride that only the better touring bikes can beat, while cranking them all up to or near maximum is the prescription for riders determined to grind off their kneecaps. For ten-tenths sport riding or actual roadracing, the rear shock needs more rebound damping in its stiffest (No. 4) position; and the boulevard ride would be improved if the wheels could respond a bit more quickly to small, sharp bumps. But all in all. the suspension competently spans a very wide range of riding styles and types.

Very little else about the GS700ES compromises its comfort quotient, either. The seat is one of the more pleasant to appear on a recent Japanese sportbike, and although the riding position is unmistakably sportoriented—relatively low, narrow and downswept handlebars, with slightly high and rearset footpegs—it’s not radically so. Naturally, this isn’t the pose most people would choose for touring the interstates, but still, a sixfooter can drone down the open road for hours on the GS without needing a chiropractor the next morning. Even engine vibration fails to spoil the Suzuki’s hospitable nature. Some light tingles do manage to creep into the handgrips and the rubbermounted footpegs, particularly at cruising rpm, but they never are strong enough to be debilitating.

This is not to imply that the GS has no annoying faults other than its tires. The fuel petcock, for example, is small, hard to find and even harder to turn from the saddle. The engine is extremely cold-blooded and must be warmed up at fast idle for an absurdly long time before it can be ridden—a trait that is sure to endear you to your neighbors if you leave for work at 5 a.m. every morning. And the 700 still has Suzuki’s 1983-style, brake-actuated anti-dive devices on the front fork sliders—and they still don’t work. All they seem to do is give the front brake a vague, spongy feel. The brakes themselves are reasonably powerful, predictable and free of fade, but the front discs require more lever pressure than most riders will deem acceptable.

Despite those complaints, the GS700ES nonetheless is worthy of serious consideration by sport riders looking to drop about three grand for a new backroad weapon. It’s an attractive bike, too, that turned heads and got thumbs-up responses everywhere we rode it. The styling is crisp, the graphics are bright, and the GS backs up its good looks with excellent all-around performance.

It's sad, then, that such a competent, enjoyable motorcycle seems destined always to live in the shadow of something else. And the truth is that many—maybe even most—of the people who ordinarily might drool over a GS700 are going to hold onto their money and wait for the muchheralded GSX-R750 instead.

But those people might be getting more than they bargained for. For one thing, expect to wait in line for a GSX-R and pay well over $4000 for it; those bikes will be neither cheap nor in abundant supply. And right now, a GS700ES probably can be had for several hundred dollars below its $3299 suggested retail price. Meaning that on a performance-perdollar basis, even the GSX-R will have a hard time matching the GS700ES, even if you have to ante up for a new set of tires.

Apparently, then, the old saying is true. There indeed is a silver lining in every dark cloud—even one that follows a certain Suzuki around.

SUZUKI

GS700ES

List Price $3299