2018 Suzuki GSX-S750 Review
Bike Tested: 2018 Suzuki GSX-S750; Road Test No. 940
Price OTR Mumbai: Rs. 9.3 lakhs
The GSX-S750 is Suzuki’s second big motorcycle to be assembled in India
Middle-weight bikes have been seeing an increasing acceptance the world over and the same goes with India too. Not only are these economical to maintain (compared to the litre-class monsters), they also make more sense with regards to the ergonomics and controllable power (read rider-friendly). The Suzuki GSX-S750 is the latest entrant in this segment and we take a spin in the Buddh International Circuit in Greater Noida to find out what is this machine is all about.
Motor Quest: Suzuki GSX-S750 is the Japanese company’s first middle-wight bike to be launched in our country. The bike was showcased initially at the Intermot 2016 for global markets but made its India debut at the 2018 Auto Expo earlier this year.
The Suzuki GSX-S750 looks sharp and mean; the heavily sculpted tank looks really aggressive
Styling – The Suzuki GSX-S750 borrows its design cues from its elder sibling, the GSX-S1000. Starting with the front end, most of the design elements including the headlight assembly, fender and even the pilot lamps bear design resemblances to the bigger GSX-S1000. The front looks imposing thanks to the fang-shaped position lights placed next to the headlight. A set of golden-finished forks (instead of black) would have made the bike feel more classy and in turn attract more eyes on the road. Move to the side profile and you’ll notice that the fuel tank, its extensions, the tail-piece as well as the alloy wheels look similar to the ones on the GSX-S1000. However, the GSX-S750 gets a longer exhaust and a slightly redesigned engine guard. The rear end is minimalist, featuring an LED tail light along with a fat 180-section tyre and that’s about it.
The fully digital screen show a plethora of information; the screen could have been a little bigger
Instrument Cluster and Switchgear – The fully digital LED instrument console is again, borrowed from the GSX-S1000 and that’s no bad thing at all! Besides the regular features like speedometer, odometer, clock, tachometer, fuel-level indicator and range, the console also gets a gear position indicator, traction control level and coolant temperature display. On the sides of the digital display, there are tell-tale lights for ABS, blinkers, traction control, high and low beam, Neutral indicator and check engine. Another cool thing about the GSX-S750’s instrument cluster is that the brightness of the screen is adjustable. How cool is that! The switchgear is of good quality and features a hazard light switch, self-start button and of course, an engine kill switch on the right hand side. The other side gets controls for the horn, side indicator, traction control mode selector and pass light.
The seats on the GSX-S750 are well-padded, soft and cushiony
The Easy Start System in the GSX-S750 removes the need to keep the starter button pressed to crank the engine
Ergonomics – We must tell you, the Suzuki GSX-S750 is a comfortable motorcycle to live with. The seating posture is neither upright nor aggressive. It’s somewhere in the middle offering the best of both worlds. The rider has to slightly crouch forward to reach the handlebar which is a good thing as it brings a sense of connection between him/her and the motorcycle. What sweetens the deal further is the comfortable and spacious rider’s seat. On the other hand, the pillion seat is quite small in size. Moreover, the seat is high-set and one has to literally climb to reach it. The rear view mirrors are placed perfectly and give no complaints at all.
Performance – Powering the Suzuki GSX-S750 is a 749cc K5 inline-4 fuel-injected motor that comes with liquid-cooling. The engine dishes out 114 HP of power at 10,500 RPM and 81 Nm of torque at 9000 RPM. Fire up the engine and the sweet-sounding nature is evident immediately. It’s got the right amount of power, no more, no less. The powerplant packs in a great amount of low as well as top end punch and the power is dished out in a linear manner. 220 km/hr comes up in no time on the speedometer and the GSX-S750 definitely gets a thumbs up for its rider-friendly nature. The motorcycle goes from a stanstill to 100 km/hr in just 3.95 seconds.
We simply couldn’t get enough of the sweet sounding inline-4 engine, sounds very racy!
