ODD ONE OUT? The basics of the 8T and 8TT machines are the same- chassis, engine, frame, wheels etc, but the 8TT gets different aero styling, bar end mirrors, seat, bellypan and its crowning glory- the bikini fairing-( adding just 2kg over the 8T’ s weight). Also, there’ s a handy USB-C charging port up on the dash area which I can be fairly confident in saying the old GS1000S didn’ t have. Initially, I wasn’ t sold on the 8TT look but it did grow on me and I seem to be the odd one out because, not only did the editor rave about it, but everywhere I went people commented on how cool it looked and that they’ d like to have one in their shed. Venturing out for the first time on the 8TT all my positive memories from the 8T came back to me, confirming this GSX-8 platform( GSX-8S, GSX-8R, GSX-8T, GSX8-TT) is a great one and there’ s not a bad bike in the bunch- they’ re such fun to ride. They hit that sweet spot between easy and more-or-less faultless to ride, but, most importantly, fun and exciting too.
P-TWIN THAT THINKS IT’ S A V-TWIN At the heart of the bike is an 82hp, 776cc parallel-twin with a V-twin-alike 270-degree firing order, sporting a faultless quick-shifter and slipper clutch with shift assist. The shift assist part is all about smoothing out gear changes and reducing the likelihood of stalling at take-off. Certainly, I found the shifting is superb in all situations and the clutch action
60 KIWI RIDER