2023 Suzuki GSX-8S Review | Daily Rider 

Hey Zack, I'm from south CA. Thanks for helping me find my perfect bike a xsr900.

@@ttt3377 commiefornia

Suzuki will never die.....Bikes are just a small proportion of their business worldwide

So, genuine question, how is this them stepping up their game?

Updating the gsxr 750 with abs, this dash and a new headlight would get my interest

@@kwicksandz seconded!

Brah.. They sell millions of super mopeds in Asia anually

like the 790 duke?

​@@Daniel-dj7fhThat is just what i would say. Make it orange and it is almost the same.

It looks like MT09 and Superduke combined, not really peak creativity

But the Hornet still looks better.... even though it's the same. 🤣

The should of named the black one raven or crow with that beak looking front

It’s in that gorgeous blue paint scheme.

⁠@@TheCaptnHammerJust picked mine up today and I totally agree! Such amazing smooth bike. I had an 2018 MT-07 and I love that bike but this bike is literally better in every way. Feel like such an refined bike and I can’t wait to get it broken in! :D Enjoy it! :) Also got it in blue too and I love it!

@@HifeMan awesome! I got the fender eliminator kit from yoshimura and it looks awesome. Check it out, it’s not expensive and easy to do. I just ordered an ODB reader and adapter for the bike so I can try to reset the service reminder myself. I just finished my 600mi service. I can do everything except throttle valve synchronization, which is really only required every 7500mi (California requires it at 600mi too).

do you think it's too powerful/heavy for a first bike? i'd keep it in riding mode C or rain mode

@@donderstorm1845 not at all. It’s a bit heavy when moving it manually but I weigh 130lbs and have no issues. I started in C mode and now use A unless it’s rainy, etc. It’s a fantastic bike. I did some upgrades. Maybe I’ll make a video featuring them

I dont know, i feel Like there are great Aftermarket Options Like Kellermann Indicators with integrated Brake-/Rearlight. With that the rear will Look great!

Maybe it's to get people to think twice before removing the fender and committing to getting sprayed with crap through the winter.

bmw even did it with their pure flagship superbike the S1KRR and M1KRR, so it's not that weird of suzuki did with the obviously street bike.

​@@Geshmaalwhat's Winter Like where you are, maybe Not consider a sporty Nakedbike for that. Than get the v strom

@@maxzimmermann6605 oh yeah I personally don't see the need for a relatively sporty naked bike in the UK, it's rainy for most of the year!

What makes the 8s better than the new hornet? Specwise it seems the Honda is better (better suspension etc)

@@twowheeler1000 I mean, it’s close, but for me personally, I’d say the 8S has stronger low down/ usable torque for the road, it is much more stable-handling owing to the longer wheelbase and wider rear tire, the build quality, e.g. materials, welding, chassis including lighter, sculpted aluminium swing arm, etc. are a noticeably higher quality, I think it looks better, (subjective), the seat and riding position is more comfortable, comes with bi-directional quick shifter and blipper as standard, is thoughtfully designed so for instance: no need for a rear hugger, (whereas the Honda definitely throws road crud all up inside the head stock and all over the rear shock). The Suzuki had a slightly nicer quality and laid out dashboard, much neater wiring loom etc. It’s just one of those things you feel but it’s sometimes hard to say why. I think the Suzuki is a perfect example of demonstrating specs don’t make the bike, (similar to how the SV650 has hitherto demonstrated).

What if what if what if, isn't something else better better better better? Comon people. Take them both for a ride. Spec sheet isn't going to tell you what's right for you.

Yeah let’s push this comment so Zack will see it

@@alexanderi7332agreed!

Hes already done a review on the 2015 model,now for a review on the 18 to 23 models. Greatest 145hp fun bike for years !

Oh yes please 🙌

the Suzuki GSX-8S has 3750 mile / 6000 km or annual service intervals, like many other liquid-cooled Suzuki motorcycles. At every service, change the oil, and inspect or replace the spark plugs, inspect / replace the air filter, and do a host of other checks the Honda CB750 Hornet has 8000 mi / 12000 km or annual service intervals, at which the oil should be changed and a bunch of other things inspected.

@@geertceuppens8518 I'm guessing the question was more along the lines of 'valve clearance check'. Otherwise, people should be servicing their bikes with a minimum of an oil and filter change every 4 to 5 thousand miles anyway.

@@exothermal.sprocket Valve adjustment intervals are every 15,000 miles but I personally don't bother to do valve adjustments until I hear clatter from the valvetrain. The early GSXR water-cooled engines were awful and a new one required a valve adjustment at 3500 miles. On the other hand, I've had a few Suzukis, Hondas, and BMWs that would turn over 40,000 miles with no valve noise, and a valve check and leak-down test would show nothing wrong. It might be worth it to do your own valve clearance due to how easy it is to find directions on RU-vid. And a GSX8S is going to be way easier to do valve clearance than an inline four.

