Why Suzuki Is The Smartest Motorcycle Brand For Budget Buyers
Over the years, Suzuki has built a reputation for offering buyers more bang for their buck. Whatever motorcycle another manufacturer will offer, Suzuki will find a way to undercut that manufacturer, in some cases by thousands of dollars. One look at the current lineup, and it is pretty easy to see how this is achieved. This is prevalent across segments, too. Right from cheap mid-capacity machines to liter-class inline-four sport-tourers, the offerings from the Japanese brand are almost always the most VFM.
Reuse, Repurpose, And Recycle Has Been Suzuki’s Approach
Back in the late 90s and early 00s, Suzuki came out with one hit after another. The Hayabusa was launched in 1999, and it was immediately crowned the fastest production motorcycle. In the same year, the SV650 was launched, and although it may not have made any headlines at the time of its launch, its fanbase is just as big. Not long after, the 2005 (or K5) GSX-R1000 (pictured) came out to critical acclaim.
The Hayabusa is now into its third generation, and while it has seen regular updates and is now a thoroughly modern motorcycle, its engine shares the same basic architecture as the original. The same can be said for the SV650/V-Strom 650, which has used more or less the same V-twin since inception, and the K5 GSX-R engine was reworked for the current GSX-S1000 series.
The V-Strom 1050 uses a recycled superbike engine from the 90s, and the DR650 dual-sport hasn’t been updated since 1996. This strategy of holding onto old powertrains (and in the case of the DR, entire motorcycles) saves a lot of money in terms of research and development, and these savings are passed onto the consumer, with a selection of motorcycles that offer impressive value.
The Sport Touring Motorcycle That Gets Everything Just Right Is The Suzuki GSX-S1000GT
The GSX-S1000GT+ is like the Goldilocks of motorcycles – not too wild, not too tame, just right for every ride.
Suzuki Offers Reliable Performance On A Budget
Today, we have a wide selection of budget-friendly motorcycles to choose from. Surprisingly, Suzuki doesn’t actually have many bikes to choose from at this end of the market. What the Japanese brand does have is a selection of high-quality motorcycles that offer incredible value. If you are a new rider looking for your first bike, you might be better off looking elsewhere, but if you are an experienced rider shopping on a budget, then you are in the right place.
The Underdog Mentality
Up until around the mid-00s, Suzuki was very much a “top dog” in the motorcycle industry. But after the recession, when the sports bike market cooled, things changed rather dramatically. It wasn’t as if the brand had suddenly run out of money, but there was certainly a shift in strategy. Development almost came to a standstill with most new models getting “bold new colors” for several years before any meaningful updates were rolled out.
With so little development, Suzuki fell behind the other Japanese manufacturers and over time evolved into the “plucky underdog” we know (and love) today. While many of the bikes are a little outdated, these bikes all offer more value than any of their direct rivals, thanks to proven reliability and performance that belies their price tag.
The Beating Heart Of A Superbike Legend Lives On
For anyone looking for a naked bike or sport tourer on a budget, it is desperately hard to look past the old K5 GSX-R1000-based bikes. The powertrain has been reworked to deliver superior midrange performance, which has also had the side effect of making it more reliable. While down on power compared to the old superbike, the GSX-S1000 and GSX-S1000GT+ still make around 150 horsepower, which is more power than you can ever actually use out on the street.
Both bikes also feature more comfort-oriented ergonomics, but also still feature a sporty twin-spar aluminum chassis. Neither of these bikes is the cheapest in their respective classes, but they offer more value than any of their rivals. This is the case for virtually every Suzuki in the lineup, making use of an older powertrain. Unfortunately, this only serves to exacerbate the issue facing the brand right now.
The New Suzuki Twins Don’t Offer The Same Value
When the 800cc parallel-twin came out a few years ago, it was the first all-new Suzuki platform to come out in over two decades. It was met with something of a lukewarm response, not because it was poor in any way, but mostly because of how the bikes were priced. The V-Strom 800DE is an exceptional middleweight ADV. But as soon as everyone saw that it was actually more expensive (and heavier) than the Yamaha Tenere 700, many potential customers were put off.
This is also the case with both the naked bike and the sport bike versions. All the bikes are good, and compare favorably to their direct rivals in terms of performance, but because they are more expensive, customers will naturally think twice. Suzuki has built a reputation for being the brand that offers more value.
Customers might be willing to pay a little more for one of the liter-class bikes, but paying more for a bike that offers more or less the same level of performance as the competition is a little harder to justify. It becomes even harder to justify when you look at one of the old V-twin models still on sale. Both the V-Strom 650 and SV650 offer similar performance figures and proven V-twins for a fair bit less. Naturally, neither model offers the same level of specification as the new twins, but there is no denying that there is some level of cannibalization.
This is the price that you have to pay when you have been “out of the game” for so long. At one point, we thought Suzuki had completely dissolved the research and development team, so we are glad to see that the brand hasn’t completely given up on new motorcycles. We have no doubt that these bikes will improve, and knowing Suzuki, the price won’t go all that much. But, for now, that is not where the real value lies. The fact that Suzuki is all set to release the SV-7GX (pictured), a new 650-based tourer, goes to show how much faith the brand still has in these older powertrains. They just offer that much more value.
Source: Suzuki Cycles
Related posts
Latest Post
No Comments