Two of the bikes in this test are new for 2024: Suzuki’s $9,439 GSX-8R and Triumph’s $9,195 Daytona 660. Meanwhile Yamaha’s $9,199 YZF-R7 returns unchanged for another year following its 2022 introduction. Although there are other competitors in this class, we landed on this trio that align nicely in terms of price and power-to-weight ratio. What we ultimately discovered is that the machines we selected are really ideal for three different buyers. So our goal is to break down what bike is for which rider. And yes, in the end there is a clear winner.
Check out the story at https://www.cycleworld.com/motorcycle-reviews/suzuki-gsx-8r-vs-triumph-daytona-660-vs-yamaha-yzf-r7-comparison-test/
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Check out the story at https://www.cycleworld.com/motorcycle-reviews/suzuki-gsx-8r-vs-triumph-daytona-660-vs-yamaha-yzf-r7-comparison-test/
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SportsTranscript
00:00Welcome everybody to the wonderful world of street-oriented sport bikes, or at
00:05least a really important part of that world. Beside me are three of the top
00:10sub $10,000 street bikes. We've got the $9,200 Yamaha R7 and Triumph Daytona 660,
00:17and on the other end over there we've got the $9,500 Suzuki GSX-8R. Over the
00:24next couple of minutes we are going to talk about how these bikes are similar
00:26and how they're different. Hint, there is a standout winner in this comparison
00:31test, but the other two bikes offer something really unique to certain
00:35riders, and you're going to want to hear about that because it might pertain to
00:38you. With all that being said, let's go for a ride.
00:56First stop of the day I've got Blake and Evan here, editors at Cycleworld. We're
01:06out enjoying our ride. Now in the introduction to this video we talked
01:09about how these bikes are so different from each other, and Blake you
01:14mentioned something earlier that I thought was such a really cool point of
01:16kind of why these bikes have gone in different directions. You want to talk to
01:20the audience a little bit about the category as a whole and kind of
01:23how the manufacturers got here to these three weapons. I think the most
01:27interesting thing to me when I think about middleweight sport bikes is in the
01:32recent history middleweight sport bikes were always considered 600 cc super
01:36sport bikes, and that's unique because those bikes were built for one purpose
01:40and one purpose only, and that was to go racing. So over time those bikes were all
01:45almost the same. They were 599 cc inline fours, eventually some v-twins came along,
01:51but there was a tried-and-true formula that worked for decades, and that was
01:56what everybody's perception of a middleweight sport bike was. It was a 600
02:00super sport. But as we've seen this middleweight category evolve, things have
02:05changed, and these bikes that we're testing here today are very different
02:08because these are meant to be street oriented bikes first, and that changed
02:13the rules for everything. Because instead of a manufacturer like Suzuki or Yamaha
02:18or Triumph trying to build to a formula that's existed, they've gone out and said
02:22hey we're just gonna try to make an awesome street bike, but Suzuki's idea
02:28and Yamaha's idea and Triumph's idea of what a great street bike is can be
02:32completely different as we found out. So that's an interesting thing that we've
02:35been kind of uncovering over the past couple days is that on paper these bikes
02:40may seem very similar, but the way that each manufacturer went about creating
02:45their perfect middleweight street bike that's sporty is a very interesting
02:51formula. Which I think is an interesting thing for people shopping in this
02:55category, right, is it's important to know that hey these are all really different
02:58machines and it's important to do your research, watch videos like this
03:01hopefully, and understand those differences because one might work
03:05better for how you're gonna use the bike, right? I'm gonna use that as a chance to
03:09throw this one over to you Evan because you were responsible for getting these
03:13bikes on the dyno and then weighing them. I know you've got all the performance
03:17numbers, let's talk about where these bikes stand. Alright, power baby, let's
03:21jump into the data. So right here the Suzuki made 72 horsepower and 51 pound
03:27feet of torque on our dyno, but weighs the heaviest at 453 pounds. The Yamaha
03:32made 64 horsepower, 44 pound feet of torque, but was the lightest at 418
03:38pounds. The Triumph right there, most horsepower, 85 horsepower, 44 pound feet
03:44of torque, and weighs 444 pounds. Alright, so quick recap, the Triumph, most
03:49horsepower, the Yamaha the lightest, and the Suzuki over there is a little bit of
03:53the porky one there, that's the heaviest. That's kind of where we stand.
