Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

Impression: 1983 Suzuki GSSSOES High-winder missile By Dale Brown Photos by Kit Palmer After several years of letting their big bikes lead Suzuki's attack on the sporting street bike market, the company pulled back the hammer on the other corporate barrel and let loose with a volley of midsized models for 1983. And they targeted two directly at the highly competitive 550cc displace- 18 ment category. The two identicaJ-but-for-the-coachwork models are the GS550E and the GS550ES. We tested the ES with the frame-mounted half-fairing, but it is a limited-production model. The E model, wIth a handlebar-mounted quarter-fairing, had a much more extensive production run, and in fact, Suzuki recently announced a price reduction for that model. These are all-new models, from the box-section steel frame to the new 16valve transverse-four powerplant. Suzuki claims an actual displacement of 572cc, with the bore and stroke measuring 60x50.6mm. Suzuki utilizes their Twin Swirl Combustion Chambers on the GS models, and they feature two semi-hemisperical depres- sions in the cyLinder head, a centrally located spark plug and nat pistons to give the burning mixture a swirling effect. How does the new engine work? Well, put the key in, flip on the handlebar-mounted choke and the blue-and-white Suzuki fires right up. Warm-up time was minimal, but it still required a couple of miles with the choke partially on in the morning. With the engine up to operating temperature, and the fuel/air mix flowing properly through the two Mikuni two-barrel carburetors, we noticed a few things about the bike's power output. Although the engine would run smoothly in the low- and middle-rpm range, the Suzuki is not terribly impressive at those engine speeds, particularly in comparison to some of the other sporting 5505. No trouble keeping up with traffic, mind you, but there is just not the rush we've come to expect from this range of high-velocitv middleweights. But don't ever call the Suzuki slow. Just get the engine revving to where it produces its best power from 9000 to past the redline of 10,500 will do nicely. At those kinds of engine speeds, GS is a rocket, possibly the fastest thing in its class. Just keep the engine screaming, row at the shift lever, and that hour's worth of canyon road will fly by in minutes. This may be the first street bike aimed directly at those who compete successfully on machines like any of the modern 125cc buzz-bomb motocrossers. This Suzuki will buzz slightly, but vibration is not a big problem. Most of our test riders found other, ergonomics-related, factors more annoying in the rider-comfort category. Shifting the six-speed transmission was done with lillie problem, other than a loud clunk when we first engaged a gear in the morning. The clutch pull felt a little on the stiff side, but that was probably because we had another street bike with a feather-light clutch in at the same time, and we ~ot spoiled. While we lamented the lack of a sixth gear on the GR650 Tempter from Suzuki, the GS550 has one and we rarely used it because of the motor's high-revving nature. So the GS550 moves right along, and fortunately the chassis is up to every bit of it with rock-solid stability, fine suspension and excellent cornering manners. In fact, after taking the Suzuki through the twisties, riding in a straight line seemed like a waste of time. In a year's time, we have become great devotees of bikes with l6-inch front wheels for their fine steering, and this middleweight Suzuki is no exception. It was our feeling that the GS750outperforrned the Honda Interceptor in terms of steering precision, and the GS550, with its lighter weight, is even more precise. You can carve lines through corners like a chainsaw CUlling through balsa wood. The GS550's suspension was equal to any task we asked of it. Both ends - telescopic fork up front, Full Floater rising-rate single shock in back are well-matched for both springing and damping. Even the notorious southern California freeway concrete expansion joints failed to kick either end unduly. The front end is equipped with a hydraulic anti-dive device, but we felt it had minimal effect. It should be noted that we've felt the same way about 99% of the anti-dive systems we've corne across. Suzuki employs a trio of disc brakes to take care of stopping chores, but when we first picked up our test unit, the front two binders were on a coffee break. After one unsuspecting lester sailed through a stop sign, the brakes • began to bed in. Now the Suzuki K capable of front-wheel wheelies, but it takes a firm hand with the front brake lever to get the job done. While the Suzuki is pure dynamite for canyon work, riding it on a da to-day basis presented a number drawbacks for the majority of our test crew. Complaints centered arounlf: the racer-crouch riding position and: the non-adj ustable handlebars, which the majoritY said combined to produce cramps in their forearms after only a few miles. Although the seat is very comfor- • table in terms proper foam density, the high and rear-set footpegs combined to give most of us only one, good sitting position, and that too was tiring after awhile. We thought tall riders would find it most objeotionable, but then the tallest of our test crew fell in love with the rrtachine. So much for projections.

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