I purchased mine in June, I was one of the first in America. I’ve put a few thousand miles on mine, one up and two up. I’ve changed the mirrors, did the fender eliminator, a full exhaust, intake mods, and a tune. The Quick Shifter gets better the more you use it and the bike breaks in more. If you’re on the throttle it’s much smoother, especially down. With that said, I still use the clutch on downshift as I am better at rev matching/blipping than the ECU is. I agree with the fuel gauge, but a tank only lasts me 80-90 miles so I have to get gas very very often. I’m frustrated by the lack of aftermarket support. Parts are slowly coming out but it doesn’t have near the support other bikes that came out around the same time do(ZX4RR). Wheelies - this bike wheelies so good. But the rake/trail is so long it’s hard to really ride aggressively. The trail also makes it difficult for stoppies. But, I can wheelie for a half mile mile getting a CEL. My tuner disabled the front wheel sensor error so hopefully no more fault codes from long wheelies. Edit: the WORST part of this bike is ground clearance. The stock rear sets are sooo low I was dragging the pegs in the way home from the dealership. Completely killing any really aggressive riding (track days). Rear sets are a top priority. Anyways, this is my 32nd motorcycle, I’ve been riding for 31 years, 21 of that on the street. I give this bike a 6/10. The tune really really helps. A tune makes it feel like an 800 instead of a 500.
Thanks for your views & opinions. I love my 8S just as it is. I use the clutch lever for the first 2 gears(1-2) & then use the quick shifter for the remaining gears up & down. I use the clutch lever slowing at a stop light between 2nd to 1st or 2nd to N. The fuel gauge hasn’t been an issue for me. Like any motorcycle, the fuel capacity remaining at a flashing red bar & flashing yellow indicator on the dash is deceptive. There is about 4 ltrs remaining (+/- 1 gallon). Many people that have changed the rear fender to tail tidies are now complaining their backsides are getting road grime & wet without the stock fender…. Go figure. I’ve had so many motorcycles in the past… yet this is the best I’ve owned hands down. The only modification I’ll be making is adding bar risers. Not interested in exhaust systems, tail tidies & the like. Cheers & Merry Christmas 🎄⭐️
I tested the bike, the quick shifter was fine. Can it be is diffrent from country to country? I liked the bike and thinking it to buy or the Honda hornet 750
I have 8s and quick shifter works great, hold revs above 3500 and simply upshift until you reach 6th, changes are smooth. On downshifts throttle off and downshift and it’s also buttery smooth if you hold revs downshift can be jerky, I came from a versys 650 no Qs, took me 3 minutes to work it out and it’s ace. Fuel gage is frustrating but range seems to work for me.
Super strange, at this point im just thinking it was my particular model. I have plenty of experience with quick shifters…both Suzuki ones and other brands…so yeah im starting to think it might have just been this one.
Agreed, it is much smoother than others I've tried, including the Aprilia RSV4 (felt better integrated) which for the price you would/should expect better quality.
@@samwiselord odd, as my Street Triple RS, the Busa and GSX 100GT+ (both from the same trip) all felt light years smoother to me. I guess maybe it's a subjective thing.
Agree the clutch lever is rubbish. The quick shifter works fine for me after 2,500 km. You do not have to be riding in a spirited manner. I quite shift early around town and it is like butter. I tend to change up earlier and use the torque rather than revs. Downshifts are low on the autoblip but I have found them fine. Shifting at constant speed does not work well, use the clutch. The bike also does not have a hugger on the back wheel which is also cheap for a mid range bike of that price.
I think this thing would benefit from some bar end mirrors kind of like the ones that come on the Street Triple RS, still DOT compliant but much better looking and more stable.
I was parked next to a new 765 RS a few days ago and I totally agree. Stylish and high quality, something that would definitely enhance the appearance of the 8S!
well this is the first ive ever heard of a bum QS. Ive never used one b4 the 8s, it took a couple days to get used to. It is literally buttery smooth when upshifting high in revs, downshifting is smooth anywhere anytime. Maybe a bum unit, it was clunky when i was shifting in the lower rev ranges. I agree with everything else. TST intergrated takes care of the rear, i also put shorty levers and was gonna get some better mirrors as the stock are useless unless you are the perfect height.
