Ups
- First new Suzuki engine in years
- Engine and chassis designed in synchrony
- Bidirectional quickshifter normal
- Respectable, name-brand suspension and brakes
Downs
- Angular seems to be don’t enchantment to all
- Energy determine received’t win many boasting matches
- Robust competitors from rivals on this a part of the market
- Parallel-twin engines are likely to lack the visceral enchantment of V-twins or inline-fours
Verdict
No firm’s vary appears full with no midsize, twin-cylinder bare bike that fulfills the important thought of a bike with out being pigeonholed into subgenre. For Suzuki that machine is the GSX-8S, a technological quantum leap ahead in comparison with the SV650 and GSX-S750 which have lengthy crammed the area. Robust styling and excessive tools ranges allied to a clean-sheet design for the engine and chassis make it some of the anticipated Suzukis in years.
Overview
In 1999 Suzuki shook up the institution with the SV650; a real do-anything bike that was concurrently succesful, enjoyable, and extremely reasonably priced. It may commute or cross continents and was as completely happy on observe as on tour. The GSX-8S seems to be to construct on that success, because the modern-day bare for the following era of Suzuki riders.
Suzuki is undoubtedly pleased with the GSX-8S and the cautious steps engineers took to make sure that the bike would enchantment to a variety of riders, no matter age or expertise. Efficiency is vital, however so too is steadiness, and within the GSX-8S, Suzuki aimed to seek out the center floor between engine and suspension efficiency, ergonomics, and options.
An aggressive, mass-forward look falls in keeping with Suzuki’s new-generation styling idea, whereas a modest, however full-featured digital rider-aid suite contains all of the expertise you’ll want in a motorbike geared toward all the pieces from each day commutes to weekend journeys to your favourite canyon roads.
Updates for 2023
Fully new for 2023, the GSX-8S is considered one of two bikes (the opposite is the V-Strom 800DE) debuting Suzuki’s 82 hp, 776cc parallel-twin engine, which is anticipated to grow to be a mainstay throughout a number of fashions for a few years to come back.
The chassis is a brand new design as effectively, whereas Suzuki has turned to notable suppliers for suspension and brakes.
Pricing and Variants
Only one model of the GSX-8S is accessible, so your selections are merely between three colour choices: white with blue wheels and subframe, blue with blue wheels and subframe, and all black. Suzuki does provide a complete vary of equipment to tailor the bike to private style.
Competitors
There’s no scarcity of competitors on this a part of the market, though few bikes precisely match the GSX-8S’s mixture of energy, torque, and weight.
Barely beneath it, there are machines just like the Yamaha MT-07 ($8,199), Suzuki’s personal SV650 ($7,849), and the Kawasaki Z650 ($7,749). The Honda CB650R ($9,399), Triumph Trident 660 ($8,595), and Aprilia Tuono 660 ($10,499) are all worthy contenders, as is KTM’s 790 Duke ($9,199). The Ducati Monster Plus ($12,995) is way more costly, however one other instance of an awesome bare bike that’s a great deal of enjoyable round city.
Powertrain: Engine, Transmission, and Efficiency
Suzuki took its time to develop the GSX-8S’s engine. It options some now acquainted concepts—a 270-degree crankshaft, as an illustration, to present a V-twin-style throb—and a few extra novel ones together with a patented twin balancer shaft setup to restrict vibes. The 84mm bore and 70mm stroke are fairly average, notably in comparison with Honda’s lately introduced (however not but obtainable) Hornet (87 x 63.5mm) and KTM’s 790 Duke (88 x 65.7mm). This contributes to a powerful 57.5 lb.-ft. of torque that peaks at 6,800 rpm, however it hits almost that quantity a number of thousand rpm decrease. The 82 hp energy peak arrives at 8,500 rpm.
The GSX-8S options all of the tech you’d count on in 2023, together with ride-by-wire throttles that permit a number of modes and torque maps. Uneven-length intakes in an underseat airbox increase torque, whereas the engine breathes out through an under-belly exhaust.