03:56Alright, cool. Now diving into the features on these bikes and again some
04:01similarities, some differences, let's talk about the standout features of 8R.
04:06We'll start with the dash, you have a full color TFT display, you get three
04:10ride modes, ABC, four levels of traction control, a quick shifter comes standard,
04:15but you have non-adjustable suspension up front, you get preload in the rear, the
04:18Yamaha over there, no ride modes, no rider aids, traction control, nothing like
04:22that, but you do get adjustable suspension up front, and you get a
04:26rebound on the rear. Big difference between these two bikes is the handlebar
04:31position, right? You've got kind of clip-on style, aggressive clip-on style
04:34on the Yamaha, the clip-ons are mounted below the triple clamp, and then on the
04:37Suzuki they're bolted on risers, so that's gonna change that quite a bit.
04:41Then same thing on the Triumph, you've got again clip-on style handlebars, but
04:45they're on risers, so a little bit more upright riding position on that. Blake,
04:48you were the last one to ride this bike, you kind of know all about it from the
04:52press ride, let's talk a little bit about the main features of this one.
04:56So the Triumph has electronic features kind of similar to the Suzuki, it's got
05:01three ride modes, it's got a sport, a road, and a rain mode. It also has traction
05:05control, but you can only turn the traction control on and off, you can't
05:09have multiple levels of it, so that's different. The dash itself isn't quite as
05:13sexy as the Suzuki, it's got a hybrid LCD TFT, which gives you all the information
05:19you need, but it's a little bit more basic than the Suzuki, but a little bit
05:23more sophisticated than the Yamaha, so it's kind of in between there. From a
05:26suspension standpoint, the Triumph only has preload adjustability at the rear,
05:30while the fork and the shock don't have any damping adjustability, so we'll talk
05:35more about that later because that kind of became an issue, but other than that
05:39this bike doesn't come with the quick shifter, it doesn't come with some of the
05:42other features that the Suzuki does, but it has more than the Yamaha, so it's just
05:46kind of in between. We kind of said that a couple times now, that seems to be a
05:49little bit of an in-between, huh? Yeah. Perfect, so that is a really cool kind of
05:52overview of the category and how we ended up with these bikes, and then the
05:55main features of these three bikes. So we've still got a long day, we've got
05:59some really cool twisties, some big open back roads that are going to be a lot of fun.
06:04We're gonna get to it, we will see you guys on the other side of some riding
06:08with some comments on the engine and what these things are like out on the road.
06:21All right, well that was a cool last couple of sections there. I think the one thing
06:25that we got to experience is the diversity in these engines. We've
06:28obviously got two parallel twins and the triple. You're the kind of odd man
06:32out with that triple. What do you think of the the 660 engine there? Yeah, I mean
06:36the Triumph definitely stands out in this crew, you know. You've got the
06:40other two parallel twins, but anybody who's ridden a triple knows, like, the way
06:44that engine makes power, most triples, and in particular Triumph triples, they're
06:48just totally unique. They've got this fantastic top end, but you know, not like
06:53an inline four, but then they've kind of got the bottom end of a parallel twin, so
06:57they kind of do the best of both worlds. And in this particular case, from our
07:00dyno numbers, we know that the Triumph makes 85 horsepower, which is more than
07:05the other two bikes, but it's from a smaller displacement engine, so you're
07:08getting that power from revs a little bit, so it's a pretty engaging motor to
07:13ride with. You get to row the gearbox a little bit, you can really experience it
07:17pulling out of the mid-range into the top end, and it just makes it really fun
07:21to ride, especially on those, you know, roads where you're linking the corners
07:25back and forth, making that shift down to second, having to shift up to third,
07:29not just depending on the torque. It's a really fun riding experience. It's
07:34smooth, it's predictable, you feel what the traction is doing from the
07:39engine. A little bit less vibration. Yeah, a little bit less vibration. It's just a
07:44really engaging bike to ride, and I think the triple is just an overall super fun
07:50engine for the type of riding that we've been doing. Yeah, and Triumph's gotten
07:53really good at building triples over the years, right, and they just do such a
07:56good job, so having that engine, I mean, it does work well. I will say I spent a
08:00lot of that last section on the Suzuki. I think Suzuki did a really good job
08:05building that parallel twin. I think this was an all-new engine for them just a
08:09couple of years ago, right, and I think that's the thing about, you know, the 8S
08:12before and the 8R now is everything was just so well thought out from
08:17Suzuki from scratch, right, and that engine, it's really torquey. The bottom
08:22end grunt on that thing, that bike just jumps off corners, and I think that's my
08:26favorite attribute of the engine. I think you still have good mid-range, and you
08:29get a little bit of the top end. It's not as flexible, maybe, as the Triumph, but
08:33the power is always, the second you open throttle, it's always there. Yes, yeah, yeah,
08:38and that's the interesting thing about the Suzuki, and I think
08:40specific to the engine, I think it is, it's got that little bit of aggression
08:45to it. Yes, it's a relaxed street bike, but it's got a little bit of an edge to
08:49it, and you feel that in the engine, the throttle response, it's nice and snappy,
08:53and it's just got that grunt, and just, like I said, it just jumps off corners.
