Donk
Well-Known Member
A friend with many bikes left his '14 GS at my house and asked me to ride it. Hard to say no to that deal! It has given me a great opportunity to compare the 2 bikes. If I have any bias its toward the S10. My '14 is an ES with the ECU reflashed by FlashTune. Both bikes are shod with Michelin PR4 tires and similarly equipped. They are both great bikes and I would take either cross country in a minute. There are some noticeable differences. Here's what I found. The extra horsepower of the GS is a big plus. It gives the bike a more sporting feel and is the difference between adequate acceleration and good acceleration. The S10 transmission shifts nicer at low speed and in first through third gear. The GS quickshifter is great. It took me a while to get used to the idea I could downshift without the clutch, its really cool. What I noticed with the quickshifter is that the 2 cylinder engines don't lose rpm on upshifts so acceleration is smoother, especially in a big headwind. I feel like the GS final drive is geared a little higher than the S10. The S10 would definitely benefit from a similar change in gearing as it has so much low end grunt. Suspension is great on both bikes, the GS feels slightly more sporty and the S10 feels more touring comfortable. Over a washboard section of road the S10 rides better. Both bikes handle great and have super front end feel. Wind protection is similar on both bikes although the GS had a VStream windshield that bounced around a little on the mount. I never noticed any movement with the stock shield on the GS. Both bikes have minimal vibration the S10 more when accelerating the GS more at cruise. To be honest I was looking for vibration and I'm getting pretty nit picky in any case. The S10 has a better dash and its much easier to read. I had no idea what the numbers were on the GS dash and actually stopped once to see what the numbers were on the speedo. I found out I was going much faster on the GS than I thought!. The GS switchgear is certainly nicer and the self cancelling turn signals work better than the ones on the S10. I'm sure someone will comment on the price difference and my guess is the GS is about $6000. more which is a big percent of retail between the 2. In my opinion they are both great bikes. I feel like the GS is a slightly sharper sword but they both do the job well. If you want an off road evaluation I will leave that to someone else. This is just my take on it so have at it.