The six-speed transmission is fitted with a bidirectional quickshifter, with rev-matching auto-blipper, and assist-and-slipper clutch as normal.
Chassis/Dealing with
Just like the engine, the GSX-8S’s body is an all-new design, however one which doesn’t got down to rewrite the rulebook. Two metal higher rails run above the engine, with a trellis-style part of chassis between the headstock and the higher engine mounts, and a pressed and welded metal part behind the motor to carry the aluminum swingarm.
On the again, the tubular metal subframe is a bolt-on design. The wheelbase is longer than you may count on, at 57.7 inches, and the 25-degree rake suggests a average steadiness between agility and stability.
KYB offers the nonadjustable USD fork and the rear monoshock. The forged alloy wheels are 17-inchers, with a surprisingly extensive 180-section rear—considerably broader than the 160-section used on the extra highly effective Honda CB750 Hornet—to present a muscular look. The seat peak is a modest 31.9 inches.
Brakes
Radial Nissin four-pot calipers on the entrance clamp a pair of 310mm discs, with the standard single-piston sliding caliper on the rear on a smaller 240mm rotor. ABS comes normal.
Gasoline Economic system and Actual-World MPG
Suzuki’s claimed financial system figures, examined beneath WMTC situations, are 56 mpg (US). With a 3.7-gallon tank that implies a variety of 207 miles is theoretically attainable.
Ergonomics: Consolation and Utility
The parallel-twin engine isn’t simply less complicated and extra compact than a V-twin, it additionally helps enhance the driving place, permitting the rider to sit down additional ahead. A large and comparatively tall bar is paired to low pegs mounted nearly immediately beneath the seat for a driving place that’s each snug and provides loads of management. Equipment together with a small display screen, gentle baggage, and heated grips ought to all assist increase the GSX-8S’s longer-range prospects.
Electronics
Three driving modes are on provide—A, B, and C (for “Lively,” “Fundamental,” and “Consolation”)—every with a special throttle map to change the ability supply. There’s additionally a trio of traction management settings with totally different ranges of intervention, and normal ABS, though these techniques don’t have the IMU wanted to make them lean-angle delicate. There’s full LED lighting, as you’d count on in 2023, and a 5-inch, colour TFT sprint with a alternative of modes.
Further applied sciences embody Suzuki’s Straightforward Begin System and Low RPM Help System, which will increase engine pace to clean the ability supply when leaving from a standing begin or driving at low speeds. As beforehand talked about, a bidirectional quickshifter comes normal.
Guarantee and Upkeep Protection
There’s a 12-month, unlimited-mileage, restricted guarantee with the choice to increase to longer cowl durations through Suzuki Prolonged Safety.
2023 Suzuki GSX-8S Claimed Specs
| MSRP: | $8,849 |
|---|---|
| Engine: | DOHC, 776cc, liquid-cooled parallel twin, 4 valves/cyl. |
| Bore x Stroke: | 84.0mm x 70.0mm |
| Transmission/Ultimate Drive: | 6-speed/chain |
| Gasoline Supply: | Digital gasoline injection w/ 42mm throttle our bodies |
| Clutch: | Moist, a number of disc |
| Engine Administration/Ignition: | Experience-by-wire with a number of modes |
| Body: | Metal tube body with bolt-on trellis subframe |
| Entrance Suspension: | KYB inverted fork; 5.1 in. journey |
| Rear Suspension: | KYB shock, preload adjustable |
| Entrance Brake: | Nissin radial-mount 4-piston calipers, 310mm discs w/ ABS |
| Rear Brake: | Nissin 1-piston caliper, 240mm disc w/ ABS |
| Wheels, Entrance/Rear: | Solid-aluminum alloy; 17 in./17 in. |
| Tires, Entrance/Rear: | 120/70-17 / 180/55-17 |
| Rake/Path: | 25.0°/4.1 in. |
| Wheelbase: | 57.7 in. |
| Floor Clearance: | 5.7 in. |
| Seat Top: | 31.9 in. |
| Gasoline Capability: | 3.7 gal. |
| Moist Weight: | 445 lb. |
| Contact: | suzukicycles.com |
