The large number of touring motorcycles can pose a problem if you go for a tour after arriving in a city. Or simply if you like to use your touring motorcycle for more than just touring. You may need a few people to help you back it up, and there are very good reasons not to head out wholesale on the highway. Let’s not even talk about what happens when you approach a crooked patch of asphalt. All you need to negate all that is to have a touring bike that feels smaller than it is, ideally built on a sporty platform. Lucky for you, a Suzuki GSX-S does just that.
A compact touring bike will do everything well
Imagine you have a touring motorcycle that is big enough to seat two people comfortably, yet small enough to ride without assistance. One that will move from side to side without resistance, and be easy on fuel, tires and brakes. This will truly be a unicorn motorcycle that can be used no matter where you ride it. You need to look at a manufacturer that makes motorcycles for markets that require smaller motorcycles as well as motorcycles for markets that have roads as big as theirs. Of course, there are the usual suspects, but the answer comes from a somewhat surprising direction.
Suzuki knows a thing or two about compact heavyweights
Suzuki may be more famous as a compact car maker, but it also knows a thing or two about making motorcycles that feel compact. Take its most popular motorcycle, Hayabusa. It may be nicknamed ‘Bus’, but the fact is that it is a highly maneuverable motorcycle due to its size and weight. This is the same for the rest of Suzuki’s motorcycle range, including its touring motorcycles, so it’s little surprise that this is where we’re going to find a touring motorcycle that feels smaller than it actually is.
The Suzuki GSX-S1000GT is a touring motorcycle that looks smaller than it actually is
Given that we feel our touring motorcycles should be large and accommodate more than two pieces of luggage with utmost comfort, it comes as a breath of fresh air that Suzuki’s GSX-S1000GT manages to do so with a fairly compact footprint. This is because it is based on a litre-class sport bike, so it is not only compact but also gives a thrill-a-minute thrill on the right road. In short, it feels like a superbike without all the stress, thanks to an inline-four engine engineered to be compact. Whether you plan to use it for commuting or for longer tours, it’s a manageable sized bike that shrinks around the rider without becoming uncomfortable when the occasion demands it.
One of the best things about the GSX-S1000GT is its price
The advantage of using an older platform is in cost, and this is reflected in the price of this Suzuki. The base price is $14,399, which includes a TFT screen, security electronics, and the hard luggage seen in these photos. There really aren’t any comparable motorcycles when it comes to this style and pricing of sport tourer, making it one of the best bikes under $15k.
Powerful I4 engine loves revving
The GSX-S1000GT uses a world-renowned sport bike engine designed to be more suitable for touring and daily use. It is an inline-four engine with liquid cooling and DOHC heads, with a high-ish 12.2:1 compression ratio and a displacement of 999 cc. It produces 150 horsepower at 11,000 rpm and 79.6 pound-feet of torque at 9,250 rpm, giving it an ideal balance between power and fuel economy. That’s a fairly high horsepower figure for that kind of displacement, and yes, you have to rev it to get it going, but anything beyond the midrange gets you up to speed. The six-speed manual gearbox has a standard two-way quickshifter, an assist and slipper clutch and a final chain drive.
Aluminum chassis contributes to compact feel
The sports bike-derived engine is perfectly matched to the sports bike-derived chassis, giving it speed, stability and everyday comfort. Just as the engine is taken from the old GSX-R, the chassis is also taken from the same family. It has an aluminum twin-spar frame with the swingarm made of the same material. Suzuki has given it a strong bolt-on subframe to meet the rigors of traveling with a rear seat and rigid luggage.
Suspension consists of inverted forks at the front and a single shock at the rear. It’s fully adjustable at both ends, and 4.7 inches of travel is available at the front and 5.1 inches at the rear. Brakes consist of twin 310 mm front discs with Brembo monobloc radial four-piston fixed calipers. At the rear there is a 240 mm brake disc with a Nissin single-piston caliper. It is rounded off with 17-inch alloy rims shod with tubeless radial tyres.
Scale Tips Under 500 Pounds
It is an 84.3 inches long and 32.5 inches wide tourer motorcycle with a wheelbase of 57.5 inches. Ground clearance is 5.5 inches, par for the course, while the seat is 31.9 inches above the ground. At the same time, Suzuki has given it a very large five-gallon fuel tank, which gives it a great balance for a sport-tourer. Wet weight is reported at 498 pounds, which is normal for the segment. However, it is very well centralized, which helps with the compact feel.
The feature set has everything you need, and nothing you don’t
The GSX-S1000GT doesn’t have the full premium set of features available on more expensive tourers, but it’s the best touring bike you can buy in 2026 because you won’t notice the lack of features when you ride it. It starts with a large 6.5-inch TFT display with Bluetooth and navigation as standard. The price also includes colour-matched saddlebags and a USB charging socket.
As far as electronics are concerned, it has a by-wire throttle but no six-axis IMU. However, it does have five-level traction control and an ‘Off’ setting, ABS and three ride modes. Cruise control is another important Touring feature that is standard. It can be started in forward and second gear at speeds up to 19 mph.
The only real competition comes from Team Green
The traditional sport touring segment is dying out today as crossovers dominate, so there are only a few very good models available. Some of them are the BMW R 1300 RS which has a base price of $17,095 and the KTM 1290 Super Duke GT which has a base price of $20,499. The KTM in particular is one of the best touring motorcycles out there today and looks quite compact, but its price keeps it out of the conversation.
Instead, we have to look at the Kawasaki Ninja 1100SX as a direct competitor to the GSX-S1000GT. The base Ninja 1100 costs $400.00 less than the Suzuki, and has a six-axis IMU and a four-way adjustable windscreen. This makes it the best value for money Kawasaki touring motorcycle today. You can also choose to pay a little more and get the SE version for $15,799. It includes an Ohlins S46 rear shock, Brembo front brake calipers and discs, stainless steel braided front brake lines and heated grips as standard features. It weighs slightly more than the Suzuki, but produces much less power, as Kawasaki chose to focus on torque with this motorcycle.
Source: Suzuki Cycles