Thanks for the feedback, its starting to sound more and more like the quick shifter gets better as the bike breaks in, to be fair this bike only had like 150 miles on it when I got it, so maybe thats where the issue was.
Good points all. Some, like the tail section up, are annoying but don't impact actual performance. Also would have been nice to see images of issues/ dislikes you were describing..I know it was an onboard video... You may have shown in another video so I subbed and will go digging. Cheers and thanks!
I feel the quick shifter wears in after about a thousand miles. No complaints on the QS from me as mine is feels REALLY good at 2k miles now. Earlier on in miles, use a little "pre loading" when shifting. I've heard/read that the computer senses that initial pressure and smooths out QS shifts. YMMV. I replaced my rear fender with the Yoshimura tail tidy and it was super simple and clean. No arguments there, the stock fender is wonky looking. Yoshi's solution includes the brake light and allows use of the stock signals, which I preferred personally. Levers and mirrors I have no real complaints about. They work fine for me, but agree that adjustable clutch lever shouldn't be that costly for the factory. My mirrors don't vibrate badly at all, and as for the look, I'll just say is subjective. I'm neutral on the mirrors looks. Lastly, totally don't get your confusion of the fuel gauge, but I'm sure everyone "see's" it differently. Cheers! I enjoyed the vid.
Thanks for watching and the feedback, yeah the more im reading the comments and the more im learning about the bike the more it seems that the QS almost needs to be "broken in" also I think it needs to be used more spiritedly and I didn't do that as much as the bike wasn't broken in yet.
Quick shift up works awesome 😎. Quick shift down not so much but with this bike super easy to do a standard throttle blip downshift- super smooth possibly because of the quick shifter idk
Thanks for the feedback, yeah if you watch the next few video in the series I reported that it got a bit better and figured out why I had some issues, but still it wasn't as good as some of the other Suzuki's bikes quick shifters unfortunately. Thanks for watching!
As a SX-8S owner I completely agree with this list! I mean the mirrors dont drive me as crazy (but I will change them soon) but everything else is a must change! Im super annoyed that the break light is at the end of the tail and not in the body, like why? Just why?
The stock tail and mirrors are ugly on all naked bikes. They're cheap and getting replaced anyway. I don't know why you would need an adjustable clutch lever but they're also cheap and easy. As far as the quickshifter goes, you either have a dud or you're using it wrong. I'm lost on the gas gauge thing. It clearly shows that the fuel level bars are white when the screen is black, black when the screen is white, and the red bar is letting you know that you better get to a gas station if that's all the fuel you have left.
Thanks for watching…agreed on the naked bike comment. Adjustable levers on both the brake and clutch are welcomed as some people have shorter fingers than others and some prefers their levers closer or further depending on how far they want to reach. If you watch the next few videos on the bike, you can see that I figured out the QS issue. As for the gas gauge, in person, when the bars were lit black it looked like it was showing empty, could be a personal preference, but I think there was a simpler way to do it.
It was for me, but id still say go test ride one, it could have just been the "demo" unit I was on, no idea if that's how all of them are, so maybe just double check to be safe, would hate to steer you away from what otherwise I think is a pretty damn good bike for the money.
@@FifthNorth yeah could be the bike. some other reviews on this bike praise it or find it just okay. but to hear it's so bad that you don't even use it, that's pretty damning :( a question if it's alright: did this bike feel heavy to you? at 202 kg / 445 lbs it's quite a bit heavier than its competition. but i heard much of the weight is down low so it doesn't feel that heavy.