08:57Importantly, it's gonna be one of those engines that entertains people, right?
09:00It's not like you're gonna get tired of that thing right away, so, and then it's
09:04flexible, whether you're a commuter, and you want something for, you know, just
09:07around town, or freeway riding, or get up in the canyons, I think it's flexible.
09:11That's what these bikes need to be. A couple other things I will say, Suzuki
09:14does come with the quick shifter standard, so yes, a little bit more in
09:19price, but we talked about, you know, the features of the bike, and you have that
09:22quick shifter. More to the point, I will say that transmission is really good.
09:25There's really nothing from a power plant perspective on the Suzuki where I
09:28feel like it's missing. I'm really happy with it. Super tractable, kind of fills
09:32that gap in terms of horsepower between the Triumph and the Yamaha, which I use
09:36as a way to turn to you and talk about the Yamaha there, which is a little bit
09:41underpowered compared to the other bikes. Yeah, it's got a
09:43displacement disadvantage, you know, it's smaller, but it's a super fun engine. It's
09:48got, you know, torque down low, it's tractable, it doesn't have quite the same
09:53mid-range, the power band's a lot more narrow, but it's fun. Like, coming out of
09:57a corner, you got to grab a shift quickly, but if you want to lift the front wheel,
10:00I mean, it's an engine we've all ridden many times, whether it's the MT-07, the
10:04Tenere 700, but you're not gonna really want to try to rev the thing out too
10:08much. Yeah, you're shifting a lot more on that bike. I think one of the words we kept
10:11going back to is it's lively, right? It's just, yes, you recognize that it
10:15doesn't make the power. You kind of want Yamaha to, at some point, maybe step up
10:19the displacement on that thing. It's just because this class has matured and
10:22grown up. In another way, I think the Yamaha is engaging. Like, it makes you
10:28think about the riding experience in a different way, because you have to be
10:32more active on it. Absolutely. And you can go the same pace as the other bikes, but
10:36you've got to shift more, you've got to think a little bit more to make it do
10:40what you want coming into the corners and out of the corners, which can be fun.
10:44It has some attributes that make it more of an engaging sport bike in some
10:48ways. Yeah, and that's the thing. It does, it adds to that kind of sport bike feel
10:52on the R7, for sure. Alright, if we had to pick an engine, just in terms of your
10:56favorite, least favorite, the standout here, what are you going with? I think
11:01for sport riding, I really like the Triple and the Triumph. Around town, I
11:06could make an argument for the Suzuki, but I would say overall, since these are
11:10sport bikes and we're out here talking about sport bikes, I have to go with the
11:13Triumph. Alright, that's fair. I'm gonna disagree with you. I'm gonna say
11:16Suzuki engine, and the thing for me there is the flexibility. That's one of the
11:20most important attributes of these bikes in this class, is having something that
11:24can kind of do it all. That power plant is something that's so good around town,
11:27you can still have fun in the canyons, and it works, you know, cruising down the
11:31highway too. Maybe a little bit more vibrations to it than the Triumph, but
11:34yeah, I'm gonna say Suzuki. What about you? I like the Suzuki engine the best.
11:39I really love this R7, but I wish at times it had the same punch as the the
11:458R. Yeah. It's just broppy. Yeah. Whether you're up in the canyons and you need to
11:49get out of the hole, or even cruising around town, it's just easy to ride.
11:52Alright, well, good thoughts on the power plants. I think we kind of got our
11:57wrapped our heads around those. I know we've got some really cool twisty stuff
12:00just ahead of us, and we'll get to kind of delve into the chassis stuff, so you
12:04guys ready to get back on the road? Let's hit it.
