Following the launch last year of the naked middleweight GSX-8S, Suzuki now enters the competitive middleweight sportsbike class with the GSX-8R. The 8R shares the same torquey 776cc parallel twin as the 8S but receives an uprated chassis featuring new Showa suspension front and rear, as well as a sporty new look.
The GSX-8R comes with a quickshifter, electronic rider aids and riding modes. While the footpeg and seat position stays the same as the GSX-8S, the R version gets lower ’bars. The 61kW (82hp) GSX-8R is aimed at a wide audience, from the commuter to the occasional trackday rider or, as Suzuki puts it, “the GSX-8R can be a commuter, a trackday bike or a sports-tourer”.
Unlike the much-missed GSX-R600 and GSX-R750, which have now vanished from Suzuki’s line-up, the 8R is first and foremost a roadbike that can also be taken to the track, as we found out at the recent world launch.
The all-new GSX-8R certainly catches the eye as it glistens in the early Spanish sunlight that’s bathing the Circuito Monteblanco pitlane. First impressions are of a handsome, compact and well-proportioned machine. The finish is clean and pleasing. There’s a European look that feels right, though I’m sure the double stacked LED headlights might split opinions. It’s immediately apparent the GSX-8R is heavily based on the naked GSX-8S, which is
