By Bill Hunter. 04/08/24
The term Sportsbike seems to be a bit on the vague side at the moment. For the past few decades or so a pure Sportsbike meant something that resembles, or is directly aimed at, a motorcycle focussed more on racetrack-knee-down-action-abuse than road riding. This trait does have a trade off though with its uncompromised riding position that tends to suit the more ‘flexible’ rider, if you know what I mean? In fact, if you take away the motorcycle from the person riding it and remove their leather racing suit and replace it with a small white towel, aforementioned rider will resemble someone bracing themselves for a prostate exam.
However one thing that Sportsbike styling has, that other classes do not, is an extremely sexy and desirable stance. Generally people who don’t ride bikes always prefer and admire the look of such a machine, and this most certainly goes for the new Suzuki GSX-8R. No matter where I stopped on this silver Suzuki I inevitably received comments like, “Nice bike mate”, or “Wow, that’s very cool”, to regurgitate but a few. But the main thing I’m getting to here is the GSX-8R has a more ‘soft’ approach to its Superbike designation in 2024, which I like, a lot, rather than it becoming a more track focussed torture machine.
I have to agree the GSX-8R is a very attractive motorcycle on all counts especially in this Matt Sword Silver with maroon wheels, don’t ya think? If you don’t there are three other options in Triton Blue, black, and bright yellow. Personally I think the silver one wins and a lot of onlookers thought it was a Katana of some sort because of the sparkling silver paint, fair enough.
So it looks splendid but is it just Suzuki's naked 8S version with a fairing slapped on it you may ask, and so you should? Well yes and no is the answer. It certainly, according to Suzuki, has the same geometry, same tubular steel frame, aluminium swing-arm, and the same 776cc, parallel twin, DOHC, engine. But the main change, besides the wind tunnel designed fairing, is the adoption of improved, and more racy, Showa suspension components, where the 8S uses KYB.
The engine is, and always has been, a peach producing a claimed 83hp@8,500rpm and 78Nm@6,800 rpm of the torquey stuff, where 85% of it is available after 4,000rpm. This small package dimension-wise has a 270-degree crankshaft layout with an offset firing order, to make it perform and sound a bit like a V-Twin, they say. Thankfully, because of this layout, it makes quite a raspy and unique sound coming from the short silencer in stock trim, when some parallel twins can sound like early Honda CB200s or the ER6 springs to mind.
Of course there has to be a fistful of electronic rider aids, which are again the same as found on the 8S. The Suzuki Drive Mode Selector (SDMS) lets the rider choose from A, B or C modes, which do nothing more than alter the aggression of the throttle response. The power output doesn’t change but the ‘softness’ of delivery does. I enjoyed fiddling with all three and for once there’s no stupid rain mode, something which I’ve never understood. Do you ride with the throttle wide open when it rains? Er, no you don’t, so why ‘clip’ the horsepower? Anyway that’s for a later debate! Suzuki’s ‘C’ mode on the 8R/S is a far better option with a softer throttle response but still has the same horsepower, a much better idea that. Traction control has three levels, and off, for wheelies and the like, which it does nicely with a bit of vigorous clutch action. And for safety reasons, I suppose, there’s the usual basic ABS that can’t be turned off – unless you do a ‘sneaky’ ABS fuse removal, but I didn’t say that, honest.
All of these options are altered using the refreshingly simple to use rocker switch on the left side and then all the chosen settings are relayed, on the very clear to read, 5-inch TFT display. Simple to use and to interact with and the display can be set in either a white or black background, or auto mode, where it decides for itself depending on the time of day.
That’s about it for electronic gadgetry and, to be honest, the 8R doesn’t really need anymore, so let’s go back to the new suspension. The GSX- 8R has 41mm SFF-BP Showa forks, or (Separate Function Fork – Big Piston), not entirely sure what that means, but telling everyone you have Separate Function Big Pistons inside your fork tubes might be interesting. Suzuki does say they’re around 30% stiffer than the KYB items found on the 8S. At the rear is another Showa unit, again stiffer for the more sporty nature of the 8R. But is being 30% stiffer better? Well it depends how you ride (no giggling please)!
You see on super-smooth roads the GSX-8R is fantastic fun and encourages the rider to act in a license-losing manner. Its super- stable, confidence-breeding nature makes you ride like a ‘twat’, for want of a better word. If you get to ride the 8R you’ll see what I mean. However, if the road gets rough and bumpy, the forks in particular can rebound in a very harsh manner, which can become a little annoying, well to myself at least and to my palms. We were in the Hazyview area for the SA Launch when we rode the 8R for the first time, and the roads there are, well, I’ve seen better in the Ukraine. Leaving Mbombela though, where the roads are super-smooth and ideal, here the 8R was totally at home, and carving through sweeping bends at high speeds really did enforce the Superbike aspect of the 8R - tremendous. The powerful Nissin brakes with radial mounted callipers acting on 310mm discs were equally as impressive, so no issue there.
Its inherent agility is also helped by a weight of 205kg (wet), with a fuel capacity of 14-litres. That doesn’t sound a lot and it isn’t if you ride hard, so expect to fill up well before 200km (more like 160) if you delve into the fast lane. Cruising at the legal speed limit will return good figures and I did see around 30km-per-litre +/- when you do so, but that never lasts long before you get behind the fairing again and rip up and down the slick six-speed gearbox. The fairing works well for wind protection and if you lean forward you’ll contentedly sit forever at well over 160km/h as you eat away the kilometres. It’s surprisingly comfortable too and with a seat height of 810mm the 8R will surely suit any type of rider.
Going back to the beginning where I mentioned how Sportsbikes are usually uncomfortable for road use, this GSX-8R is most certainly not! Everyday use is a pleasure with its relatively upright riding position and soft seat that make it a user-friendly motorbike of note. Some people even thought I was on a 300 and were surprised to find it’s an 800 because of its relatively small size. The meaty mid-range, super-smooth motor, and brilliant quick-shifter add to the thrill (but can be a bit sticky at low rpm on the way down the gearbox, as it goes both ways). If you were wondering about top speed, I saw an indicated 225km/h, and it also gets to 200km/h quicker than you’d believe from rest, which was quite notable.
The Suzuki GSX-8R has a bit of a Jekyll and Hyde attitude. It can be soft and kind or instantly turn into red-faced race mode depending on the demons inside your head. With a retail price of only R179,950 it’s also a very tempting proposition if you’re after something new and marvelous. I’m neither but was extremely sad to see the bike returned and I couldn’t recommend owning one more for all the reasons above. Unfortunately you will have to wait till mid September though because that’s when the first shipments arrive. Ah well, it’ll give you time to sell 180k's worth of stuff…
Go to www.suzukimotorcycle.co.za for more information and to book a test ride at your local dealer.
