Suzuki Gixxer SF Review (Rear Disc Version)

Think of a track focused low capacity bike in India, the first bike that comes to  mind is the Yamaha’s successful Yamaha YZF R-15. Styling on this bike is borrowed from its elder brother the Yamaha YZF R-1. R-15 has always been a go-to motorcycle for a racing enthusiast in India but here Suzuki has some competition to offer to the Yamaha R-15 with the Suzuki Gixxer SF. It has been a while since Suzuki has got in the naked Gixxer and its faired sibling, Gixxer SF to India. Suzuki has made a few improvements on the Gixxer SF by adding rear disc brakes and developing FI unit for the motorcycle. We have ridden the rear disc brake version and here is how the bike behaves:

Design and features

The design on the SF is straight forward, you know its a track bike the moment you look at it. It is a sportier looking motorcycle and comes with sport fairing which improves the aerodynamics of the bike. We got to ride the special Moto GP edition SF and people on the road just couldn’t stop looking at it. The Moto GP edition stickers and those fluorescent yellow rim tapes did blend in perfectly. The fairing on the Gixxer was designed only for the SF and if you’re thinking of getting one for the naked Gixxer too then that’s not possible. The double barrel exhaust with the neatly finished aluminium  cover gives it a real good appearance.

Console on the SF is all digital which houses a speedometer, tachometer, gear position indicator, clock, odometer, fuel gauge and a trip meter. The console is simple, elegant and looks like a modern day video gamer. It gets a  240mm rear disc brake  as well.

Engine and performance

Gixxer SF comes with an air cooled, single cylinder, 154.9 CC engine which gives 14.6 bhp of power @8000 rpm and 14 Nm of torque @6000 rpm.

The engine feels refined and the power delivery is linear. The SF seems to feel a bit under-powered compared to the naked Gixxer and this may be because of the fairing adding extra weight to the motorcycle. But the 0-100 figures are similar to that on the Gixxer. The SF comes with a 5 speed gearbox and the bike doesn’t seem to be more track focused. Suzuki focuses on a motorbike which can ride you around in the city as well as take it to the track when you feel like. SF gets a 5 speed transmission and we felt that a 6th gear would have been handy. The SF doesn’t excite you much as you would expect it to but sure does a good job when you’re riding it around.

Ride and handling

Gixxer SF doesn’t get clip-on handle bars as the track focused, race specs bikes get in this segment. It borrows the handle bar from the naked Gixxer. This is because Suzuki has developed a bike which is to be used for both city riding and to help you clock those fast laps on a racetrack. The seating position is comfortable and have to duck down a fair bit if you want to have a track bike feel while riding it. Despite looking like a track focused bike, the SF is a pretty good tourer. It doesn’t strain you much while doing a 100-200 km ride.

Gixxer SF comes with MRF 100/80 R17 front and 140/60 R17 rear tyres. The tyres offer good grip on the streets but we felt the tyres need to be upgraded if it were taken around a race track. The suspension is a telescopic unit in the front and has a 7 way adjustable monoshock setup in the rear. Since the bike was bouillon to ride around in the city and also for the track, the suspension setup gave us a mixed response.

The Gixxer SF comes with a 240mm rear disc brake and its a new addition to the already existing Gixxer SF. The addition seems to pay off as its got a good a bite to it which doesn’t let you struggle much to get the bike to a stand still. Front is a 266mm disc brake.

Rider and Pillion comfort

The comfort on the SF is not compromised at all. Since the handle bar is borrowed from the naked sibling the riding comfort is not bad. It lacks on rear set footpegs but since its a daily commuter and not a completely track focused bike, we wouldn’t complain about that. The turning radius on this bike is impressive and you wouldn’t have to struggle to take quick U turns in the city .

If the tail end of the bike was raised by a few inches, pillion comfort wouldn’t be a problem. Rear footpegs are highset and tall pillion riders will face problems if sat for a long time.

Verdict

Suzuki has brought us a bike which looks its part with the Moto GP stickers and fluorescent wheel rim tapes. It isn’t a completely track focused bike but that wasn’t Suzuki’s intention anyway. They wanted to make a bike which is suitable for the Indian market which people would love it for the way it looks and also ride around in the city without breaking their backs. Suzuki has done a good job by getting the commuter-track bike concept to India and we can already see all the good response its getting. Anyone who wants to look cool riding a track bike on the road and also plans on taking it to the track someday then the Gixxer SF is the bike for you.

The Gixxer SF has a few variants to choose from, the Gixxer SF front disc, rear drum comes at 88,246(ex-showroom Bangalore), Gixxer SF disc at 90,358 (ex-showroom Bangalore), the FI version comes at 96,624 (ex showroom Bangalore).

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