The king of the nakeds: Suzuki’s all-new GSX-8S goes head-to-head with its hottest rivals

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£8165

Suzuki GSX-8S

Engine: 776cc liquid-cooled parallel twin DOHC 8v

Power: 81.7bhp @ 8500rpm

Torque: 57.6ftlb @6800rpm

Wet weight: 202kg

Seat height: 810mm

Finance:

PCP: £98.26 a month on three-year PCP after £1600 deposit. 9.9% APR, £4678 optional final payment.

• Get a PCP quote here

HP: £210.23 a month on a three-year HP deal after £1600 deposit. 9.9% APR.

• Get an HP quote here

What will £100 get you nowadays? Certainly not as much as it used to. A full tank in a family car may leave you a bit of change, a meal out for four will break the budget, two weekend tickets to BSB should leave you enough for an over-priced burger to share and if you stay at home that’s a monthly BT Sport subscription for MotoGP, a takeaway curry and a few beers for you and a mate. Or, if you want, it could also equate to opening your garage door and seeing a brand new middleweight bike waiting for you to take it out for a ride. Yes, really…

Simply stick down a deposit of £1600 and on a three-year PCP deal you could have the key to Suzuki’s new GSX-8S, Honda’s new Hornet, Yamaha’s updated MT-07 or the Triumph Trident 660 for around £100 a month. That’s incredible value for money and is why the budget-conscious middleweight class looks set to explode in popularity this year.

Traditionally already one of the best-selling classes of bikes, 2023 sees two big hitters step back into the ring in the shape of Suzuki and Honda. Having seen the popularity of Yamaha’s MT-07, both firms have gone back to the drawing board and created ground-up new models that, like the Yamaha, are powered by parallel twin engines rather than the traditional Japanese inline four. That’s a fairly bold move by both and one that despite a huge investment of cash into their respective R&D departments, requires the price tags of the final product to remain low to attract customers. And by low we mean less than £100 a month on a three-year PCP plan. Is it money wisely invested? Most certainly because this new generation of middleweight offer incredible value for your money.

Undeniably challenging in its styling in a typically brash Suzuki way, to ride the GSX-8S lacks the Hornet’s initial feeling of lightness (it is 9.4kg heavier) but once you get going this weight translates into a slightly more sure-footed ride quality that retains almost as much agility as the Honda, just without the underlying hint of nervousness. Bends are dispatched with ease and although the combination of a very firm seat and harshly damped shock sees your backside get the occasional pummelling over bumps, it’s a joy to ride on B-roads with a great front-end feeling. And, just like the Honda, the engine is a beauty (the gearbox is remarkably precise and the standard-fitment quickshifter faultless, which it has to be noted is a £240 extra to fit to the Hornet) – which is where the Suzuki lands a few punches.

Despite making a claimed 9bhp less than the Hornet, the GSX-8S’s motor is far easier going and also has a bit more character about it with a deeper engine note. Cleverly, Suzuki have also concentrated all their focus on the GSX-8S’s mid-range and where the Hornet rider has to rev the motor to keep up, the Suzuki rider simply winds on the power and surges ahead with a beautiful thumping sensation and minimal vibes. You would never guess it looking at the bikes’ spec sheets but as soon as you swap from the Suzuki to the Honda and try and keep up with the GSX-8S, you instantly find yourself working both the motor and gearbox harder to keep the Suzuki in your sights.

It’s not the Honda is lacking in grunt as such, it’s just the extra power is located at the top end of the rev range where the Suzuki has it right where you need it the most for real world riding (below 8000rpm) and feels perfectly geared for these speeds. Also, thanks to this focus on mid-range, the Suzuki is impressively frugal, recording 49mpg during some quite enthusiastic riding on a variety of roads, which equates to a tank range of over 150 miles. And if you ride it a bit steadier closer to 60mpg is certainly achievable – but where’s the fun in that? When you are only paying £100 a month for a brand new bike, you might as well cut loose and burn some fuel up for the sheer entertainment of it. And when you are riding the new Suzuki GSX-S you will certainly be having lots of fun – experience it for yourself by booking a test ride at your local Suzuki dealer.

MCN verdict: ‘The GSX-8S just edges it’

If someone came up to me and said they were looking to buy any one of these four bikes I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them as they are all brilliant in their own way. And at around £100 a month on a three-year PCP plan they are also remarkable value for money. But if I had to pick a winner – and I do – the Suzuki narrowly edges it.

The GSX-8S has bags of low and mid-range grunt, a lovely feeling of security as well as agility on the road and all the tech you could ever need, aside from connectivity which like most riders I don’t require. The look is subjective (which isn’t always a bad thing) and may not appeal to all but in just about every other area it squeezes ahead of the Honda to emerge as the better bike.

Although it is undeniably cheaper and nimbler than the Suzuki, the Honda’s power isn’t as strong low-down and in the mid-range and that ultimately makes it a bit more demanding to ride where the GSX-S is easier-going and its twin also has a bit more character. Where does that leave the Triumph and Yamaha?

The MT-07 is fabulous but feels like it now needs a bit of an overhaul to allow it to compete with the Suzuki and Honda, which have noticeably upped the level expected of a middleweight. Inverted forks, radial brakes, more tech and a bit better suspension and it would be right up there again but as it is the Yamaha is left lacking both in kerb-appeal and ride quality.

The Trident has all the tech and is great to ride but it does feel a bit targeted towards newer riders where the Hornet and Suzuki are more grown-up machines. It’s not necessarily a bad thing but you get the feeling riders may outgrow the Trident (and arguably the MT-07) where the Hornet and GSX-8S will appeal to both new and more experienced riders alike. You can learn more about the all-new Suzuki GSX-8S here