SUZUKI GSX-8R

Suzuki's first all-new sportsbike in years aims to balance precision with practicality Like the Panigale, I've a bit of a 'throwback' for the Suzuki GSX-8R too.

- ABHAY VERMA

Back in 2010 I was testing the Suzuki GSX-R1000 and found myself in awe of it quickly. That's courtesy its mind-numbingly quick acceleration and engine refinement yes, but more importantly, the charisma of its inline four-cylinder engine and the banshee-like wail. I've also tested the 2018 GSX-R1000 at the Madras International Circuit extensively, which had the GSX-R endear itself to me further given the ease with which I could ride it fast around the track. So, with Japanese superbikes and their brilliant inline four-cylinder engines teetering on the brink of extinction, I've been a little glum.

Heck, Japanese sportsbikes are becoming a rarity - we only have a handful of them on sale in India. The Suzuki GSX-8R certainly comes across as a breath of fresh air thus. It may not be powered by an inline four-cylinder engine, something we all innately associate with sportsbikes, but does that mean it is not as visceral to ride, because its engine has only half the number of cylinders?

But first, a bit of trivia about the bike's name, as the 8R uses Suzuki's hallowed GSX nomenclature, but with a clever differentiation. With this new format Suzuki does not use the full engine displacement in the name as it has traditionally, like in the GSX-R600, GSX-S750 and even the big daddy, the GSX-1300R Hayabusa. In fact, the GSX-8R is the only Suzuki besides the mighty falcon to