End of the line for the GS??

[cd]

with lifan and hyosung knockin on the door of the big boys throwing dot legal beginner bikes that cost 30-50% as much as current beginner bikes with more advanced supspensions, brakes, and weighing less, the big boys are adjusting accordingly. kawasaki is brewing up a new 250 by all accounts, honda is even testing the waters in canadia with its cbr125, i would bet suzuki is going to update the gs. or offer something different that takes its place thats more modern. either way, the gs had a killer run, and they will always be able to be had.

[Affschnozel]

There is no updating GS ,why should there be?  In the US you choose the bike to begin with , you could begin on a busa if you wanted to ,and Suzuki

has an "updated GS"  for US market already ,the SV650 .

In EU you have categories 125cc up to 14bhp then bikes up to 33bhp and the last unlimited ,so GS falls in between ,it's more than 33bhp so needs restriction ,

those with unlimited license won't ride GS .

I see more sense for the big four to cater to these above mentioned categories in EU and abandon GS in US , than updating a bike that nowadays has no niche

If Suzuki comes up with new updated,fuel injected, liquid cooled 500cc twin , I'll eat this thread without salt ,OK ?

[simon79]

^^^^^
...hey!!!!
I'm unrestricted but I ride a GS
(and I'm satisfied with it )
Kidding apart,
I agree with Suzuki not updating the GS line, after all the 500 cc class market is getting smaller and smaller, and this bike is appreciated for what it is, a solid vehicle, cheap to buy, maintain and insure, perfect for n00bs () but also suitable for older/more advanced/returning riders, structurally simple, old-fashioned and so on. I can see little or no sense in making major updates to the GS 500.
What is sure, is that if Suzuki will see no profitability in making/selling this model, due to emission regulations, market demand or anything else, it will be discontinued, plain and simple. According to different taste and market demand, one of the two versions have been discontinued in several markets (US doesn't get the naked anymore, we don't get the faired one from this year, and so on).
IMO, none of the current Suzuki models can be seen as the *real* GS successor, maybe the next best thing is the SV 650 (that I'd LOVE to test ride ), but apart from the number of cylinders, I cannot see much in common.
Just my 0.02 €.