In this one I’m handing the Suzuki GSX-S 1000 back, and I’m doing it in proper all-year conditions—not sunny Sunday stuff. Winter might not look like the ideal time to try a big litre naked, but that’s exactly the point: most of us aren’t running a garage full of bikes. If you’re choosing one bike to do everything, it needs to cope when it’s wet, cold, windy and generally miserable—because that’s when you’ll actually learn what it’s like to live with. I talk through what the GSX-S 1000 is like as a real-world, year-round ride: the way that 999cc inline-four delivers its shove, how manageable it feels when the roads aren’t playing ball, and whether it’s a bike that’s been designed more for dry summer roads than bleak winter miles. I also touch on the practical side—seat height and getting on and off (yes, the “shorties” question), plus the tech like traction control, ride modes and the quickshifter, and how that all feeds into confidence when conditions are sketchy. Orwell Motorcycles in Ipswich sorted the bike, so if you’re local and fancy a look, I’ll point you their way too.