Suzuki Making a Comeback? Meet the GSX-8R!

 As I write this, in the year 2024, it’s dawned on me that there’s a whole generation of adults that have little to no memory of September 11, 2001. Some weren’t even alive yet, and those who were were too young to remember. One of, if not the, defining moment for my generation is just a page in a history book for today’s young adults, just as December 7, 1941 was for me. What’s lost for those who weren’t around to live through it goes beyond a page in a book, of course. It’s the experiences – the human connection – that are nearly impossible to convey unless you were there.

2024 Suzuki GSX-8R

A throwback to the days when sportbikes were comfortable and (somewhat) performance-oriented, the GSX-8R is Suzuki's entry into a very competitive field.

Motorcycles, however, can be a time capsule. Old bikes are still around for us to touch and feel and experience. In today’s evolving landscape of what it means to be a sportbike, we can look back through the years and study where it started to where we are now. Today, we think of sportbikes as pure race-bred machines thinly veiled as streetbikes because they have lights, mirrors, and a license plate. As fun as these race-focused machines are, we’ve finally come to realize this fun is only had in a very specific environment – the track. The highly-committed riding position and top-heavy power just aren’t any fun when all you’re trying to do is commute to the office.

Just because you can commute on a GSX-R1000 doesn’t mean you should.

It didn’t always be this way. In fact, we can draw a line back to when this all changed. Coincidentally, it was right around 9/11. The then-new R1 ushered in a hyper focus on the liter-class sportbikes and not long after the 600cc category followed suit. But do you remember what sportbikes were like before this? Clip-ons weren’t always so low, and engines made power in the usable rev range. Think Honda CBR900RR, or the various Suzuki GSX-R iterations before the year 2000.

The GSX-8R Is Born

In fact, this is exactly where Suzuki took inspiration from for its latest sportybike. The original 1985 GSX-R750, all the way through to the SRAD models – even the first-gen Hayabusa was used as inspiration. Fast forward to today and the gold rush of the sportbike era is gone. Nowadays, only a small subset of the riding public care to have supercar levels of performance at a fraction of the cost. What the people do want is performance, but they want usable performance wrapped in a package that won’t make their wrists hurt and their backs ache. Sound familiar?

Suzuki’s first new platform in seemingly forever, the GSX-8S is the springboard for several new models, including the GSX-8R.

Manufacturers have caught on to this trend with bikes like the Aprilia RS660, Honda CBR650R, Kawasaki Ninja 650, and the recently announced Triumph Daytona 660 just a few examples of performance-oriented sportybikes that are usable for the everyday rider. One thing they have in common is sporty appearances and intentions, but with higher bars, comfortable riding positions, usable power, and prices that are more reasonable than today’s sportbikes.