@@donderstorm1845 yeah like I sated in the video the one Suzuki uses on the Busa is simply amazing so really could have just been this bike, I will also say in the price range I wouldn't expect an amazing quick shifter to begin with, not fair to compare it to bikes that are almost 20k or are 20k. As for weight it really didn't feel heavy to me, my personal bike (what im normally used to) is 414lbs and it honestly didn't feel at all heavier to me, granted it felt slower as it makes much less power but from a sitting at a light and balancing the bike or from general leaning of the bike it didn't feel heavy at all, I definitely didn't notice any extra weight even with the 30ish pound difference. Again Im in the camp of its a great bike for the money, I'll be doing my final wrap up review of it in a few weeks if you want to check that out.
Do you really think suzuki need those kind of vidéos?? Everybody is byuing BMW...ducatis....ktm etc.... Suzuki does engineered fabulous bikes......but everybody is buying Other brands......i personnaly own the v strom 800DE and allready made 17 000 km with it.... It s just the Best bike i have ever owned......totally in love with that model ..........i m not gonna watch your vidéo.....i don t like the title !!!suzuki deserves much better vidéos than this......... Well.......
Well…if you did a little looking around you would have noticed that for every bike I review I make 4 videos…1st ride and initial thoughts…5 things I like…5 things I dont like…and final thoughts… Not being a hater or disrespectful as I do this for every bike, that way I am giving a full opinion on the positive and the negative…i am even doing this for the bikes I have personally purchased… Lastly…Suzuki has approved directly all of my videos as they gave me the bikes…interesting that they are not bothered by it (they want true and unbiased reviews)…. If you watched the videos you would know that I said that I dont like the quick shifter and the few things listed here that can be changed with the aftermarket…buuuuut that overall I think its a great bike for the money. Thanks for watching and the comment…cheers.
What are your thoughts on the Suzuki GSX-8S?
I purchased mine in June, I was one of the first in America. I’ve put a few thousand miles on mine, one up and two up. I’ve changed the mirrors, did the fender eliminator, a full exhaust, intake mods, and a tune.
The Quick Shifter gets better the more you use it and the bike breaks in more. If you’re on the throttle it’s much smoother, especially down. With that said, I still use the clutch on downshift as I am better at rev matching/blipping than the ECU is.
I agree with the fuel gauge, but a tank only lasts me 80-90 miles so I have to get gas very very often.
I’m frustrated by the lack of aftermarket support. Parts are slowly coming out but it doesn’t have near the support other bikes that came out around the same time do(ZX4RR).
Wheelies - this bike wheelies so good. But the rake/trail is so long it’s hard to really ride aggressively. The trail also makes it difficult for stoppies. But, I can wheelie for a half mile mile getting a CEL. My tuner disabled the front wheel sensor error so hopefully no more fault codes from long wheelies.
Edit: the WORST part of this bike is ground clearance. The stock rear sets are sooo low I was dragging the pegs in the way home from the dealership. Completely killing any really aggressive riding (track days). Rear sets are a top priority.
Anyways, this is my 32nd motorcycle, I’ve been riding for 31 years, 21 of that on the street.
I give this bike a 6/10. The tune really really helps. A tune makes it feel like an 800 instead of a 500.
@@scottchambers3569 Thanks for watching and the thorough input! Sounds like you made all of the changes that I recommended making, nice!
Thanks for your views & opinions. I love my 8S just as it is. I use the clutch lever for the first 2 gears(1-2) & then use the quick shifter for the remaining gears up & down. I use the clutch lever slowing at a stop light between 2nd to 1st or 2nd to N. The fuel gauge hasn’t been an issue for me. Like any motorcycle, the fuel capacity remaining at a flashing red bar & flashing yellow indicator on the dash is deceptive. There is about 4 ltrs remaining (+/- 1 gallon). Many people that have changed the rear fender to tail tidies are now complaining their backsides are getting road grime & wet without the stock fender…. Go figure. I’ve had so many motorcycles in the past… yet this is the best I’ve owned hands down. The only modification I’ll be making is adding bar risers. Not interested in exhaust systems, tail tidies & the like. Cheers & Merry Christmas 🎄⭐️
I tested the bike, the quick shifter was fine. Can it be is diffrent from country to country?
