More for Less: $8K Four Vs. $8.2K Triple Vs. $8.7K Twin + Video

“Chock full of bland mediocrity” was the original subhead for my second ride review of the 2015 Suzuki GSX-S750. It was a subhead EiC, Kevin Duke, rightly removed. I was a little harsh on the new Gixxus, and now in a group of its peers, the naked bike from Suzuki has proven itself to be quite the contender. Out of the three testers involved in this shootout, John “run-on sentence” Burns and Troy “I’ve ridden the new R1 more than you” Siahaan, it is I who is championing the GSX-S.

On my ScoreCard the Aprilia Shiver came in third behind the FZ and Gixxus by less than two points. Burns and Siahaan didn’t see things the same way. In fact, none of us managed to agree. When the results were tallied, Siahaan ranked the Suzuki third, while Burns slotted the Yamaha into last place. But once we averaged the scores and included the Objective scores for Price, Weight, etc., a winner did emerge. It’s a little surprising, and here’s why.

For 2015, the FZ-09 is even more of a hoot because Yamaha managed to fix the bike’s EFI/Ride Mode issues (see 2015 Yamaha FZ-09: New And Improved Fuel Injection!). What Yamaha failed to address, however, is the FZ’s marshmallowy suspension. In stark contrast are two nicely suspended bikes in the GSX-S and Shiver.

“The Yamaha’s chassis and suspension is probably the least suited for aggressive twisty roads,” says Siahaan. “It doesn’t like being man-handled from corner to corner. The suspension will protest.”

Trizzle continues, “Even though Tom and Burns loved the Suzuki’s chassis, I never found myself getting quite as comfortable with it. I didn’t trust the front and didn’t have much feel from it, either.”

“The FZ’s suspension is not nearly as nice as Suzuki’s, whose ride I also preferred on the freeway,” says Burns.

Hot into a corner then stabbing the brakes results in the FZ’s front suspension bottoming out, disrupting what should be a smooth cornering process. Stiffer fork springs and/or heavier weight fork oil would go a long way in fixing the FZ’s suspension woes for not much money.

In the ScoreCard Suspension category, the Suzuki bested the Shiver 88.3% to 87.5% with the FZ trailing far behind with a 73.3%. The Yamaha made up ground in the Handling category with an 80%, but it was still trailing the 87.5% and 86.7% of the Shiver and Suzuki, respectively.

In the heavily weighted Engine category, the FZ’s three-cylinder absolutely dominated. Combined with the bike’s light weight (nearly 50 to 75 pounds lighter than the other two), the 106 rear-wheel horsepower wants to loft the front end out of first- and second-gear corners with no more provocation than simply twisting the throttle. This can’t be said about the other two bikes.

“It’s impossible not to love that Triple!” enthuses Siahaan. “Now that its EFI tuning issues from 2014 have been sorted, it’s an absolute blast to ride. I’m not very good at wheelies, but the FZ-09 just begs you to air out the front wheel every chance you get. It’s definitely top choice if hooliganism is your goal.”

If urban commuting minus the hooliganism is your cup o’ tea, the Aprilia Shiver or Gixxus may be more suitable – not that they can’t be hooligans, they just demand a little more coaxing than does the FZ. Burns makes a case for the Shiver. “Dang, I liked the Shiver more than I thought I would, in spite of the fact it doesn’t have either the torque of the Triple or the top end of the Suzuki,” he says.

But Siahaan raises an excellent point: “Oldest and most expensive bike here? How does that work?” he asks. The price of the Shiver is problematic, especially considering Aprilia’s exotic RSV4 superbike retails for less than some comparable Japanese superbikes. First introduced in 2007, Aprilia’s had seven years to repay development costs, and if the Shiver was $700 less and 75 pounds lighter, our ScoreCard results would be markedly different.

In the braking department, the GSX-S first exhibited impressively weak front brakes, but as the pads bedded in, front stopping power from the Suzuki went from a three-finger proposition to two fingers. Still, the Gixxus brakes were the only ones here that were not radially mounted, and they never matched the stopping power of the FZ or Shiver.

“Them GSX-S twin-piston brakes totally look out of place on such a nice moto, but they seem to work fine on the street, where you don’t use them so hard as you would if you took it to a trackday huh? We must’ve bedded in the pads,” says Burns.

The FZ and it’s nearly adventure-bike seating position won over Troy and I, with Burns dissenting, choosing the Suzuki instead. “The FZ felt a little buzzy on the freeway at 80-90 also, seat not so comfy as GSX-S and not quite so aero at those speeds either. Overall, it makes me appreciate the FJ-09 even more,” says Burns.

“The FZ has a broad seat, with what feels to me like the lowest set footpegs of the three,” says Siahaan. “Makes for a very comfortable cruising position. Seat is a tad on the firm side, though.”

In the end it was the FZ that came out on top but only by the skin of its under-suspended teeth. It’s saving grace being its weight-to-power ratio – objective scores in the ScoreCard that gave it a minimal advantage over the other two. Subjectively, I had the FZ tied with the Gixxus, while Burns scored the Suzuki the highest. Troy did give his subjective win to the FZ but only by a quarter point over the Shiver.

“The FZ looks like it was beaten with the ugly stick when parked next to the Shiver, and the looks of the thing might be more important to me for this type of bike than the last few percentage points of performance,” says Burns. “All three surprisingly great bikes, tho you can tell where they saved money on each of them. Tough call. Good luck!”