Suzuki Goose 350
SUZUKI GOOSE 350
CW RIDING IMPRESSION
SUZUKI'S DR350 SINGLE GETS ELECTRIC START AND A SPORTBIKE CHASSIS
ALAN CATHCART
IS THE MOTORCYCLE WORLD READY FOR ANOTHER JAPANESE single-cylinder streetbike? Suzuki apparently thinks so, as evidenced by the curiously named Goose 350, introduced earlier this year at the Tokyo Motor Show. Recent history in this area is not promising. Yamaha’s 1986 SRX600 was interesting, but its confused specification-modern perimeter-style frame, but twin shocks and lack of an electric starter-led to marketplace ambivalence. The SRX seemed to be trying to look forward and back at the same time. Honda’s 1989 GB500 retro-sled, suffering from no such ambivalence, was an outright pastiche of yesteryear’s Britbikes. Not surprisingly, it sold only to nostalgia freaks with a rosy-hued view of days gone by. Kawasaki hasn’t even bothered with a street Single, though in the KLR650 dual-purpose bike it has a suitable engine.
Japanese street Singles may have failed to find an audience, but this hasn’t deterred exploitation by European specialists. Firms like Scgale, Egli, Gallina, Horex and Harris have found a ready market for expensive, low-volume street Singles of modern design, incorporating the latest in suspension, brake and other component technology. Especially impressive is the Gilera Saturno-developed, ironically, by the Italian factory for the giant Japanese trading house C.Itoh & Co. More than 3000 examples of this relatively high-priced, sensationally styled, single-cylinder streetbike have been sold over a three-year period. The Saturno, with the accent on handling rather than on power, and built to a modern rather than retro formula, showed that a small but significant market exists for a contemporary street Single.
Suzuki got the message. The Goose 350 is a cobby-looking street rod with single-shock rear end, upside-down fork, cast wheels shod with fat radiais, and lean, mean styling with a strong dose of personality. The Goose, for the time being, at least, is aimed exclusively at the Japanese market.
Wondering about the 350’s idiosyncratic name? A look at the sales brochure explains all: The opening photo depicts a Goose at rest on the Isle of Man TT course at the Gooseneck comer. Be thankful Suzuki’s moniker mavens didn’t take a liking to the Conk-y-voddy straight or the Ballough Bridge jump.
Suzuki may have opted to give the Goose a touch of instant heritage in this slightly dubious fashion, but to be honest, it doesn’t really need the hype. A private visit to Suzuki’s Ryuyu test track to ride one of the first bikes off the Goose production line revealed a motorcycle with lots of character, one that represents the way street Single development is hopefully directed: forward. You can’t blame Suzuki for wanting to evoke a bit of nostalgic association, but the Goose is a bike for the post-TT generation.
Suzuki’s decision to develop the Goose stems from a rational desire to maximize utilization of its excellent air/oil-cooled single-cylinder DR trail-bike engines, and the 350 Goose motor is indeed closely based on the DR350 power unit. This “because it’s there” development principle lowers costs and improves spare-parts availability. Actually, the 350 Goose motor-there’s a 250cc budget version, as well-looks quite a bit different from the DR350 lump it’s derived from, with extra finning for styling reasons, and a handsome, meaty-looking “sump” that turns out to be a separate oil tank mounted under the engine. The 79.0 x 7l.2mm engine, with its gear-driven counterbalancer, is, in fact, a dry-sump design. Main differences from the DR version are a 40mm Mikuni carb instead of the trail bike’s 33mm unit; a higher bottom gear on the six-speed gearbox (which has otherwise the same ratios); 35 percent greater crankshaft mass in terms of inertia to improve torque; a different piston with more squish but the same 9.5:1 compression ratio; slightly different cylinder-head porting with narrowed inlet ports to increase gas pressure; and altered cam timing (though valve sizes are unchanged) to give more overlap, with 1mm extra lift on the inlets only-exhaust lift is the same. This, with a freer-flowing and kinkily curved exhaust pipe, raises output from 27 bhp at 7600 rpm in trail form, to 33 bhp at 8000 rpm on the Goose. Not exactly earth-shattering, but as any Single-minded enthusiast will tell you, the enjoyment you get from riding this kind of bike is not a function of how fast or powerful it is.
Just as well, really, because in most contests of straightline speed, the Goose is going to get cooked. Admittedly, a fast test track is not the ideal place to sample a 350cc Single, but rowing the Suzuki’s six-speed gearbox for all it was worth on Ryuyu’s long uphill straight only amplified the fact that the Goose is underpowered for this kind of use. The engine is quite willing, able to rev cleanly to more than 9000 rpm (redline is 10 grand), and the balance shaft damps out most of the vibes, leaving just enough to let you know you’re riding a four-stroke Single, not a Twin or a Four. And it plonks along quite happily through the twisty stuff, with excellent throttle response-carburetion is outstanding. But especially with a rider of my, er, mature weight aboard, the Goose feels rather gutless.