I liked the bike and thinking it to buy or the Honda hornet 750
QS is absolutely flawless on mine.
Yeah I have since confirmed that the unit on my demo bike was defective…I recently rode another one and it was fine.
I have 8s and quick shifter works great, hold revs above 3500 and simply upshift until you reach 6th, changes are smooth. On downshifts throttle off and downshift and it’s also buttery smooth if you hold revs downshift can be jerky, I came from a versys 650 no Qs, took me 3 minutes to work it out and it’s ace. Fuel gage is frustrating but range seems to work for me.
Super strange, at this point im just thinking it was my particular model. I have plenty of experience with quick shifters…both Suzuki ones and other brands…so yeah im starting to think it might have just been this one.
Agreed, it is much smoother than others I've tried, including the Aprilia RSV4 (felt better integrated) which for the price you would/should expect better quality.
@@samwiselord odd, as my Street Triple RS, the Busa and GSX 100GT+ (both from the same trip) all felt light years smoother to me. I guess maybe it's a subjective thing.
@@FifthNorth My Steet Triple required a much harder shove to get the quick shifter to work.
I was going to say....super jelly of that super long trip bro 🤣
🤣
I don’t use the down QS. My up works fine. I love it. It is my first QS.
Agree the clutch lever is rubbish. The quick shifter works fine for me after 2,500 km. You do not have to be riding in a spirited manner. I quite shift early around town and it is like butter. I tend to change up earlier and use the torque rather than revs. Downshifts are low on the autoblip but I have found them fine. Shifting at constant speed does not work well, use the clutch. The bike also does not have a hugger on the back wheel which is also cheap for a mid range bike of that price.
I think this thing would benefit from some bar end mirrors kind of like the ones that come on the Street Triple RS, still DOT compliant but much better looking and more stable.
Agreed 1000000%
I was parked next to a new 765 RS a few days ago and I totally agree. Stylish and high quality, something that would definitely enhance the appearance of the 8S!
@@richardwarsinske7064 agreed!
well this is the first ive ever heard of a bum QS. Ive never used one b4 the 8s, it took a couple days to get used to. It is literally buttery smooth when upshifting high in revs, downshifting is smooth anywhere anytime. Maybe a bum unit, it was clunky when i was shifting in the lower rev ranges. I agree with everything else. TST intergrated takes care of the rear, i also put shorty levers and was gonna get some better mirrors as the stock are useless unless you are the perfect height.
Thanks for the feedback, its starting to sound more and more like the quick shifter gets better as the bike breaks in, to be fair this bike only had like 150 miles on it when I got it, so maybe thats where the issue was.
I love my QS. I’ve never used one b4 but I love it so far. I only use it going up.
Good points all. Some, like the tail section up, are annoying but don't impact actual performance. Also would have been nice to see images of issues/ dislikes you were describing..I know it was an onboard video... You may have shown in another video so I subbed and will go digging. Cheers and thanks!
Thanks for watching and the feedback!
I feel the quick shifter wears in after about a thousand miles. No complaints on the QS from me as mine is feels REALLY good at 2k miles now. Earlier on in miles, use a little "pre loading" when shifting. I've heard/read that the computer senses that initial pressure and smooths out QS shifts. YMMV.
I replaced my rear fender with the Yoshimura tail tidy and it was super simple and clean. No arguments there, the stock fender is wonky looking. Yoshi's solution includes the brake light and allows use of the stock signals, which I preferred personally.
Levers and mirrors I have no real complaints about. They work fine for me, but agree that adjustable clutch lever shouldn't be that costly for the factory.
My mirrors don't vibrate badly at all, and as for the look, I'll just say is subjective. I'm neutral on the mirrors looks.
Lastly, totally don't get your confusion of the fuel gauge, but I'm sure everyone "see's" it differently.
Cheers! I enjoyed the vid.
Thanks for watching and the feedback, yeah the more im reading the comments and the more im learning about the bike the more it seems that the QS almost needs to be "broken in" also I think it needs to be used more spiritedly and I didn't do that as much as the bike wasn't broken in yet.
