Turning; ergos, easy to ride,
punchy engine
Lacks top end power; heavy;
no electric start
a few degrees, but it’s there. I noticed it most in
deep, soft sand where it can be inclined to tuck if
you start to get lazy, but on open fast hard pack it
actually seems good. It can shake its head a little,
but nothing too concerning for a guy who raced
CRs in the 80s... I find it’s best to just relax and
let it shake rather than fight it – within reason.
The suspension is KYB at both ends with PSF2
air forks at the front and they work well, with an
occasional harshness on hard-packed chop being
their only drawback. The shock is very plush,
feeling a little softer than the forks overall but still
delivering solid performance. With my six-feet-
46 KIWI RIDER
plus oversized frame on board it was inclined to
bottom in sandy whoops, but small to average-
sized riders should have no such worries, and I’m
sure most riders will be confident with the secure
feel of the suspension action at both ends.
As mentioned earlier, I rate the Suzuki’s
ergonomics package. Looking at the specs, it’s a
heavy bike for the class, but it doesn’t really feel
it when tossing it onto the stand, and once under
way the light feeling is still apparent. Bikes with
good ergos and a sweet turning chassis tend to
feel lighter than they are because everything just
inherently works well as a whole.