[shyamg28]

I reached out to James from Aryan Suzuki in Bangalore, to see if I could borrow the GSX-8R over a weekend. He agreed

A plan was set in motion with the destination being Pondicherry. We would be taking the Chittoor route via Vellore. Slightly narrower B roads in places.
A friend from US would be riding my V Strom 650 XT. 700kms in total. Enough distance and time one might say, to get a fair understanding of a motorcycle.

As I picked up the vehicle the previous evening, the first thing I noticed was the ergonomics. Not aggressive at all. No pressure on the wrists. Nice wide seats. Rearset footpegs, felt very similar to the Gen 3 Duke 390, with seat height at 810mm. The seat looks really thin, but is quite cushiony as I'd come to know over the entire journey.
Now, I'll be honest - my experience with sports bikes is zero. So what did concern me hugely was a slight pain in my neck. The 40 minutes ride to get home had me nearly thinking that I'd return the vehicle the next day. Better sense prevailed thankfully.

Is this the ideal garage?




Front profile with me aboard. I'm 5"10 for reference. Inseam probably between 32-33".






With my feet down. Notice how bent it is.




5"6 friend atop the motorcycle.




Ze wife. 5"4.


2-up.


2-up with wife as pillion. I think this can work. Not tested though.


View from the cockpit.




Top view.

[shyamg28]

A few more shots of the motorcycle before we proceed.
I like the way it looks. It's a classic design, that will neither age quickly, nor look extremely appealing to the younger generation immediately.
To each his own.

From the back. Looks proportionate.


I find most bikes to be appealing from this angle.


1465mm wheelbase. I'll get to what this translated into later.


Cushiony seats must say, I had no problem with them.
No grabhandles here. A cuddly pillion experience.


Customary saree guard. If there's shortage of metal later on earth, we know what caused it.


And so, we pushed off. Not before a quick stop at Hoskote toll gate to do a quick size comparison between the V Strom and the GSX.

The V Strom is a relatively large motorcycle, and yet the GSX doesn't seem like a scrawny kid next to it.
Well proportioned for sure.


From the front, because of the V Strom's bulk and height, the difference seems significant.


And we're off.

[shyamg28]

As you exit the Hoskote toll towards, there are immediately two back to back flyovers, before which there are a rumbler humps. Over the first flyover, I gunned it. To my surprise, I was neither unsettled, nor thrown off the motorcycle. Plush suspension?

The next set of rumblers, I slowed down and here the rear suspension did show a slight weakness. It's certainly a bit soft, especially at slow speeds, so while the compression is still excellent, the rebound threw me off a bit. Again, nothing disconcerting. But definitely noticeable.

The rear suspension is rebound adjustable but wasn't something I played around with. Unlike on the V Strom, there isn't a remote adjuster, so you need a C spanner to adjust it. For lazy people like me, a remote adjuster is mandatory

The front was absolute aces. I never felt a jarring experience on my wrists at any point throughout the journey.

Rear preload adjustment.


For those familiar with that route, it's fairly good roads and can support decent pace as well. As we picked up pace on this route, the next obvious thing I noticed was the wind blast. Coming from the Adv style of touring, this was more than I had anticipated. And yet, funnily enough, because of a slightly hunched posture, at no point did I feel exhausted by the wind. But I'm fairly certain that I would install a taller aftermarket screen for my height.

The next thing that I was expecting was the arrival of a rev band with vibrations. It never did though!

On the V Strom 800 DE, with whom the 8R shares its 776cc parallel twin motor, there was a discernible vibration band that I had noticed between 4.8-5.2k rpm. Strangely, on this, I felt nothing all through. It wasn't even as though I was in better cushioned riding gear. Definitely the motorcycle was doing it for me. Of course, I'm neither an experienced reviewer, nor do I truly understand the science around componentry, etc. So, my takeaway would be to go back to the V Strom once again and revisit the rev bands. Suzuki, can I borrow one to "test"?

