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Common Tread

2023 Suzuki GSX-8S first ride review

Jun 02, 2023

Wow, this is exciting. I can’t help but think that there’s too much to talk about here. A genuinely new motorcycle from Suzuki. An all-new engine, even. Aggressive styling, an approachable price, and enough state-of-the-art technology to make an impact in a middleweight-naked category that’s teeming with life. Then why, I wonder, am I struggling with what to say?

It’s almost like the review has been written before I begin. One reason for that might be that the team here at Common Tread missed the trip to southern France to test the GSX-8S at its global debut. That’s a shame, but it happens. The silver lining is that we were able to have the 8S in-house at RevZilla West for many weeks, gathering fuel-mileage figures, riding it on familiar roads, rolling it onto our scales, and giving everyone on the team a chance to weigh in on this brand-spankin’ new machine.

GSX-8S details

There has been no shortage of opinions on Suzuki’s tendency, over the past 10 to 20 years, to reuse an engine that already exists to create a sorta-kinda-new motorcycle. Heck, we dedicated  an entire episode of our podcast to asking the question of why the folks in Hamamatsu haven’t introduced a new engine in what feels like decades. Childish? Maybe. But not inaccurate, I don’t think.

2023 Suzuki GSX-8S parked next to a wall of yellow wildflowers.
The GSX-8S carries 3.7 gallons of fuel and weighed in on our scales at 444 pounds. A good snapshot of what elemental motorcycling looks like in 2023. Photo by Joe Jackson.

At any rate, there’s no denying that this 776 cc parallel twin, which lives in this GSX-8S and the new V-Strom 800 DE, is new. Never mind that Suzuki hasn’t put a P-twin on showroom floors since street bikes were two-strokes, this new mill seems to check all of the boxes for a modern, sophisticated engine. Only fitting for an all-new middleweight naked machine, priced at $8,850 and looking for a fight.

2023 Suzuki GSX-8S front wheel and brake detail.
Run-of-the-mill calipers and rubber brake lines aren’t anything special, but the 8S’s front discs are larger than average for the class, and it’s noticeable. Photo by Joe Jackson.

Twin counterbalancers rotate opposite the crankshaft and act against the asynchronous firing of the two cylinders, which use the now-typical 270-degree crankpin offset. Actually, it’s usually described as a 90-degree offset, to mimic a V-twin of the same angle. Obviously this speaks especially to Suzuki’s history with 90-degree V-twins — the GSX-8S product page even mentions the SV650.

I’m not Kevin Cameron, so I won’t pretend to reveal any secrets of engineering behind the parallel-twin layout, but the main advantages are plain to see. There are fewer parts, the engines are compact and, as he so astutely points out, oftentimes the collateral benefit of making these twins efficient is that they are torque-rich and fun to use. See the wheelie photo for reference.

2023 Suzuki GSX-8S wheelying out of a corner on a mountain road.
Should a GSX-8S rider find themselves exiting a second-gear corner on an empty road with a slight rise, something very expected might happen. Photo by Joe Jackson.

The rest of the GSX-8S is fairly conventional. A steel-backbone frame supports the new engine, which helps keep the 8S narrow, and an underslung muffler maintains the spartan look. Spring preload in the shock is the only adjustment offered by the KYB suspension, though the trellis subframe is removable, as are the passenger pegs.

2023 Suzuki GSX-8S five-inch TFT dash display detail.
There are a lot of displays in the motorcycle world that could learn a thing or three from this one. Photo by Joe Jackson.

Oddities are few and far between, my favorite being the strange decision to attach the tail light to the end of the cantilevered license-plate carrier and fender. There’s nothing wrong with it functionally. The tail of the bike just looks a little odd. The 320 mm front-brake discs are larger than I was expecting, credit to Suzuki for that, and the five-inch TFT display is better than most.

2023 Suzuki GSX-8S tail light detail.
Maybe this setup will make it easy to shed the whole road-going assembly for a track day? Photo by Joe Jackson.