There’s a reason for this, says project leader Kunisada Itoh: “Our policy with the Goose is to offer a certain basic performance which is enough to give a good feeling to the rider, but is not the maximum that can be delivered by this engine. We wanted to make it possible for owners to tune the engine to get more performance, if they wish.”
I then got a chance to take a hopped-up Goose for a few laps. Noisy laps they were, too, thanks to a raucous-sounding titanium exhaust with carbon-fiber silencer. But equipped with 10:1 compression, stronger valve springs and retainers sourced from the GSX-R750 performance kit and a little head work, the Mountain Motor version of the Goose yields 40 bhp at 10,000 rpm and has performance to match. It feels bigger than a 350, and though you need to stir the gearbox even more enthusiastically than on the stock bike, it’s much more responsive, with a noticeable kick in the powerband around 7000 rpm, though the motor is still flexible and responsive lower down. If Suzuki can find a way of silencing this bike to street-legal level without sacrificing a lot of the extra performance, then it would have a very acceptable power kit.
I can’t help thinking, though, that the easiest way to achieve proper levels of performance is with a Goosed-up version of the DR650 dual-purpose motor-not the 780cc DR Big motor, which would be overkill for a bike like this. If Suzuki does opt to export the Goose concept, it should be with the 650 engine, which would make the bike a strong contender for Fun Bike of the Year almost anywhere you could point it at a twisty road, or a gap in traffic.
There’s no doubt whatsoever that the Goose chassis could handle the extra power, because the taut, integrated feel of the bike in stock form, even when pressed to the limit round Ryuyu’s fast sweepers, is the mark of a very capable design. Luigi Segale, Steve Harris or any of the other European chassis gurus would have been quite proud to have produced the Goose cycle parts, which improve even on the Güera Saturno in terms of steering response and confident handling.
The solidly mounted engine is employed as a semi-stressed member, with a tubular-steel upper spaceframe bolted to twin cast-alloy swingarm-pivot plates, which also double as locators for the rear engine mount. There’s a stout Showa upside-down fork up front, and a rising-rate linkage for the single Showa shock at the rear. The fork is non-adjustable, and the rear shock has a seven-step preload adjustment only. A steel swingarm contains nifty-looking eccentric chain adjusters, and steering geometry is quite sporty, with a 25-degree head angle and 4.1 inches of trail. Claimed dry weight of 319 pounds rises to 352 with a full fuel load.
In spite of a short, 53-inch wheelbase, the Goose’s riding position is impeccably tailored for someone of my 6-foot height. There’s more than enough room on the seat, and my knees slot cozily into the recesses of the elegantly sculptured tank. The flat clip-ons are perfectly angled to offer a sporting stance, but not so low that too much weight rests on your wrists and arms. Location of the footpegs is excellent, too. Congratulations to Suzuki on a really well-thought-out riding position, which seems to have been arrived at with the Europeanor American-sized rider in mind. Is this a hint for the future?
Feeling at home on a bike gives you a head start in confidence and control, and the Goose’s handling is in keeping with that first impression. The main plus is the steering, which is so precise and solid-feeling in fast sweepers, yet light and pinpoint-accurate in slow turns. It’s not twitchy and nervous as some modem street Singles have been.
The non-adjustability of the fork isn’t a problem, but I do have criticism for the rear suspension. Insufficient preload on the shock had me dragging the exhaust exiting Ryuyu’s chicane as the rear end squatted. That was probably fixable had we more time before handing the track back to Suzuki’s sports-car testers. But what couldn’t have been rectified was the shock’s lack of damping, which had it bottoming as I swapped direction in the chicane, before bouncing back to full extension, provoking a nasty attack of the twitches. The Goose needs a properly adjustable shock, even though Suzuki engineers maintain the unit is well set up for road, as opposed to track, riding. Maybe on Japan’s smooth, wellmaintained roads, but fast riders in other parts of the world where roads are rougher aren’t going to be happy with the stock set-up.
Apart from that, riding the Goose is a pleasurable and rewarding experience that deserves to be brought to a wider public outside Japan. The bike abounds with neat styling touches like the nacelle-faired instruments and matching turnsignals, and it has an electric starter as standard equipment, unlike the sometimes-maddening-tostart DR350. A single 11.8-inch floating Tokico front disc and four-pot caliper give surprisingly effective stopping power.
Suzuki has obviously spent a lot of time and effort in making the Goose just right. At $4280 in Japan, it seems to be competitively priced, too. Let’s hope that the subtle hints about a bigger-engined version for overseas markets do bear fruit. With a 650cc engine, Suzuki’s imaginative sportster just may be the Single that finds an audience where others have failed.
