Suzuki Motorcycle India Private Limited has been in the country for a while now, and though it may have a wide range of two-wheelers spread across various segments – from 125cc scooters to 1, 000+cc street-scorchers and power cruisers, its motorcycles haven’t really been the standard choice for Indian consumers. At least not in the way the company would want them to be. But there’s a new Suzuki in town now, and it promises to ruffle some feathers in the premium 150cc motorcycle segment. Let’s see if the new Gixxer can do that, shall we?
The Gixxer is a very neat-looking motorcycle, with a hint of sportiness to it. The sweptback headlamp, with that tiny fairing that sits atop it, looks attractive and full of intent. It houses a compact, all-digital instrument cluster that’s filled to the brim with information – like a speedometer, odometer, two trip meters, in-gear indicator and fuel level meter – much like the bigger GSX-R1000. When you turn on the ignition, the Gixxer makes its sporty intentions known with a ‘go ready’ message on the orange-lit display.
The tank is heavily sculpted, and leaves more than enough room for your hands and knees when taking turns, while the new 155cc engine sits pretty, mounted on the single downtube frame. Those Y-shaped 3-spoke alloys lend the bike a grown-up sportsbike look. The single-piece seat gives the rider and pillion ample room to adjust themselves for a comfortable long-distance ride. However, the seat cushion is a bit stiff. The pillion rider sits higher, too, which provides him/her a good view of what is to come down the road. The shapely rear section of the motorcycle looks streamlined, with a nice flow from the tank, all the way past the flashy chrome dual exhausts(globally a first for Suzuki in the sub-250cc motorcycle category), back to the swanky LED tail-lamp unit.
Since the coming of time, the large-hearted Suzuki GSX-Rs(or ‘Gixxers’) were always known for their raw power delivery, and now, the recently-launched 155cc Gixxer appears to hold fort on that front. At the heart of this matter is Suzuki’s all-new 155cc motor – that incorporates the company’s new-found Suzuki Eco Performance(SEP) tech – which is mated to a five-speed gearbox. With 14.3bhp and 14Nm on tap, the Suzuki has the highest power and torque figures as far as the higher end of the 150cc motorcycling spectrum in India is concerned. The new engine features all sorts of new techno-wizardry to reduce mechanical loss, and maximise combustion, like an inverted triangle piston skirt, among other MotoGP-inspired bits. The result, is that the motor is extremely smooth in its method of power delivery. Although Suzuki has excluded a fuel-injection system and left it to a carburettor to handle the mixing, the Gixxer boasts a claimed efficiency figure of 63.5kpl in real-world conditions.