12:10Alright, fun canyon roads, check. That last section was one of my favorite roads
12:18around here. Cool to get to pull in and talk about chassis and handling right
12:23after getting off the bikes, because handling is, it's important, right? I think
12:27people are gonna gravitate towards these bikes because they want to get out and
12:30ride in a sporty way. So I'm gonna throw it over to you, Blake, because I think
12:35that Triumph, correct me if I'm wrong, but that's kind of, this is actually its
12:38weak point, right, on the Daytona? Yeah, for sure. I think this bike is the most
12:44street-focused and has the least sporting chassis of them all. The reason
12:50we say that is the suspension's a little bit frustrating to us, right? It's got a
12:54Showa separate function fork, big piston, very similar to the Suzuki's, but the
12:59settings that Triumph decided to go with on this bike are really soft and much
13:04more street-oriented. And around town, on the highway, the suspension feels really
13:09plush and nice, but when you get out into a nice canyon road, it's just too soft.
13:14It's entirely too soft, and there's not really the damping circuits that
13:17the Suzuki, for instance, has. The compression blows through really quick,
13:21the rebound isn't really there, it's just overall soft, which really kind of saps
13:26your confidence, especially going downhill on a canyon road when you're
13:31kind of trail braking, going into corners, you're almost completely
13:36bottoming out the front fork. Then it gives you some negative feedback, like
13:40you're feeling it almost chatter. That really takes away from this bike's
13:43overall handling. Maybe that wasn't Triumph's intent, but it looks like a
13:48sport bike, and we just had a little bit higher expectation on what this bike
13:52would be as far as the suspension goes, because that really dictates how the
13:56bike handles, how it brakes, how everything kind of works with this bike.
14:00Yeah, it's funny, we've said a couple things, whether it's hard to know if
14:04they've missed the mark, or if that's just the direction they were going
14:08towards. I mean, I did get the chance to commute on that bike a little bit, and
14:11ride around town. It's like, yeah, it makes sense as a street bike and around
14:14town. It's got that nice plush feel to it. I mean, honestly, for me as a heavier
14:18rider, overloading that chassis, the suspension, I think it's important for
14:23you guys to know. It's just like, this bike clearly was developed for street
14:27riding, or at least that's the end package. Yeah, and I guess the one
14:31thing that I have to mention is that this fork is not adjustable. It doesn't
14:36have any provisions for preload, rebound, or compression damping. This bike only
14:40has preload adjustability at the rear, so you're pretty limited, whereas the Yamaha
14:45has a little bit more adjustability, which we'll get to. But that's the one
14:48thing that really could have changed the outcome of our opinions on this bike, is
14:52if this bike had the Suzuki's damping, even, I think it would transform this
14:58bike into such a better sport bike. And importantly, you mentioned, and I want to
15:01definitely tell the audience this, that like, you've talked with the Triumph
15:06representatives about the bike, and they mentioned like, this was not a bike that
15:09they intended to really hit the track, right? And that's what we're seeing?
15:12Right. Yeah. Well, moving over to the Suzuki, they just made all the right
15:16decisions in developing this bike, and part of that is the chassis. It's not the
15:20lightest bike, and you feel that out on the road. I mean, it's definitely a little
15:23bit heavier, and in the really tight transitions that we were riding just a
15:27little bit ago, you do start to feel that weight, and you got to muscle it a little
15:30bit more. But the thing is, is it's really stable, and it's planted, and so that
15:34allows you to put those inputs into the bike, and ultimately, it just, it does
15:38work really well. I know one of the things that you said about this bike,
15:41Blake, is just like, it just doesn't do anything wrong when you get into the
15:45corner. You can start to put inputs into it, load the chassis in different ways,
15:48and it doesn't ever tell you like, hey, you've kind of reached a limit there.
15:51Again, I wish it was a little bit lighter handling, for sure, but it works in the
15:56canyons and things like that. It's a bike that I could take to the track and do
16:00track days on. It's not the most performance-oriented machine, for sure, if
16:04we're talking chassis and handling. This is a really confidence-inspiring bike,
16:10and again, I think it's something for people who are gravitating towards these
16:14bikes, where maybe they're growing in their riding experiences, and this is
16:19something that they can grow with, right? They can develop their
16:21skill set with it. It's got enough performance to it, so I'm really happy
16:25with the Suzuki handling-wise. I will say, I know we've all got to ride the Yamaha,
16:30and that does seem to have a little bit of advantage, just in terms of agility
16:34and nimbleness, right? So like, let's talk a little bit about the R7, especially in
16:38some, again, that really fun stuff that we were just getting to do. Yeah, I mean,
16:42this thing feels like a proper sport bike. Like, it's on its nose, it's agile.
