The parallel-twin sportbike segment continues to heat up with the introduction of Suzuki’s 2024 GSX-8R ($9,439). Not a true supersport but positioned adjacent to the GSX-R line of sport and superbikes, the 8R is a kinder, gentler sportbike designed for motorcyclists seeking an easy to live with streetbike.
Read the best motorcycle news and reviews: http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/
Motorcyclist Shirts: https://teespring.com/stores/motorcyclist
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/motorcyclistonline/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/motorcyclistmag/
Read the best motorcycle news and reviews: http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/
Motorcyclist Shirts: https://teespring.com/stores/motorcyclist
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/motorcyclistonline/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/motorcyclistmag/
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00 Alright folks here we are at the official press introduction for
00:04 Suzuki's 2024 GSX-8R. This is an all-new middleweight sport bike from
00:12 Suzuki Motor out of Hamamatsu, Japan. Now the GSX-8R, it fits adjacent to
00:22 Suzuki's GSX-R line of high-performance sport bikes and super bikes which
00:29 includes the GSX-R 600, the GSX-R 750, the GSX-R 1000, and the GSX-R 1000R. So those
00:39 are Suzuki's four track capable and competition orientated sport bikes for
00:47 mass consumption. The GSX-8R comes into the picture where this bike isn't
00:55 designed for competition. It's not designed for racing. Yes of course you
00:59 can race it and you can do track days on it like we are now, but this
01:04 motorcycle is designed to be the every man and woman's street bike, sport bike
01:11 for street use and track days, etc. So this motorcycle is powered by Suzuki's
01:19 all-new 7.76 cc parallel twin engine. This engine is liquid-cooled. It has dual
01:27 overhead camshafts and an eight valve cylinder head. It puts out right around
01:32 75 horsepower to the business end of the 180/55/17 Dunlop Road Sport II
01:42 rubber. Now the secret sauce for Suzuki's 7.76 parallel twin is really in its
01:51 innovative twin counterbalancer. So each cylinder has its own counterbalancer
01:57 that allows this engine to be ridiculously smooth in terms of
02:03 vibration or lap thereof. Another cool feature of this parallel twin engine is
02:10 its uneven firing order. So it has an uneven firing order and uneven ignition
02:17 timing which really makes this engine feel like a V-twin. Now Suzuki, they had a
02:26 cult classic on their hands with the SV650 V-twin motorcycle and we haven't
02:32 seen that motorcycle updated since the 2017 year. Suzuki says it's still gonna
02:37 keep it in its model lineup but realistically this 7.76 cc parallel twin
02:43 it was engineered almost to replace that V-twin and it's really impressive to
02:51 feel this engine. It feels just like Suzuki's SV650. It literally feels like
02:58 a V-twin but smoother with less vibration. There's a lot of really nice
03:04 parallel twin engine configurations in the market and just when we thought that
03:09 we've seen it all and felt them all and they all feel the same, they don't.
03:13 Suzuki's parallel twin is really special. This thing literally feels like a V-twin
03:19 engine which is awesome. But of course it's a parallel twin so it's much more
03:24 compact in terms of its depth from front to back and in width because it's only
03:31 in line. That gave Suzuki engineers a lot more freedom in terms of engine
03:38 placement in the chassis. This motorcycle features a steel frame so it has a twin
03:46 spar looking steel frame with a nice long swing arm hanging off the back.
03:53 There is a linkage so the rear suspension features a linkage so the top
03:58 of the shock connects to the frame and the bottom of the shock absorber
04:02 works through a linkage and connects through the swing arm. Up front we have
04:06 an inverted show a fork and a show up gas-charged rear shock. Suspension
04:12 travels right over five inches and this motorcycle doesn't have any damping
04:19 adjustment so the fork damping and the shock damping is fixed. The only form of
04:24 adjustment is spring preload on the shock absorber. You want to add or reduce
04:31 spring preload basically based on rider preference or your weight. So if you want
04:37 the motorcycle to be a bit more weight on the front of it more preload is always
04:42 good. If you want the bike to squat a little bit more less preload is good.