This trip was back taken back in March. The engine did show temperatures of upto 115 degrees C. I could clearly feel it on my legs, especially at lower speeds. Perfectly natural. Doesn't even need to be called out (yes, I see the irony).

Around 80kms in, we decided to stop at a CCD. As we sat there with our caffeine boosters, the friend asked me what were my top 3 highlights of the bike so far.

My answer as I recall was - Suspension, engine and ergos. 2 positives, 1 negative...or so I thought at the time.

I've already set some context on the suspension. The engine - it truly shines!
Low end tractability - check.
Mid-range - check.
Top-end - whatever was my top end for this test, I saw enough and more left on tap.

The true kicker comes in the form of the throaty exhaust note and the smooth engine sound. It's relatively more audible on this motorcycle than my own V Strom. I enjoyed it.

Now, I carried over my apprehension about the ergos I initially had when picking up the motorcycle from the dealership, over to the first 80kms as well. Honestly, there was no neck pain, no wrist pain, no back pain, no leg pain. What did exist at the time was my apprehension waiting for some ache to appear. Just a human mind conditioned to balance the positives with the negatives, when it couldn't find any lol.

The brakes worked well. Great initial bite, zero dive. I think I also started hanging loose on the handlebars. I would say a set of tank grips are mandatory, given how narrow the tank feels to hold with your legs. Or maybe I lack the inner thigh strength to squeeze in more. But yes, tank grips would help. On that note by the way, the tank is metal.

The clutch is still heavier than I'd like. A KTM at home, and generally all Hondas forever I guess, set the wrong (or right) precedent when it comes to the clutch pull, spoiling the experience on most other motorcycles for me personally.

As we crossed Andhra towards TN, the roads became narrower. We did have aspirations to take some deviations that would have us riding more twisty routes, but this would have to do. After crossing Gingee towards Tindivanam, the roads became truly fun to ride. What I recall feeling most on this stretch, was the wheelbase and how it affected the handling.

Throughout, we were doing pretty decent pace and no point did I feel like I had to work the motorcycle on getting it to go where I wanted. The reason I'm calling this out specifically relating to the wheelbase is because I do ride a Duke 390 frequently, and that motorcycle is basically just the human sitting on top. If the human moves, the motorcycle moves. Which generally means slightly larger lean angles, even if not necessarily, rider input.

Both motorcycles have the same rake angle I believe. The wheelbase on the 8R contributed to it feeling properly planted. The rear was always along on the ride instead of trailing. Aces!

A bit of pseudo racing never hurt anyone.


Although I have only 3 fingers up, I really mean 5/5


The highlights that I felt needed to be called out, were all more or less noticeable to me on the onward journey itself. 350kms long. The return journey was similar and I didn't really have any change of heart or mind...except one thing - the ergos.

Remember the potential body pain (specifically, the neck pain) that I was apprehensive about? Nothing. Nada. Ontrumillai. Zilch!

In fact because I had to call on my core to engage much more on this motorcycle, I had almost no body ache and arrived feeling quite fresh. Now, I wouldn't go so far as to say this is as comfortable as an ADV. It's a different ballgame. But I was thoroughly amused by how comfortably I was able to make this 700km journey, without any aches.

The only problem now - there's an itch to scratch. And to scratch that itch, there's a certain Vitamin M missing. But as I've always believed, life is strange. And as strange as I had anticipated the experience would be with the Suzuki GSX-8R, it was nothing short of an eye opener for me! In a good way. Nay, in the best way!

Would recommend 100%!

[shyamg28]

A few miscellaneous observations -

Ride mode - Much like the V Strom 800, this has TC 1/2/3 and ride modes A/B/C. I started off on TC 3 + Mode C. Quickly switched to TC 1 + Mode A for the entirety except for a small stretch of a half hour, where light drizzle had passed us, but the roads were wet.