@@langhamp8912 May be difficult to hear a few thousandths of an inch slop in a given valve bucket, and while 2 or 3 valves might be within spec according to the book, they may be more sloppy than all the rest of the valves at that point, so may as well true everything up if the head has been removed for inspection. Generally speaking, hardly anyone rides this sort of mileage on a given newer motorcycle anyway. Tons of lower mile bikes circulate through dealerships and used bike markets without that mileage.

@@exothermal.sprocket I usually put on about 40,000 to 60,000 miles on my motorcycles before selling them. Almost all of my miles are commuting miles, with a few trackdays here and there. So it's not a lot of miles or minutes per day but it shockingly adds up over the years. But out of spec valves are pretty easy to hear and feel. If a bike is a tad hard to start and has clatter (not the cam chain tensioner) then, yeah, it's out of spec valves. I think that over the past 30 years bike engines have gone from every 8,000 miles or 25,000 or more, if even that. But it might also be that I'll go weeks without reving a bike high and thus it's a very low stress environment.

I couldn't agree more. I wish a that about so many bikes. We need more 19" front wheel options.

Cruise, a small windscreen and a better seat with some luggage options. Sell me one. But Cruise is a must.

@@800over Indeed - there’s no good reason not to offer cruise control when the bike has throttle by wire!

@@jamiescott6811 Well, a Suzuki V-Strom 800DE is basically 95% of the way there, but runs a 21-inch front. But me personally, I'd rather go the route that's more closely echoed with the MV Agusta Turismo Veloce. It's based on the 800 triple naked bike, but only slightly more touring oriented with a quarter fairing, a little longer travel suspension, better subframe, and more fuel range. That's all that any of these Japanese brands need to to with their excellent naked bikes to make them more touring oriented, without making them $5000 more expensive and 50 pounds heavier (I'm looking at you, Yamaha with your Tracer 9GT which is waaaaaaay too far from the MT bones for me to bother wanting one).

The V-Strom 800 RE is the road version, smaller wheels and shock, same engine as the 8s.

Always look for that “J” at the front of the V.I.N. 👍

If you as a corporation decided to outsource labor and assembly to another country, wouldn't it be in your best interest to make sure whatever happens in that other country at the factory represents the brand name you slap on those bikes?

It’s a dud.

@@ellwoodwolf enjoy your cruiser 👍

Yeh this bike is clearly branding itself differently and telling people "HEY THIS ISN"T LIKE THE OTHER GSX BIKES THIS IS DIFFERENT" by making the 8s so prominent

I think they did it to give it some extra credibility, I totally agree though. Just 8S would have been better

Kinda like the YZF-R6 is just R6.

Petition to call it the “Gixxeight”

@@Carlisho I like that name.

And has a inline 4

He’s complaining about the suspension at 200 lbs... that’s not good.

@@ellwoodwolfall he said was that it was soft

@@ellwoodwolf Motorcycles aren't cars where some dainty woman or some big heavy man can both get in and drive it, and it doesn't care. People actually might have to change a set of springs (not expensive) to get a bike set up for their weight. People might actually have to swap a chunk of foam out in the seat to get it to fit their posterior. None of this stuff is hard, people. It's harder finding a set of riding boots or a helmet that fits. Any modern motorcycle with USD forks and a mono-shock suspension will be able to be set up with proper aftermarket stuff. It can be fixed to your liking, from basic to top-shelf racing parts.

@@ellwoodwolf 270 pounds here, I think it feels just fine, but I've also been riding a '17 V-strom 650 for the last 90k miles too

I was originally looking at a grey but got the white/blue. Just finished the break-in and did my first service today. It is a blast

probably because it was another recycled suzuki with a donor engine.

100% agree! I usually don't care for bikes in matte black but the GSX 8S appearance works for me in all the color options.

@@Supernova12034 On paper, sure.

+1 for the GSXS750. I would love a comparison between that and this actually

@Patrick O'Brien wut lol

How would the vstrom be a better daily rider?

@@lovelessissimo better wind protection, better suspension, comfier,...

@@lovelessissimo better wind protection + better fuel range... depends on the length of your commute and what type roads.

@@lovelessissimo Ability to carry more stuff

@@danielklopp7007 I suppose I should have been more clear on what exactly one does on the daily. I commute on a naked bike, and it's easier to get around on than my adventure bike. I don't take things with me or ride really fast. I always think of a daily as something that gets you from a to b.

I test rode both this weekend, and the only thing the SV has going on for it over the 8S, in my oppinion, are the looks. And with it being a bit bigger bike, it's also more comfortable, and therefore more practical.

