It ’ s been a while between drinks for Suzuki . New models in general , and new engines specifically , have been few and far between in the last decade . Then along come two at the same time . The first we saw was the 800 V-Strom adventure machine , which we reviewed in the June Road issue < click here to read about it > and now the GSX-8S , a mid-weight sports naked . Both models feature an all-new motor and to say we ’ ve been excited to try it out is an understatement , so let ’ s get into it .
GEM OF A MOTOR While Suzuki has been up-cycling its 650 V-twin engine for a while , and we ’ ve loved the models it powered ( as did the cult like following it developed among crazy French and Spanish owners ), it was getting long in the tooth and trickier to get past emissions regulations . You may have noticed that the V-twin route for middle-weight motorcycles is long gone . For a manufacturer it ’ s far cheaper to produce a parallel twin and it ’ s also much easier for the designers to package a motorcycle around one .
V-twins are long , causing problems for placing an oil cooler and radiator without them getting in the way of the front wheel , and then you have to deal with an overly long wheelbase . Recreating the vibe of the old V-twins , the new 800 motor is a parallel twin with a 270-degree firing order , to give that off-beat vee sound and drive . While 90-degree vees are inherently antivibe , parallel twins aren ’ t , so Suzuki has come up with an innovative dual balancer system that also acts as a cross-balancer , where the rearward balancer is moved downward from the back of the engine to under the crank , reducing additional vibration with the benefit of making the engine shorter front to back and easier to package for a shorter wheelbase . Anyone eyeing up the GSX-8S as a LAMS option will be disappointed . There won ’ t be one as it ’ s too big in capacity . There is an A2 license version for the European market . LAMS is an outdated scheme based on 650cc machines being prevalent in the market , which is not the case these days . Suzuki says the Aussie
28 KIWI RIDER