04:47 We measure six foot tall 205 pounds so we're a little bit heavier than the
04:52 intended user of this motorcycle. I think the intended user is a hundred and
04:57 fifty pound human so we're a little bit heavier but the suspension calibration
05:02 doesn't necessarily feel off by any means. I'm actually really impressed with
05:08 how good the suspension on this motorcycle works. It just floats around
05:13 the racetrack with really good road holding. The fork and shock aren't bouncy.
05:19 The bike doesn't overly squat or do anything crazy. It's just a
05:24 really easy motorcycle to ride. There's my buddy Jeremy Toi passing me on the
05:30 outside. He is a former superbike racer and a very very good motorcycle test
05:41 rider and engineer. That guy in front of me he is able to feel the most minute
05:47 differences in the dynamic of a vehicle street bike or dirt bike than pretty
05:52 much any other human being I've ever met in the planet. So Jeremy Toi is the man
05:57 and it's all good he passed me because he's a fast dude. He's here helping out
06:03 the Suzuki Motor USA people at their official press introduction event. Right
06:10 now we're riding this GSX-8R on Dunlop Sportmax Q5S. This is a more track
06:16 capable DOT labeled street bike tire and it allows us to just have a lot of fun
06:23 at the track on this bike. Of course we can ride it with its OE shoot road sport
06:27 twos but things are always more fun with stickier rubber. The engine on this
06:34 motorcycle it also features a chain final drive and a six speed gearbox
06:40 with a slipper action clutch. An electronic quick shifter allows for
06:47 full throttle up shifts and down shifts without having to use the clutch. I
06:53 really love electronic quick shifters especially on the down shift mode
06:59 because you can just go into corners faster than you could without it and
07:04 that rear tire just stays hooked up because you don't have to use the clutch
07:08 and that little bit of time when you use the clutch it reduces the weight on the
07:13 rear wheel and just it's you have a better connection with the motorcycle
07:18 with an electronic quick shifter during down shifts. I love it! Look at this nice
07:24 five inch color TFT dash. We are riding with the vehicle in dark mode so black
07:32 background white fonts. I love that. That's how I have my MacBook Pro set up
07:38 and my company issued iPhones set up that way as well. Of course if you want to
07:45 have the standard black numbers black fonts on a white background you can
07:52 easily do that in the switch gear you just hold up on this top button right
07:58 here on the left handlebar. Now this motorcycle weighs 452 pounds with a full
08:04 load of 3.7 gallons of fuel and this motorcycle is just very very easy to
08:11 ride. It does not feel heavy. It's not the quickest turning bike out there but it
08:17 just feels so neutral. I can't overemphasize what an easy sport bike
08:23 this thing is to pilot at the straight. Feel that torque from the 7.7 cc
08:30 parallel twin engine. Oh yeah here we go into turn one. Yeah! Brakes on this
08:40 motorcycle triple disc hydraulic brakes keep the 452 pounds of mass in check. We
08:48 have a standard non-radial mount master cylinder biting down on radial four
08:54 piston brake calipers. Up back we have a single piston brake caliper pinching a
09:01 cross drill disc. Fixed always on ABS is standard on this motorcycle. You cannot
09:08 turn it off you always have ABS on. If you really get after it and brake
09:14 reasonably hard into a turn you can feel the ABS come in but I wouldn't say it's
09:20 a bad thing at all. Here's a guy who's trying to pass us. We'll just keep him in
09:26 our rearview mirror as long as possible because that's the way we ride. Yeah! Oh
09:32 yeah he's right on us. I think that's my external quality Chris Ulrich from
09:38 Road Racing World. Let's block him! Let's block him! Let's block him! There he is!
