more the harder you squeeze . Purposefully riding a wide line out onto the braking ripples and pushing the brakes to the point of locking didn ’ t cause any fuss , just a little vibration at the brake lever and the front tyre locking and unlocking as the ABS did its thing . This is surprisingly good ABS on the track , better than I expected it to be . The standard Dunlop Roadsport 2 tyres give heaps of grip that work well with the ABS calibration . That bi-directional quickshifter is great at this price point . It works beautifully in normal riding . And when revving it to the redline on the way up through the gearbox it ’ s sweet , but it is slightly clunky when changing down from peak revs . It ’ s fine at normal mid-rpm engine speeds , but a bit ‘ thick ’ on track . It ’ s not bad , just a little slow for an experienced track rider wanting to push quicker in a track situation . At the lower revs you ’ d typically change down at on the road it works just fine .
THE SKINNY The question I ’ ve been asked most is , “ Isn ’ t it a GSX-8S with a fairing ?”. Well , yes , it is . And that ’ s no bad thing . Every one of us at Kiwi Rider who ’ s ridden the 8S has had a blast . The GSX- 8R takes that platform , tweaks it and offers it to riders who want a more sporty experience . So far we ’ ve only ridden the GSX-8R on the track . While I ’ ve been writing this , tester Jock has been putting the kilometres in out on the road , so keep an eye out for his thoughts in the next road issue of the mag . There is only a small handful of machines in the non-LAMS , mid-sized , faired sports space - bikes which have more power than a LAMS but are more practical , yet still sporty , for riders who ’ ve got their full licences but don ’ t want an adventure or super-sports bike . This roadsports space is wide-open and we ’ re stoked to see bikes like the GSX-8R coming along to fill it . Priced at $ 16,100 it ’ s bang on the money , and the 8R ’ s mix of ease of riding , adjustable tech , 83hp engine and sharp styling is sure to win many riders over .
44 KIWI RIDER