Suzuki GSX-8R- huge for 2024?

Off the again of its recently-released GSX-8S, Suzuki’s launched a brand new middleweight sportbike – and it seems the enterprise. Will this be one among THE bikes for 2024?

Again within the Seventies, journalists got here up with the ‘Common Japanese Bike’ or ‘UJM’ moniker to explain the large variety of inline-four air-cooled DOHC 8-valve engines in metal tube frames and roadster chassis from the large 4 japanese manufacturers. And it’s tempting to see a little bit of a return to that uniformity lately – although the recipe is now a parallel twin water-cooled DOHC 8v engine in a fabricated metal body, in varied capacities and bike courses, from the Japanese companies. Suzuki joined Honda and Yamaha final 12 months with the GSX-8S and 800 V-Strom to go together with the MT-07/Ténéré and CB750/Transalp.

And now we’ve bought one other variant, the GSX-8R, a fully-faired sporty replace to go towards the Yamaha R7 and Kawasaki Ninja 650. The -8R’s engine is mainly as you have been; no unhealthy factor for the reason that 776cc 82bhp GSX-8S lump is a corker. The body and swingarm keep the identical, too, however you get sportier suspension from Showa moderately than the Kayaba gear on the -8S. There’s no adjustment other than preload on the rear, however anticipate a firmer journey from the Separate Perform Massive Piston entrance forks. That can go well with the altered using place, too. New bars and pegs put your weight extra over the entrance, and the LED-lighting outfitted full fairing additionally provides to the ahead bias.

Kerb weight is just 3kg extra thoughts, so nothing too horrendous. We’re eager to see how this newest addition to the ‘new-UJM’ goes for certain.