09:43 There he is! Oh he gave me the middle finger! That son of a you-know-what. It's all good
09:51 we're just having some fun on our GSX-8R's. That's the whole point of this
09:55 bike is fun. Where the GSX-R line of sport bikes and super bikes they're
10:02 awesome. They have tons of power, tons of character, very precise handling. You have
10:09 to kind of be on your game to ride those bikes. They're a lot more sharper in
10:13 terms of the performance envelope. This thing is more just easier to ride. The
10:19 suspension is not as precise. Everything is not as sharp and as knife-edge. If
10:26 you're someone who wants just to have a really good time and have an easy bike
10:30 to ride this bike fits the bill. These parallel twin engines are so cool just
10:37 because they make so much torque. This motorcycle delivers an exceptional amount
10:42 of smooth torque which only makes it easy to ride. I love how easy this thing
10:50 is. Just put it wherever you want. Now I stand at six foot tall and this
10:56 motorcycle fits me very well. We went on a nice street bike ride yesterday. We
11:02 spent about seven hours in the saddle. Six to seven hours in the saddle.
11:05 Suzuki bikes, that's the one thing Suzuki street bikes always have. An
11:11 excellent rider seat. Doesn't matter if you're riding a V-Strom or a GSX-R. The
11:17 seat on these Suzuki motorcycles is also crazy comfortable and it shouldn't be a
11:22 surprise that the seat and the ergonomics on this bike are very
11:26 favorable. It's a very easy motorcycle to fit on. The ergonomics aren't crazy.
11:32 They aren't crazy aggressive nor are they too relaxed. This motorcycle actually
11:37 feels very similar to Aprilia's RS660. The ergonomics feel virtually identical
11:44 to that bike and that bike is a pretty cozy bike to ride as well. Sure I wish
11:50 the windscreen was a little bit taller but it still gets the job done. Another
11:55 cool feature on this motorcycle is its rear view mirrors. I know that seems kind
12:00 of weird thing to say it's like the rear view mirrors but just the way they're
12:04 shaped you have really good view of what's going on behind you and I really
12:10 like that. You can see the shape of them is just oversized towards the
12:16 edges. It just really allows you to see what's going on behind you very easily.
12:21 This bike retails for $9,349. It also comes with a one-year warranty.
12:30 Suzuki motorcycles this particular Suzuki motorcycle is built out of
12:35 Suzuki's Hamamatsu Japan factory. So you're getting a high quality motorcycle that's
12:40 gonna stand the test of time.
12:44 Suzuki's also offering very favorable financing on this vehicle for its
12:50 customers here in the United States. That's how aggressive they are with
12:55 pushing this motorcycle. Well folks that is our quick review of Suzuki's 2024 GS
13:05 X8R. This is a really fun street bike to ride.
13:11 Engine is lots of power it's crazy smooth. It slicks exceptionally well
13:20 through the six-speed gearbox and the chassis is very composed for a
13:25 mid-sized street orientated sport bike.
13:31 Yeah of course this motorcycle also comes with three-way traction control.
13:40 One is the least aggressive three is the most you can adjust that with the switch
13:45 gear here and then we have adjustable power modes too. There's the traction
13:50 control light to switch things and then we can adjust the power modes using
13:55 Suzuki's SDMS. Suzuki was an early innovator with SDMS technology. I think
14:01 it had on 2007 GSX-R1000 and what that does is it allows you to adjust the
14:07 engine power based on the road surface you're riding or your skill level. So
14:14 let's say you're new to riding and you want the motorcycle to be especially
14:17 friendly you can put it in C that's the lowest power mode and then as you work
14:23 up you can go to B which is slightly more power and then A which is full
14:27 power. I really like that feature you can literally let your girlfriend ride this
14:31 bike or another one of your friends and if they didn't have a lot of experience
14:36 on this motorcycle they could put it in C or B power mode and they just get up
14:41 to speed a lot more quickly than they would with a motorcycle that didn't have
14:45 adjustable power. Very nice touch, Suzuki.
14:51 Well folks that wraps up our official review. As always make sure to surf on
14:57 over to MotorcyclistOnline.com that's where all of our written content comes
15:01 to life. Give this video a thumbs up if you liked it, thumbs it down if you didn't
15:05 because we'd love to hear from the naysayers. Everyone's opinion counts here at
15:09 Motorcyclist Magazine and we'll see you in the next episode. Thanks for riding
15:14 with us.
15:14 (tires screeching)