16:47You look through the corner, and it just knows where you want to put it. It just
16:50goes there, you know? And you have the more, like, proper style clip-ons, and you
16:55don't have nearly as much leverage as that Suzuki, but this thing, you can ride
16:59it hard. You have the adjustable suspension. I know you want, you stiffened
17:03it up a little bit. It was a little soft for you, and then I like getting a little bit
17:06softer for my weight, and that's just what I like about this thing, you know?
17:10I've spent a little bit of time on, like, GSX-R 600, and that's what this reminded
17:13me of when I first got on it. It's just like, okay. Proper sport bike. Proper sport
17:17bike. I mean, it doesn't have that same engine, but it's sporty, man. Like, it
17:22just wants to go. Yeah, I think that's a bike that you, if you hadn't
17:26intended to go to the racetrack, it's a bike you know you can go to the
17:28racetrack on, and do a track day, and have fun, and basically put tape over the
17:33lights, and you're going. It's meant to be on a track or on a sporty road right
17:37out of the box. Yeah, yeah. I mean, obviously you can tell by the look what
17:40Yamaha was going for, and they've delivered then even in from a
17:43performance side. Yeah, it's, that is a really entertaining bike when you get up
17:47into the canyons, and maybe one of the bikes you'd have the most fun on the
17:50track. Kind of recap then, because this really is, I think, one of the most
17:54important parts of this test is understanding how these things
17:58handle, and going back to what we said in the introduction for this video, and kind
18:02of talking about how these bikes are gonna work well for different types of
18:06riders. And so to recap, what are we saying, Blake? This is for a street rider,
18:10right? Yeah. Daytona, that's what we're... Yeah, I mean, it's definitely, I don't think a
18:14hardcore sport bike enthusiast is gonna be happy with this bike, but somebody who
18:19just wants a sporty looking bike that is a very competent good street bike with
18:23a great engine is gonna love the Triumph. Yep, agreed. And then I'm gonna say that
18:27this is, this is that middle ground. This is someone who maybe they're gonna do
18:30like a track day a year, something like that, or they might want to go to the
18:34track with their friends, not necessarily for pushing lap times, but
18:37go out and have some fun. Maybe, you know, some fun rides on the weekend, but also a
18:40bike that just, again, it's comfortable, it works around town, it's not too stiff
18:44and aggressive. And then for you, you're saying this is, this is your sport bike
18:48guy, right? The guy who wants to go do some aggressive stuff. This thing's a
18:51weapon. That's what it, you know... Within the class. Relative to the class. Yeah, within, out of these three
18:55bikes, like this is the one. You ride it hard and it likes it, like it's got your
18:59back, it doesn't feel like it's gonna get sketchy. Yeah. It's basically a
19:03proper sport bike with just a parallel twin engine. Of the three bikes, that's
19:07the bike for the guys, girls that do want to go do some track riding and have
19:11that sportier feel. Yep. It's nice to have some bikes that, that do have such
19:15different feel, feeling to them because it's easier to be able to recommend them
19:19to different riders. All right, well, I know we got some lunch to get. We're
19:22gonna, we're gonna do lunch, which will be awesome, and then we're gonna wrap up
19:25some kind of, some more thoughts on things like ergonomics, fit and finish,
19:29and other things that we've experienced on the ride, right?
19:36Okay, a couple other little things to talk about. Not the, not the sexiest
19:40subjects, but a lot of bike ownership comes down to the little details, right?
19:44So, let's talk about ergonomics, right? I mean, there's, there's definitely some
19:48differences in these bikes. Evan, starting with you on that R7 because, I mean,
19:53obviously, just looking at it, it's got the most aggressive ergonomics of the
19:56Yeah, absolutely. The rider triangle, it's aggressive, it's tight, you're a little
20:00bit folded up, your hands are down low, you're over the tank, and yeah, it's a
20:04compromise you're gonna make for, you know, kind of a proper sport bike look
20:08and feel. Not gonna lie, there was a few times putting in some long highway miles.