Unless your SV is prepped for track work I see zero point in having both.

@@future62 It's a hypothetical question to invite Zach to rethink his daily rider ranking result ;)

I love the character and raw feeling of my sv650s. I never see myself replacing it with a gsx 8s

@@future62 I have both, and my SV is prepped for track. ;)

I wheelied my bike once, my replacement parts will be here next week.

@@ellwoodwolf Oops, hope you're okay. I crashed once while doing a wheelie showing off in front of my friends, it was pitch dark outside, took a few minutes to find my bike:/

2023 MT10 here 😂 king of the wacky headlights. (I also liked the lights on the GSX-S1000) An aquired taste for sure.

@@smcd5772 the only problem is the lamp only turn on one sided cause the other lamp is for high beam

@Ray Han aware, thanks though

Problems seem to be the emissions, the rear cylinder often has to be cooled which is done by richening the fuel mixture.

​Non issue with water cooling. It's for packaging and modularity (using the same engine over several platforms ​@@maxzimmermann6605

It’s about profit margins - cheaper to make, and significantly cheaper if you make less number of different designs

My ‘17 Street Cup has 25k miles on it. At the time it was the best daily I could find. Would love to see how the Speed Twin 1200 stacks up against all the daily riders,

🙃

So you would spend 10.5 out the door just to get 15hp ? And not think to yourself “hey there are plenty of low mileage, almost new motorcycles with a power bump and MUCH BETTER SUSPENSION”

I agree!!

Yes please!

This comment aged well. They've got one out now

I don’t know if it matters, but Zack was riding a pre-production bike. You can tell by the red two part lens on the taillight.

Excellent data point! Thanks!

Hey Lynn how come you got a sv650 when you already have the MT09 Gen 3 which I have been told are awesome

Try a Gsxs750 . Fantastic machine.

Throw the mt-07 in there too.

@@hellraiserrec19 realistically, I think the mt-07 competes more with the 650s, like the 650 kawas or hondas

@@silverwolfgecko7064 Yeah that makes sense

@@silverwolfgecko7064 MT07 is direct competition to the new Hornet and 8S, 650kawa as they all make around 70-80hp. MT-09 sits above them as it makes 40 more horses...

Me too

There is a mcn comparison about it...

The UK magazines preferred the Suzuki. Better low down torque and similar engine character to the sv650, and the suspension is firmer for harder riding. Plus the weight and chassis felt more stable compared to the twitchy hornet.

There's also two comparison tests from Austrian magazines where it came out on top against the Hornet, Duke 790, Trident, MT-07 and so on. Consensus seems to be the Hornet and 790 have better top end but the 8S does everything else better.

I agree. 80hp was superbike level power in the 1970's. I am at a point in my life where that is plenty. Unfortunately, these days you pretty much have to move to over 900cc's to get improved suspension in a naked bike.

Zach is hard on Suzuki in general

Honda achieved 120hp/L in a car in 1999 (that can last 100k miles vs 30k miles in most sports bike engines), also it only took 9000rpm to do it. This bike revs to 11k, how is it not even achieving 120hp/L?

To be fair, CFMOTO gives you fully adjustable KYB suspension and Brembo brakes without breaking the wallet while being mid-sized. Once you get past the “Made in China” stigma, you can appreciate them as decent bikes for the 💰

​@@rantANDrave1987 Except the SV650!

Have you tried the Triumph Trident 660 or Honda CD650r yet? Much smoother than the Twins.😊

I’m sensitive to vibrations and one of my bikes is an FZ-07, but haven’t been bothered at those speeds, there might be some variation in individual bikes. Zach is also known for liking to gear up bikes. It would probably only cost $30-$40 dollars to gear it up one tooth on the countershaft sprocket to eliminate that issue.

Just my opinion, but I hate the higher frequency vibes from traditional inline fours, like the S1000R that I owned. Although I’ve had 3 Street Triple R’s, as well as 3 FZ-09’s and loved those engines.

P-twins are manufacturers dream , not riders dreams - they keep trying to sell them - had 2 - never having a 3rd

im 6'2", the sv is cramped, the 8s is less cramped but not exactly a cruiser

6'5" here, the 8s sits a bit higher around 32 inches vs 31 for the 650. It has been a while since I've ridden the gen 3 SV but they're sat pretty similarly in terms of legroom from what I can remember. Both are comfortable enough but the SV seat is definitely more comfortable. You've got a lot more seat room to work with to find a good angle where the 8S seat is fairly flat front to back

For me, the now ubiquitous parallel twin has become the defacto universal engine embraced by most motorcycle manufacturers these days. For now I’ll definitely keep my V-Strom 650 L twin.