Onboard the 8S

Aside from automatically switching to a black background in low light, which plenty of modern dashes do, the GSX-8S screen’s biggest win is that it doesn’t try to do too many tricks. It’s bright and clean, with info displayed in high-contrast colors and the right amount of space between the presented data. I found it to be terrific to use, even if it’s a bit unexciting.

2023 Suzuki GSX-8S left handlebar control button detail.
A simple three-button switchgear controls the dash. Easy enough. Photo by Joe Jackson.

Adjust three levels of traction control (plus off) with the tap of a button, and the three ride modes with two taps, all on the fly if you like. The menus are straightforward and all of the trip data is easy to toggle, not to mention simple to reset. The worst thing I can say about the dash is that the big, clear tachometer that takes up nearly half the screen isn’t really necessary.

2023 Suzuki GSX-8S riding through an urban shopping area, with stores in the background.
Urban assault is high on the 8S’s list of favorite things. As is wiping the smirk off the face of innocent shoppers. Photo by Joe Jackson.

I like to know what the rpm count is as much as the next rider, but holy smokes you don’t need a visual cue for when to shift. All of that Euro-5-compliant, efficiency-driven, inadvertent torque on tap means it’s much more pleasing to shift early. Redline is at just under 10,000 rpm and that’s a couple thousand more revs than I ever felt the need to use.

Anyone who has ridden, say, a Yamaha MT-09 or a KTM 890 Duke will probably recall a decent low-end punch from those engines, too. Then again there’s a bit of a top-end rush on those bikes, and that’s a big difference with this Suzuki mill. It almost feels stronger at the bottom of the rev range simply because it doesn’t bother to hit up high. It’s a different vibe, and it suits the bike just fine.

2023 Suzuki GSX-8S sitting in a dirt parking lot with a rider on board.
The 8S’s riding position is compact, with the handlebar fairly close to the seat, but enough legroom that plenty of riders will be comfortable. Photo by Joe Jackson.

Speaking of the 890 Duke, that was my first impression when I plunked into the 8S’s cockpit for the first time. There’s a whiff of aggression in the riding position, the footpegs high enough and the handlebar just flat and narrow enough that it feels purposeful. Not as relaxed as that MT-09 I mentioned, and also not as severe as an Aprilia Tuono or Triumph Street Triple.

2023 Suzuki GSX-8S riding through a right-hand turn, toward camera, with bright yellow wildflowers lining the inside of the turn.
Eventually, a fast street pace will start to leave aluminum from the footpeg feelers behind, but there’s loads of fun to be had before that happens. Photo by Joe Jackson.

Suzuki’s engineers didn’t design the GSX-8S to be a high-strung weapon. Heck, even the marketing team pulled some punches. The brochure-text reads “a robust engine, an agile chassis, a suite of rider aids, plus stunning looks,” and I think that speaks volumes. There are no exaggerated modifiers. It’s not a “seriously” robust engine, or a “supremely” agile chassis, or even a “comprehensive” suite of rider aids. It just has those things.

What else? According to the hype copy, “...a smart price that’s a statement to your brilliance.” That’s the assertion this bike is meant to make. Strong and competitive, without being wild or breaking any barriers. All for an MSRP of $8,850. The chassis is balanced and eager to sling through curves, yes, and yet the powerplant sort of encapsulates the bike’s overall demeanor. The brakes, like the engine, have plenty of strength whenever you need it (thanks in part to those Hayabusa-sized rotors) but somehow feel gentle to use. 

2023 Suzuki GSX-8S carving through a foggy canyon toward the camera.
Soft saddlebags and a cockpit USB port are among the accessories offered for the GSX-8S. Fuel range isn't great, but there's some sport-touring fun to be had. Photo by Joe Jackson.

While we’re at it, chances are the fork will feel a little soft for a 200-pound rider and the shock too stiff for a 120-pound rider and there won’t be much either of them can do about it. But, these criticisms all seem to fall in line with what the bike is supposed to deliver, and that is fun. This isn’t a high-performance motorcycle, but it’s a sample of what that life can taste like.

I won’t say I love all of the compromises made, but I understand them. There are only a couple of true complaints. One is the seat, which I suspect was made practically as thin as possible to keep the listed seat height below 32 inches, and after about 90 minutes my buns were tired of it. Maybe it’s meant to work in tandem with the small-ish gas tank, which will most likely need filling up around 140 miles.