20:13My knees, even being the young guy of the group, my knees were aching a little
20:17bit, a little bit of pain in the wrist, but for me, that's a compromise I'm
20:21willing to take for how it feels in the twisties. Yeah, we just talked about how,
20:25how it's so much, that bike is a lot of fun up in the canyons and things like
20:27that, and it's like, then you kind of forget, right, about maybe the suffering
20:31that you did. Yeah, yeah, you get off the mountain and you're like all high on the
20:35adrenaline you had, and then you're like, oh man, I got an hour of freeway, and then
20:38it gets old kind of quickly, but. Imagine, I imagine you're on the same page then
20:43maybe even a little more, uh, turned off by the Yamaha. Yeah, for sure, with my,
20:48with my old man knees and, and everything. I can take the Yamaha in small doses, I
20:53really appreciate it. I'm a sport bike diehard guy, and so I, I'm familiar with
20:59that riding position, but now I'm like, hmm, those other bikes are pretty
21:02comfortable, I'm, uh, I don't need to be on this for too long. Yeah, so speaking of
21:06comfort, arguably, I would say at least the, the most accommodating rider triangle
21:10is on the Suzuki, right, you agree? Yeah, for sure. What's, what, what kind of are
21:14the standout features for you on the Suzuki in terms of that rider triangle,
21:18or how does that kind of, uh, make the riding experience better? Yeah, I think,
21:25I think it's kind of just so much more relaxed, it's almost a sport touring
21:29seating position. The leg bend on the rider triangle is much more mellow, the
21:34mellowest of all three bikes. I think you get on that, and you're, you're like, oh,
21:39I can be on this bike for hours and not really think about it, so. But then you can
21:43still kind of get off the thing, right, and hang off a little bit. Yeah, it's not
21:46getting in the way of keeping it from being sporting, and I've ridden that bike
21:50at the racetrack, and same thing, it kind of does everything, it's like our middle
21:53of the road, right, it's, it's good on the street, and when I rode it on the track
21:57before, I'm like, oh, this is still pretty good, so. Yeah, I do love how natural the
22:01riding position is, as a taller rider, for sure, that thing feels really accommodating
22:05for me. The Triumph is funny, because the Triumph's, in this case, in terms of
22:10ergonomics, is almost the in-between bike, where, well, for one, I will say that the
22:14Triumph's seat is the most comfortable, right, the Triumph's seat is the plushest,
22:18and that actually goes back to some of the things we talked about, where the Triumph,
22:20you can tell they've built, like, this, this street bike, this bike that's just,
22:23maybe more for commuting or riding around town, and it's really comfortable in that
22:27way. You've got the risers on the bar, so it's, it's not as aggressive as the, the
22:31Yamaha. The one thing I will say about the Triumph, which, again, I notice, being a
22:35taller rider, is the footpegs feel really far back, compared to other bikes. My knee
22:40angle is pretty exaggerated, so I was actually getting almost more knee pain on
22:45the Triumph than the others. Not to say that it's super compact, it's just where,
22:49maybe, where those footpegs are. I was, obviously, the most compact and folded up
22:52on the Yamaha, which, yeah, I mean, it's, Yamaha doesn't try to hide that. We, you
22:56know what it is, so. Ergonomics, we're going to say, the Suzuki is probably the
23:01most accommodating. You know what you're getting with the Yamaha, and then the
23:04Triumph, maybe, is, is somewhere in between. The, the Triumph's seat, though,
23:07is standout, right? Yeah, yeah, definitely. Okay, so the Triumph, Triumph, maybe,
23:10makes, gets a little win there, but the Suzuki, overall. A couple other things,
23:14brakes. I mean, obviously, neither of these are the most performance-oriented
23:17packages, but it's, hey, they're sport bikes, right? So, I'll start by saying,
23:21Suzuki is probably the standout here, right? I think, the Suzuki braking
23:25package is really good. You spent a lot of time in the canyons on the Yamaha.
23:30Yeah. How are the brakes for you there? It's good. The front brake, the rear brake,
23:33both good. The, the Yamaha is a Brembo master cylinder, and I feel like you get
23:38a good initial feel. Like, that first kind of bite is good, and then, as you're
23:42trying to really squeeze on the lever, if you're kind of coming in hot and really
23:45need to get stopped quickly, it's not progressive. It's not a ton of power.
