Suzuki’s Sportier Middleweight GSX-8R

Suzuki has taken the GSX-8S and wrapped it in a sportier, fully-faired package, the 8R looking like a competitor to the Yamaha R7 and Aprilia RS660.

With the 600cc supersport market going under, the 800cc middleweight twins seem to be filling in the void. 

The new GSX-8R uses the new frame and fresh engine of the 8S and wraps it all in sexier GSX-R-like clothes. Within the tubular steel frame is a 776cc parallel twin with a 270-degree crankshaft, giving a V-twin-like sound. Suzuki’s Cross Balancer keeps the operation silky. This engine is also found in the VStrom 800. It delivers 61kW at 8500rpm, and peak torque is available from around 5500 through to 8800rpm. Most, 85 per cent, is on tap from 4000rpm.

New items include a full fairing with a windscreen that integrates the stacked headlight arrangement of the 8S. Separate forged aluminium handlebars are bolted to the top of the triple clamp and impart a sporty, forward riding position but with not too much of a racer crouch, more a “plugged-in riding experience, while also offering comfort”. 

The new rider’s seat is said to be “designed for sporty riding,” supporting the rider at its rear edge while giving good freedom of movement. Seat height remains 810mm while pegs are in the same position as those of the 8S.

Evidently the suspension set-up is ‘more focused’, retuned for the increased front weight bias. The KYB arrangement of the 8S is switched for one from Showa, their Big Piston forks, while at the rear there’s a preload-adjustable monoshock, also by Showa. There’s evidently 30 per cent greater damping force than in the S model.

Brakes are borrowed from the 8S, comprising twin four-piston Nissin callipers at the front biting onto 310mm discs, with a single 240mm disc and a single-piston calliper at the rear. The cast wheels are shod in Dunlop Sportmax Roadsport 2 tyres (120/70ZR17 at the front and 180/55ZR17 out back). 

There are three different throttle responses (ride modes), three modes for the TC and non-cornering ABS. An up-and-down quickshifter is fitted as standard.

Expect it to be around the price of the Yamaha R7 and Honda CBR650R but not as expensive as the Aprilia RS660. Another potential future rival is a LAMS Daytona 660. The 8R should dot down here in Q2 of 2024.