Lights - Did not ride it at night so can't comment on this. But honestly, I'm fairly certain aux lights would be needed for touring. I would put them. Where? Now that's the tricky bit.

Phone mounting options - This was definitely a challenge. The U-Bolt mount that I had, would only fit on the inside of the left clamp on the handlebar. Tiny real estate.

Almost no space to mount the U-bolt. But do notice there is an alternative to mirror mounting on handlebars.


Rear mud splatter - The rear tail section is an aesthetic finish to the motorcycle. Functionally useless. Ok fine, it does hold the indicator lights. On the wet road section, I had mud splattered all over the back of my jacket and a little on my hydration bag as well. Useless!
An aftermarket tyre hugger might help.



Instrument cluster, a nice LCD screen. Bright enough to read at anytime in the day.


Settings menu. Has a fair bit of customization.


Switch gear. Easy to use.




Tyres information.


Quickshifter - Particularly enjoyed it. Friendly. Didn't need me to be very high up on the rpm range to shift smoothly. It does the job extremely well. Nearly 0 misses and no jerks.

Color options -

• Metallic Triton Blue.
• Metallic Mat Black.
• Metallic Mat Sword Silver.
• Pearl Ignite Yellow.

Price at present in Bangalore. Although I believe there are some discounts to be had.


Friend and I, as we returned, fooling around.




Much fun was had

[aston_martyr]

Originally Posted by shyamg28

Color options -

• Metallic Triton Blue.
• Metallic Mat Black.
• Metallic Mat Sword Silver.
• Pearl Ignite Yellow.

Thank you, very insightful ride experience. I particularly enjoyed the riding comfort within the city and also the wind protection was surprisingly good for my 5ft 10in frame.
Are you sure about the Yellow being available for purchase?
I took a TR in Feb from Aerolex suzuki and they specifically said its only the 3 colors that were available in India barring the yellow.

[TheHelix0202]

Originally Posted by shyamg28

Rear mud splatter - The rear tail section is an aesthetic finish to the motorcycle…

Is it just me or does the tyre hugger + number plate setup appear slightly misaligned/crooked?

[Axe77]

Originally Posted by shyamg28

The only problem now - there's an itch to scratch. And to scratch that itch, there's a certain Vitamin M missing. But as I've always believed, life is strange. And as strange as I had anticipated the experience would be with the Suzuki GSX-8R, it was nothing short of an eye opener for me! In a good way. Nay, in the best way!

Would recommend 100%!

Nice big picture overview of this rather niche bike Shyam. Thanks for sharing.

The elephant in the room though with this specific faired bike segment (and the GSX 8r in particular amplifies these negatives) is I don’t see where it fits in the garage.

If you want a ‘do it all’ sort of bike at a similar segment and price point, the Z900 and Street Triple R provide a much superior product - better power and torque, versatility for touring and despite missing the fairing, will be a hoot and a half more even if you want to take it to track compared to the Suzuki GSX 8R. They both probably feel better finished too. If you must go faired, the Daytona 660 (and its not a bike I’m a fan off) is possibly still a better buy.

At about 205(?) odd kgs wet weight, its way too portly for its underwhelming power specs and if someone offered me a choice of a free bike for a track day, I think I’d sooner pick a Striple R over this any day of the week.

I’d rather get a bike that does one thing really well (if track days are your poison, plonk that extra for a ZX 6R and make it work for touring) rather than get something that does everything only passably well. If I want something easier for touring with luggage the nakeds will deliver more fun in almost every department.

If I had your kinda garage with those two beautiful and capable ADVs already there for two up touring duties, heck I’d plonk on a ZX6R (pricier) or a Street Triple R depending on the price point I could cough up - no question about it over this Suzuki.

[shyamg28]

Originally Posted by aston_martyr

Thank you, very insightful ride experience. I particularly enjoyed the riding comfort within the city and also the wind protection was surprisingly good for my 5ft 10in frame.
Are you sure about the Yellow being available for purchase?
I took a TR in Feb from Aerolex suzuki and they specifically said its only the 3 colors that were available in India barring the yellow.