23:49Yeah, like, it would, yeah, you're getting into it, and you're like, oh, oh, you
23:52wish you had a little bit more. Yeah. It's not terrible, but, yeah, it's middle of
23:56the road. Yeah, and then, the Triumph, I, I think, on the Triumph, for me, it was a
24:01little bit numb. Do you agree? Yeah, I think it's a little bit numb. I don't
24:03think that they have, like, that, that really edgy bite, but then, the other side
24:07of the Triumph that we have to mention is, because of the soft front end,
24:10sometimes you're not willing to go as aggressive on the lever, because you're
24:15afraid of the amount of dive that you're going to get when you do get on the,
24:19I'm not going to give them credit for that, though. Like, just because we're
24:21having to ride around the suspension thing, like, more brakes, the better. Like,
24:25we want, yeah. So, yeah, Suzuki braking package, I think, takes the win there, and
24:30the Yamaha is a little bit surprised. It's pretty good. Yeah, it is, yeah. I will
24:33say, on the Triumph, the one thing I noticed is their ABS was really sensitive,
24:36like, on the rear. Again, it just feels, that whole bike, we keep going back to it,
24:40but it just feels very soft. I just, yeah. I noticed that, too, because trying to,
24:45kind of, ride around the soft fork and really just trying to use the rear as
24:49much as I could to avoid the fork dive, even still, you're like, man, like, yeah,
24:54you're not getting enough. Yeah, it's a, it's a very, I don't know, just soft
24:59overall package. It's, it's a street bike, very much. We've done some fuel
25:03mileage testing on these things. It's, they're pretty much middle of the road.
25:06They all, 3.4 gallons for the Yamaha and the Suzuki, 3.7 for the Triumph. You've
25:13been doing the math. The Triumph is a little bit thirstier, is that right?
25:16Yeah, the Triumph is getting about, at least, on the average that we did on a
25:20lot of canyon riding, a lot of spirited riding, it's getting about 10 miles per
25:24gallon less than the best of the, the other bike, which is the Yamaha, which has,
25:30you know, kind of makes sense with that parallel twin, the smallest of the
25:33parallel twins. Yeah, right, right, and maybe not a huge thing, you know, fuel
25:36mileage for you guys that they're buying these bikes, but if you are buying these
25:40bikes as commuter things, it's, it's something good, worth knowing, and yeah,
25:44we've put a lot of miles on these things so far, so it's cool that we've got that
25:47data. I will, kind of, wrap this section up by just fit and finish. We've spent
25:50enough time on these bikes now to, kind of, see all the little, little bits to
25:55them and sitting in the cockpit, right, and there's things you notice. I actually
25:58really like the Yamaha and the Suzuki from the cockpit. Big thing that stands
26:02out to me is they've got, like, painted panels in there. To me, that gives them a
26:05little bit nicer look and feel to them, whereas the Triumph's got just, it looks
26:08like a lot of plastic to me. Yeah, is that, yeah, and then, then you're also
26:12looking at the Dash, which is the hybrid, which isn't quite as sexy as, say, the
26:16Suzuki. Yeah. So, you know, the thing about the Suzuki is, for the price of that
26:21bike and what you're, you're getting, and you get this really nice, beautiful TFT
26:26and some of those other things, it's, like, the, obviously, the nicest of these
26:29three bikes, but it really gives you an impression when you're sitting in the, in
26:33the cockpit, like, it definitely stands out and you, you feel like you're getting
26:36something for your money, right? Yeah, and then, kind of, your thoughts, let's say,
26:40on the Yamaha, right, kind of, what's been your feel from that, and, I mean, it's, I
26:45wouldn't say an older bike at this point, but, I mean, it's, it's a little bit long
26:48in the tooth compared to the newer Suzuki and Triumph. Yeah, I mean, that's,
26:51kind of, what I was going to say, is it's, you look at the, the Switch Cubes and
26:54stuff, and it's just stuff you've seen on the old, you know, the MT-10, maybe even
26:58the FZ-07, yeah, it's a little long in the tooth, you know, what you're going to
27:01get. The Dash, it's, it's tucked in, it's, kind of, hidden, there's a couple cables
27:05that run over, it's hard to get, read the information at a quick glance, you, kind
27:09of, have to, yeah, find a little pocket to look through. Agreed, agreed, but, one,
27:14one thing that I want to bring up about the Yamaha, in particular, is that, at
27:18multiple fuel stops, when people have been quizzing us about the three bikes
27:21we're riding, people, we've asked them, well, which bike do you think looks the
27:25best, and they, everybody gravitates towards the Yamaha. Yeah, that is true.