The Suzuki is intimidating only in terms of looks, the bike is quite friendly and easy
Mated to the 749cc inline-4 powertrain is a 6-speed gearbox. The Japanese automaker has neither offered a slipper clutch nor a quickshifter but instead, the bike is equipped with a ‘Low RPM Assist’ system. The system, essentially, prevents the revs from dropping too low when the clutch is released from a standstill thereby decreasing the chances of stalling the bike. The gearshifts are smooth and the clutch isn’t very hard, so riding in the city or on the highways is a breeze. There is a good amount of windblast as you move to higher speeds but there’s nothing one can do about it as this is a naked street-fighter. Since this is a big bike, there might be people wondering whether the engine heats up excessively or not. Well, in our short stint on the racetrack, we didn’t find the engine heating up intensely. It does heat up a bit but the cooling tech does its job pretty well to lower down the engine temperature.
The motorcycle masks its weight surprisingly well; feels very nimble despite weighing over 200 kgs
Riding Dynamics – Underpinned by a Twin-Spar frame, the Suzuki GSX-S750 is suspended on USD forks up front and a link-type monoshock at the rear. At 215 kgs, the motorcycle is heavy but is surprisingly agile as well. The naked street-fighter form gives it great levels of flickability while the Bridgestone Battlax Hypersport S21 tyres offer great grip irrespective of where you are riding the bike. We found the suspension to be perfect for the racetrack. It is slightly on the softer side though. The GSX-S750 feels confidence-inspiring and is a corner-carving machine. High-speed stability is amazing as the bike remains unaffected by crosswinds. The braking hardware comprises of twin 310 mm discs up front and a 240 mm disc at the rear. Overall, braking efficiency is great as the brakes have enough power to shed speeds quickly.
This one is a very sorted offering from Suzuki
Verdict – The 2018 Suzuki GSX-S750 comes across as a great all-rounder package. Of course, there isn’t much on offer in terms of features but it rides beautifully and shines in almost every department – braking, refinement, performance and even the looks. The bike has sure got some killer looks and will definitely make people on the road take a second look. And finally, that brings us to the asking price. At Rs. 9.3 lakhs (on-road, Mumbai), Suzuki has priced the GSX-S750 very aggressively and that makes the GSX-S750 the most affordable bike in its segment. Hence, we don’t see a reason why you shouldn’t be looking at the Suzuki if you’re planning to get a naked middle-weight bike.
The GSX-S750 borrows its design cues from the GSX-S1000
What’s Cool
* Sweet exhaust note
* Rider-friendly nature
* Attractive price
* Looks quite similar to its litre-class counterpart
What’s Not So Cool
* Weight is on the heavier side
* Small screen for the instrument cluster
Alternatives: Triumph Street Triple S, Kawasaki Z900, Yamaha MT-09
The GSX-S750 comes at a very tempting price
2018 Suzuki GSX-S750 Specifications
* Engine: 749cc, Liquid-Cooled, Inline 4-Cylinder, 4-stroke, DOHC
* Power: 114 HP @ 10,500 RPM
* Torque: 81 Nm @ 9000 RPM
* Transmission: 6-speed
* 0-100 km/hr: 3.95 seconds
* Top Speed: 225 km/hr
* Fuel Consumption: 15-20 km/l
* Fuel Type: Petrol
* Frame: Twin-Spar Aluminium Frame
* Suspension: USD Forks (Front), Monoshock (Rear),
* Tyres: 120/70/17 (Front), 180/55/17 (Rear)
* Brakes: 310 mm Dual Disc (Front), 240 mm Disc (Rear), ABS
2018 Suzuki GSX-S750 Dimensions
* Length x Width x Height: 2125 mm x 785 mm x 1055 mm
* Wheelbase: 1455 mm
* Ground Clearance: 135 mm
* Seat Height: 820 mm
* Fuel Tank Capacity: 16-litres
* Kerb weight: 215 kgs
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