2023 Suzuki GSX-8S seat detail.
High marks for shape and angle of the seat. Lower marks for the stiff padding. Photo by Joe Jackson.

The other notable miss is the quickshifter, which is clearly happiest to pop up through the gears in the lower half of the rev range. Fair enough, that’s where the engine is happiest. However, the downshift function just isn’t calibrated well. This is especially strange considering how much I (and Lance) enjoyed the QS system on the GSX-S1000 GT+. Granted, that’s a pricier bike, but I don’t think that’s the issue.

REVER track of a motorcycle ride.
The oft-used SoCal test loop, with a good variety of roads for any street bike. See more at rever.co. REVER illustration.

My suspicion is that this entirely new powertrain means building fresh algorithms and understanding a different engine character, and the wrinkles are not yet ironed out. Plopping some remnant of the 2005 GSX-R1000 engine into a handful of models (such as the Gixxess GT) over the course of 10 years has certain benefits. One of them might be avoiding the GSX-8S's awkward clunk down to the next cog with what feels like half the auto-blip it needs. Luckily, for this particular bike, I found that if you pull in the lever on the left handlebar as the next-lower gear is selected, it smooths things out nicely. Pro tip.

Gee-ess-ex eight-ess essay exit

OK fine, there are three complaints, the last one being the name. I get the lineage and the naming conventions that Suzuki is working with, but dang. At least the GSX-S series can be abbreviated to “Gixxess,” that seems to work well enough. What’re we supposed to do with GSX? Just “Gixx” for short? Gixx eight-ess? Suggestions are welcome, productivity will remain way down in Common Tread meetings until we can sort this out.

Back to the task at hand: Is buying a GSX-8S a statement of your brilliance? It’s a clear step below bikes like the Street Triple R or 890 Duke, but those bikes are much more expensive ($2,000 - $4,000 more, depending on the model) and I think the fact that I feel compelled to bring them up in the conversation is a tip of the cap to the GSX-8S. I think this 8S slots into an interesting spot in the landscape, being an equally simple but super-sized version of a 650-700 cc naked bike.

2023 Suzuki GSX-8S close up on the vertically stacked headlight and side cowl.
The GSX-8S is almost generic looking until you get to the headlight and side cowls. It’s not for everybody, but it’s unique. Photo by Joe Jackson.

Practically all of the immense joy I feel riding an $8,200 Yamaha MT-07 is captured by this 8S. And somehow it’s more. More stately and more urbane. It’s less toylike, which is almost all good. I often found myself having an MT-07-esque cackle in my helmet, not wanting the ride to end. It’s at least $700 better than an MT-07, objectively. Whether or not you want it more, that’s for Suzuki and the rest of us to find out.

All of this is to say, perhaps I couldn’t think what to say because Suzuki is late to the parallel-twin party and has an obvious uphill climb to get on level terms, just like some of us thought before this bike was introduced. Or, maybe I just need one more ride to make sure I’ve got my story straight…

2023 Suzuki GSX-8S
Price (MSRP) $8,850
Engine 776 cc, liquid-cooled, eight-valve, parallel twin
Transmission,
final drive
Six-speed, chain
Claimed horsepower 82 @ 8,500 rpm
Claimed torque 57.5 foot-pounds @ 6,500 rpm
Frame Steel-tube double backbone
Front suspension KYB 41 mm fork; 5.1 inches of travel
Rear suspension KYB shock, adjustable for spring preload; 5.1 inches of travel
Front brake Nissin four-piston calipers, 320 mm discs with ABS
Rear brake Nissin single-piston caliper, 240 mm disc with ABS
Rake, trail 25 degrees, 4.1 inches
Wheelbase 57.7 inches
Seat height 31.9 inches
Fuel capacity 3.7 gallons
Tires
Dunlop Sportmax Roadsport 2; 120/70ZR-17 front, 180/55ZR-17 rear
Measured weight 444 pounds
Available Now
Warranty 12 months, unlimited miles
More info suzukicycles.com