First Ride: Is the Suzuki GSX-8S a true motorcycle all-rounder?

What is it?

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It’s quite hard to find a motorcycle that ticks all of the boxes. A bike that’ll get you to work without fuss, make the most of a sunny Sunday or sprint down a French autoroute is hard to find and doing all of this in a package that remains good-looking is even trickier. Delivering it for a budget-friendly price? That’s another step again.

But that’s exactly what Suzuki is hoping to do with this bike – the GSX-8S. It’s a middleweight motorcycle that heads straight into battle with the likes of the Honda Hornet and Triumph Trident 660. Can it deliver that all-round ability, though? We’ve been finding out.

What’s new?

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The GSX-8S represents a big move for Suzuki. It’s a completely new motorcycle for the brand, incorporating a box-fresh chassis and a range of other brand-new parts designed to help this model stay as sharp as possible within the market. There’s even a brand new TFT screen, three different traction control modes and a trio of settings for the power, too.

It has also arrived with quite an eye-catching style. Suzuki says that the 8S has been designed to appeal to a ‘wide range of riders’, which is probably why its design incorporates some very futuristic touches blended with a more traditional riding position.

What’s it powered by?

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The 776cc parallel twin engine beating at the heart of the GSX-8 has been freshly-developed for this motorcycle but has been designed to hold dear some elements from Suzuki’s existing V-twin models, such as the smooth delivery you get from the iconic SV650. It develops 82bhp, too, alongside 78Nm of torque which is sent through a six-speed manual gearbox. All GSX-8S models come with a quickshifter as standard, too, which helps to make gearshifts really fast and smooth.

Suzuki claims up to 67.2mpg combined, too, while its two-into-one exhaust system with a dual-stage catalytic converter ensures that the GSX-8S meets the latest Euro 5 emissions standards.

What’s it like to ride?

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With its low seating position and friendly bar height, the GSX-8S immediately feels like a great starting place for new riders. The tank is nicely shaped, too, and the seating position isn’t too heavily loaded towards your wrists, so longer journeys don’t feel that tiresome. There’s a fair bit of vibration through the chassis when you’re at motorway speeds, however.

But on twistier, more complex sections of road, the GSX-8S really comes on song. The engine is flexible and has a really strong bottom end, with plenty of torque to help drive you out of corners. The handling is great, too, but it’s the well-sorted suspension – which manages to dial out a lot of the lumps and bumps in the road while remaining stable – that is a true stand-out feature for us.

How does it look?

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As we’ve touched upon, the GSX-8S has the kind of design that’ll turn heads. It’s slightly insect-like at the front end, with its narrow lights and sharp bodywork sections combined to create a motorcycle which looks like it could come straight from a Transformers movie. All versions get an LED headlight, too, while the LED lights at the rear are integrated neatly into a compact tail section.

The decals are smartly designed and positioned, too, while the GSX-8S badging towards the rear of the motorcycle might be the most subtle part of the whole design. The only downside is that the GSX-8S is only available in one of two colours – blue or white – and it would be nice to see some additional colourways made available.

What’s the spec like?

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Prices for the GSX-8S kick off from £7,999, which isn’t bad for a bike with this level of equipment. As mentioned, there’s a standard-fit quickshifter, while all versions get a five-inch TFT display which is easy to read, while white and black designs for day and night time riding respectively ensure you can get clear readouts regardless of when you’re riding.

LED turn signals are the main optional extra at £236.45, but for the most part, you’d be happy with the equipment which comes as standard. For context, it is a full thousand pounds more expensive than the Honda Hornet, though you’ll need to pay a little extra to get a quickshifter on that motorcycle.

Verdict

As an all-rounder, the Suzuki GSX-8S is really hard to beat. With a strong, responsive engine and dynamic handling it’s got more than enough to offer experienced riders, while the friendly positioning and sorted suspension ensure it’ll be a great companion for newbies to two-wheeled life.

Though it might be slightly more expensive than some rivals, the refined nature of the GSX-8S means that it feels more than worth the extra outlay. We’d just like to see some extra colours!