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New Suzuki Sport Tourer

The most interesting part of the article for me is this line.... "First, we get the GT from Suzuki. Soon, we expect the NT1100 from Honda. Surprisingly, it looks like sport touring is making a comeback!" Hopefully Kawasaki has a finger on the pulse of this comeback and they are planning for a new sport touring bike. šŸ¤ž
 
Kawasaki's new sport TOURing bike is the Versys 1000. If you look at all the tech they're loading into the new ones, you'll see what I mean.

Steve
 
I agree with SISF. The Versys 1000LT is a sport touring bike. IIRC, that's what our last OTP rider to Europe was provided to ride by Kawasaki of Germany.
 
I think this is a great looking bike & could see myself riding one. The side cases don't appear to be oddly shaped & making them not very user friendly. I haven't located any info on capacity yet though, I would like to see at least 35 liters.

The Versys 1000LT is a sport touring bike. IIRC, that's what our last OTP rider to Europe was provided to ride by Kawasaki of Germany.

I really liked it a lot to, very fun & easy to ride. The downside for me though is the factory side cases, the odd shape & small size made them almost worthless IMO. Much like a new wing, you can barely fit a six pack in those side cases but otherwise a great bike.

Why make a bike that's made to travel/tour with such little storage capacity is beyond me.

If you haven't noticed storage capacity is a big factor for me since 90% of my riding is travel! šŸ˜
 
I think this is a great looking bike & could see myself riding one. The side cases don't appear to be oddly shaped & making them not very user friendly. I haven't located any info on capacity yet though, I would like to see at least 35 liters.



I really liked it a lot to, very fun & easy to ride. The downside for me though is the factory side cases, the odd shape & small size made them almost worthless IMO. Much like a new wing, you can barely fit a six pack in those side cases but otherwise a great bike.

Why make a bike that's made to travel/tour with such little storage capacity is beyond me.

If you haven't noticed storage capacity is a big factor for me since 90% of my riding is travel! šŸ˜
I didn't care for the storage either and it is very important to me! My ride was short and I don't know what mode I was in but compared to my flashed 14 it seemed kind of low on power.
 
"I think this is a great looking bike & could see myself riding one. The side cases don't appear to be oddly shaped & making them not very user friendly. I haven't located any info on capacity yet though, I would like to see at least 35 liters."

At first glance, I would agree it's a nice looking bike and I find it very intriguing.
After some more research,
Positives; lighter than c14, 36L bags,
Negatives; chain drive, no centerstand, windscreen not adjustable, $$$.

Conclusion; with 20k miles on my 08 c14, I have a long way to go before needing to upgrade...like 230k miles to go.(@Cliff)šŸ˜‚šŸ¤£šŸ¤£

Dale
 
The fact Kawasaki never upgraded the meters, cruise, displays, possibly even E-suspension on the C-14 was such a shame - would have sold many more.
 
"I think this is a great looking bike & could see myself riding one. The side cases don't appear to be oddly shaped & making them not very user friendly. I haven't located any info on capacity yet though, I would like to see at least 35 liters."

At first glance, I would agree it's a nice looking bike and I find it very intriguing.
After some more research,
Positives; lighter than c14, 36L bags,
Negatives; chain drive, no centerstand, windscreen not adjustable, $$$.

Conclusion; with 20k miles on my 08 c14, I have a long way to go before needing to upgrade...like 230k miles to go.(@Cliff)šŸ˜‚šŸ¤£šŸ¤£

Dale

No centerstand would be a dealbreaker for me .
 
Positives; lighter than c14, 36L bags,


Dale

36 Liters is good, pay attention Kawasaki!
Negatives; chain drive, no centerstand, windscreen not adjustable, $$$.

Dale

No centerstand would be a dealbreaker for me .

No centerstand would be a deal breaker for me to but the aftermarket folks will have that covered, so no worries there. Centerstands & shafts seem to be falling out of favor by the manufactures, I would imagine to save a few dollars & a few pounds.

I can deal with a chain!
 
Not sure why folks are so negative about chains. New X and O ring designs are durable and relatively maintaince free..and lubricating them is pretty trivial. More efficient and lighter than a shaft drive and allows for a gear ratio change. I'm not knocking my shaft-drive, but I am a fan of chains.
 
Any specs on the alternator output and ergos?

I had to make adjustments to both of my C14s to get them to fit me, and I can see this bike being smaller yet. In that case, gonna be a hard no for me, dawg.
 
Suzuki has factory demo rides in Central Florida during Biketoberfest....oddly in Lakeland rather than Daytona. I may go down and check it out.
 
Shaft drives are great for minimal maintenance. Iā€™ve owned several.
They do add allot of weight, even worse un-sprung weight that affects suspension. When they fail itā€™s not something you can fix in a parking lot, see my example below. Modern chain final drives go a long ways these days.
Not to turn this into a shaft/chain debateā€¦;)
BDFDEE9D-C286-47EE-846D-90C843D7FDF3.jpeg
 

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I've put ten gazillion miles on shaft-drive Hondas and Kawasakis since the very early 90s. In all that time I've had zero problems with the final drive units or the wheel/drive interface...the driveshaft and U joints. Caveat: Every time the rear wheel comes off one of my Connies or GL-series Hondas, so too does the final drive and drive shaft. It's all cleaned, inspected and lubed then reassembled with new seals, O rings, thrust washers, etc.