27:28Like, the Yamaha, it's the color, it's the styling, people just look at that, and it
27:34looks sexy, and exotic, and sporty to them, so. Yeah, I, I will absolutely agree on
27:38that, yeah, I've been posting some photos, and things like that, and getting a lot
27:41of comments, and Yamaha's done a good job of making that thing, you know, have
27:45the spirit of, of their sport bikes, you know, the old R6, and things like that,
27:49and, I'll agree, yeah, better look at the R6. I mean, one guy thought it was a R6,
27:52when we were stopped. Yep, yeah, yep. Again, not the sexiest subjects to talk
27:56about, but I think if you are looking to buy one of these bikes, it's, kind of,
27:59important to know all these little, kind of, details, right, and, it's interesting,
28:04again, we've seen how the manufacturers are taking such different approaches to
28:08all these little features, so, all right, we've got a couple more miles that we
28:12want to do, another couple sections of road, and on the other side of that, we
28:15are going to get you the winner of this test, and maybe you've got a little bit
28:20idea now, but a couple things might surprise you.
28:28We talked about these bikes, kind of, the individual strengths, and weaknesses,
28:31now it is time to crown a winner. I am going to make you wait just a couple more
28:36seconds, though, because we are going to talk about the runner-ups first, and with
28:39that, I am going to hand it over to you, Blake, and the Triumph Daytona 660, not the
28:43winner of this comparison, but a bike that might work for some people, right?
28:47Yeah, for sure. I mean, the thing that we love about this bike is it's got a great
28:51engine. The inline triple, it's unique amongst these three bikes, and it really
28:56stands out. It's a really fun bike in a lot of scenarios. One of the things that
29:00we don't like about this bike was the suspension, and, in particular, the front
29:04fork is a little bit too soft for sporting riding. But then, on the other side, you
29:08know, around town, as a sporty-looking street bike, the suspension wasn't such a
29:13negative there. So, around town, it was plush, and it was nice, so it just depends
29:17on what you're trying to do with the bike. But we really like the styling and the
29:20look of the Triumph, so, for some people, that might be enough right there.
29:24All right, well, that leaves two bikes. We've got the old Suzuki and the Yamaha
29:27here. Should we rock, paper, scissors, or... No, I'm just kidding. All right. Yamaha,
29:33again, not the winner here, but an interesting bike. My first time riding this
29:38bike, I think there is a lot to it. You rode it quite a bit. Let's talk about the
29:42strengths there and who this bike is for. Yeah, I think, first and foremost, is the
29:46chassis, the agility, just the handling. It's a committed bike. Proper sport bike
29:51feel. Yeah, but maybe the downside would be the engine. It's fun. It has, you know,
29:56charisma, but compared to the other two, it's a little outgunned. I would like to
30:00maybe see some power numbers a little closer to the Suzuki. Overall, I mean, it
30:04has the look. It has the feel. For the guy that wants to ride aggressive and maybe
30:08go to the track, the Yamaha is a really good option. That does leave us with the
30:13Suzuki GSX-8R, and I'm not alone in this. This is a group thing. We've all decided
30:19that this motorcycle right here is the most well-rounded machine of the group.
30:24It is the bike that really fits this category best. Suzuki sat down with a blank
30:29sheet of paper when they designed this motorcycle and the 8S, the naked bike that
30:33it's kind of based off of, and they just made all the right decisions, it seems
30:38like. It seems like from a chassis perspective engine, they've just built a
30:42really well-rounded motorcycle. This is a phenomenal engine. Yes, the bike is a
30:47little bit heavy, and that does affect the steering a little bit. It takes a
30:50little bit more muscle. Overall, it's a machine that offers so much for the
30:55price tag, and for that reason, it is the winner of this comparison between
31:01these three motorcycles. That is a wrap on this comparison test. Now, if you want
31:06more information on these bikes in written word, be sure to head to
31:09CycleWorld.com, where there will be a full comparison test written by Blake.
31:15As always, be sure to like, comment, and subscribe. Thank you. We'll see you on the
31:19next one.