Suzuki GSX-S1000 Evo is Delicious Forbidden Fruit

The Suzuki GSX-S1000 Evo was recently revealed as a new special edition of Suzuki’s flagship naked bike. But, for those of us in the UK, there’s a problem.

It’s not a new one, nor one specific to Suzuki, and it’s geography. The bike is only available in Switzerland, where it retails for 16,695 Swiss Francs, or just over £14,000, or around the equivalent of £2,000 more than the standard GSX-1000 retails for here in the UK (£11,799).

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The Evo version comes with the same 999cc inline-four-cylinder motor that makes the regular GSX-S1000 one of the best 1,000cc naked bikes around, producing 150bhp and 78lb ft. Additionally, it features the same aluminium frame, upside-down front fork, and 17-inch wheels as the standard bike.

However, it also comes with add-ons such as an SC Project exhaust, a redesigned tail unit, a front, screen, and a graphic design available in multiple colour options. Our favourites are probably the black and red, and black, blue and red, choices, mostly because they give Yoshimura SERT EWC vibes. The black and gold option is nice, too, with the combination giving a Katana feel, and the black and blue colour is offset nicely by fluorescent yellow highlights and wheel rims.

It must be said that it’s fairly odd for such a racey design to come from Switzerland, which banned motor racing completely in 1955 following the Le Mans disaster of that year.

The ban didn’t stop Dominique Aegerter winning two Grands Prix and two World Supersport titles, nor Tom Luthi claiming the 2005 125cc World Championship and a total of 17 Grands Prix in his career.

Additionally, the Swiss Council of States, the upper house of its Federal Assembly, recently voted to lift the ban on motorsports in Switzerland, so perhaps Suzuki’s new special edition is well-timed.