My bad. You're correct. The yellow isn't available with any dealer from what I understand too.

[aston_martyr]

Originally Posted by shyamg28

My bad. You're correct. The yellow isn't available with any dealer from what I understand too.

Thanks. I knew it was too good to be true.

[Aditya]

Test Ride : 2024 Suzuki GSX-8R - Posts moved to a new thread.

[shyamg28]

Originally Posted by Axe77

Nice big picture overview of this rather niche bike Shyam. Thanks for sharing.

The elephant in the room though with this specific faired bike segment (and the GSX 8r in particular amplifies these negatives) is I don’t see where it fits in the garage...

To be honest Axe77, I was unable to explicitly call out where this would fit for most riders with an existing multi bike garage.

It does however work well as the only bike in the garage, if you're primarily into sport touring. Me thinks. It's also priced aggressively, and along with discounts & what have you, it makes for a good proposition.

I have a bulky ADV which I need as of today to lug a potential pillion (from time to time) as well as luggage and the kitchen sink. Its ability to handle all that load and carry on is truly unparalleled.

As you rightly called out, it is indeed more of a do-it-all sort of bike than a specialist motorcycle. Somehow, this always resonates with my middle class mentality lol (it's the wife that's pulling me away it would seem).

I can see value of the GSX in a multi bike garage if,
- the rider is specifically into sport touring,
- the rider intends to attend once or twice a year track days,
- 2-up touring with luggage is an occasional need,
- hassle free service + ownership is a priority.

If I was able to replace (or add ) a lighter ADV, then I can see value in a GSX for my own self. This would become the defacto short trip motorcycle for me, especially now that the wife chugs along on her own motorcycle.

It also matters to me that I have a good working relationship with Suzuki. This is important but definitely not as important as owning a bike that truly truly appeals to me.

None of what I said above still negates the comparison between potentially more potent and specialist offerings. But I would still add this to my consideration list

[Axe77]

Originally Posted by shyamg28

As you rightly called out, it is indeed more of a do-it-all sort of bike than a specialist motorcycle. Somehow, this always resonates with my middle class mentality lol (it's the wife that's pulling me away it would seem).

Indeed it’s a do-it-all but this here is where it loses me. It’s taken a slightly more comfort over sportiness approach to bikes like the CBR 650R / Daytona 660 (or from what I read even the R7), veering more towards the naked bikes in terms of riding ergos. So it’s neither the sportiest of riding orientation nor does it have the outright grunt of the corresponding nakeds (I’m generally using Striple R as a reference here). For track use therefore you’d be better off with any of the alternatives and for touring too, I can’t imagine how it can be much better or worse to tour on than any other naked like Striple R / Z 900.

What it does have going for it is better torque and that should make for a better riding experience across a varying range of use case scenarios. Plus of course the peace of mind of owning a reliable Jap (Suzuki does have a great reputation on peace of mind and cost of ownership).

On the first three of the four points below, I’d still peg a Striple R as comparable or superior. On the last point, it’s the Suzuki for the win without a doubt!!

Originally Posted by shyamg28

I can see value of the GSX in a multi bike garage if,
- the rider is specifically into sport touring,
- the rider intends to attend once or twice a year track days,
- 2-up touring with luggage is an occasional need,
- hassle free service + ownership is a priority.

Thanks again for sharing the ride review though. It’s a rare bike indeed and absent many owner reviews it’s great to get the benefit of such an extended test ride from a fellow member.

Cheers.

[shyamg28]

Originally Posted by TheHelix0202

Is it just me or does the tyre hugger + number plate setup appear slightly misaligned/crooked?

No no. The alignment is actually pretty much spot on!
I'm fairly certain it's just my amazing photography skills that appear to make it seem misaligned.