I can see a chain drive on something like a ZX14, R1 or other bike that's not going to be ridden in the rain. For an all weather sport tourer, there are better choices IMHO.
 
ā€œEvery time the rear wheel comes off one of my Connies or GL-series Hondas, so too does the final drive and drive shaft. It's all cleaned, inspected and lubed then reassembled with new seals, O rings, thrust washers, etc.ā€

No offense but that sounds like way work than an occasional chain cleaning and periodic lube spraying.
 
ā€œEvery time the rear wheel comes off one of my Connies or GL-series Hondas, so too does the final drive and drive shaft. It's all cleaned, inspected and lubed then reassembled with new seals, O rings, thrust washers, etc.ā€

No offense but that sounds like way work than an occasional chain cleaning and periodic lube spraying.

Yeah, I could have bought a few bikes with all the pants I have ruined with chain lube and other filth being tossed about by chains and sprockets. In the 80's jeans were REALLY expensive. :ROFLMAO: None of my shaft drives have ever done that, and they are virtually maintenance free unless you like replacing seals and such. Not saying you're wrong, just saying its your thing.

Oh, and I forgot about the gear ruined by the broken chains at high speeds that locked up the rear wheel. To be fair, only one was a street legal bike, and the stains that time were IN single piece racing leathers, and no stain was caused directly by the chain, just indirectly. šŸ˜® :poop: Never had a shaft or final drive fail and lock up the rear wheel, but I'm sure anything is possible.
 
I now see several U-Tube videos of riding reviews, mostly in Britain, and everybody seems to really like this Suzuki.
And BTW, the Brits will be paying some 15% more than we will be here.
 
Nice as it may be, I'd never buy something that costs fairly close to what a new Connie can be had for, yet lacks shaft drive, on-the-fly windshield adjustment, a center stand, and heated grips (I think). Gotta have at least those four attributes to be a true sport-tourer IMO.

Yeah, I'm biased. But a new Connie is still a much better value than the various liter-sized Japanese sport-tourer pretenders.
 
Nice as it may be, I'd never buy something that costs fairly close to what a new Connie can be had for, yet lacks shaft drive, on-the-fly windshield adjustment, a center stand, and heated grips (I think). Gotta have at least those four attributes to be a true sport-tourer IMO.

Yeah, I'm biased. But a new Connie is still a much better value than the various liter-sized Japanese sport-tourer pretenders.

The Suzuki is significantly lighter. Gotta pay for that somewhere. If your riding mix has a lot of tight back roads and meandering about, the lack of bulk may be a critical factor.
 
Good news. And I had one of those 2005 GSXR1000 sport bikes and really liked that motor.
I've read several articles exulting the Suzuki K-5 motor as one of the best inline 4's ever manufactured.
Racers love them for durability and power potential.
I am rather biased with my 1250 Bandit torque factory. ;)
 
Got to demo one and this is what I noticed.
1. Fit and finish was not good, overspray and all ready seeing rust spots on a demo bike with 5,500 miles was concerning.
2. I have an unmodified 2014 Ninja 1000. It rides better and handles better from what I could attest on a 15 mile loop.
3. Ninja was just plain smoother all around. From engine to shifting to feeling in general. It's just a much better bike, period.
4. Suzuki might be a bit faster in a straight line drag but that's not what I want in a sport touring bike.
5. My Ninja is approaching 8 years old. If Kawasaki had not improved the 2022 Ninja and I was looking to buy and the Suzuki was the only choice I would keep my 2014. With the upgrades Kawasaki has made I would buy the Ninja over the Suzuki.
6. The Versys while offering active suspension vs the new Ninja would be on my radar accept for the fact that it is too tall for me and doesn't put enough Sport into the Sport touring genre for my riding taste.
 
My 2014 Versys 650 did not come with a center stand but one was available through the after market. Perhaps the same is available for this Zuk.
Iā€™ve found that itā€™s not really needed. Iā€™ve got a spool stand in the shop for maintenance
 
Lost my center stand 10 years ago... dead weight

The ZX 14 headers did not fit with center stand;)
 
I've heard some say that , blows my mind . . I could not do without it on my C10 .
The ZX 14 headers on my bike do fit with my center stand. šŸ˜œ
I just had to extend the foot outwards to clear the left pipe.
I was even able to raise the CC higher {for better ground/lean clearance} than with the OEM exhaust.
 
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Dead weight, I read about doing what you did but I really don't want It:devilish:

The only time I miss it is changing rear gear oil, I have someone hold the bike up right to fill back up.

The dealer lifts the whole bike in the air with proper jack placement under engine, might not work with center stand

Dead weight I say:alien:
 
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