Quick shift up works awesome 😎. Quick shift down not so much but with this bike super easy to do a standard throttle blip downshift- super smooth possibly because of the quick shifter idk
Thanks for the feedback, yeah if you watch the next few video in the series I reported that it got a bit better and figured out why I had some issues, but still it wasn't as good as some of the other Suzuki's bikes quick shifters unfortunately. Thanks for watching!
Can you please make a video of the Denago Powersports Booth at Aimexpo Next Year?
I normally only make an overall highlight video, or will do specific ones if I have a partnership with a brand.
@@FifthNorthOkay!
As a SX-8S owner I completely agree with this list! I mean the mirrors dont drive me as crazy (but I will change them soon) but everything else is a must change! Im super annoyed that the break light is at the end of the tail and not in the body, like why? Just why?
Yeah the break light is a pain for sure!
The stock tail and mirrors are ugly on all naked bikes. They're cheap and getting replaced anyway. I don't know why you would need an adjustable clutch lever but they're also cheap and easy. As far as the quickshifter goes, you either have a dud or you're using it wrong. I'm lost on the gas gauge thing. It clearly shows that the fuel level bars are white when the screen is black, black when the screen is white, and the red bar is letting you know that you better get to a gas station if that's all the fuel you have left.
Thanks for watching…agreed on the naked bike comment. Adjustable levers on both the brake and clutch are welcomed as some people have shorter fingers than others and some prefers their levers closer or further depending on how far they want to reach. If you watch the next few videos on the bike, you can see that I figured out the QS issue. As for the gas gauge, in person, when the bars were lit black it looked like it was showing empty, could be a personal preference, but I think there was a simpler way to do it.
the quickshifter/blipper is that bad huh? my day is ruined. i was so hyped for this bike but now i have doubts.
It was for me, but id still say go test ride one, it could have just been the "demo" unit I was on, no idea if that's how all of them are, so maybe just double check to be safe, would hate to steer you away from what otherwise I think is a pretty damn good bike for the money.
@@FifthNorth yeah could be the bike. some other reviews on this bike praise it or find it just okay. but to hear it's so bad that you don't even use it, that's pretty damning :(
a question if it's alright: did this bike feel heavy to you? at 202 kg / 445 lbs it's quite a bit heavier than its competition. but i heard much of the weight is down low so it doesn't feel that heavy.
@@donderstorm1845 yeah like I sated in the video the one Suzuki uses on the Busa is simply amazing so really could have just been this bike, I will also say in the price range I wouldn't expect an amazing quick shifter to begin with, not fair to compare it to bikes that are almost 20k or are 20k.
As for weight it really didn't feel heavy to me, my personal bike (what im normally used to) is 414lbs and it honestly didn't feel at all heavier to me, granted it felt slower as it makes much less power but from a sitting at a light and balancing the bike or from general leaning of the bike it didn't feel heavy at all, I definitely didn't notice any extra weight even with the 30ish pound difference. Again Im in the camp of its a great bike for the money, I'll be doing my final wrap up review of it in a few weeks if you want to check that out.
@@FifthNorth ok thank you. will check it out!
That s a shit test.....i own the 800DE.....everybody knows now the QS of those two models 800DE and 8S are the Best on the market !!
Do you really think suzuki need those kind of vidéos?? Everybody is byuing BMW...ducatis....ktm etc....
Suzuki does engineered fabulous bikes......but everybody is buying Other brands......i personnaly own the v strom 800DE and allready made 17 000 km with it....
It s just the Best bike i have ever owned......totally in love with that model
..........i m not gonna watch your vidéo.....i don t like the title !!!suzuki deserves much better vidéos than this.........
Well.......
Well…if you did a little looking around you would have noticed that for every bike I review I make 4 videos…1st ride and initial thoughts…5 things I like…5 things I dont like…and final thoughts…
Not being a hater or disrespectful as I do this for every bike, that way I am giving a full opinion on the positive and the negative…i am even doing this for the bikes I have personally purchased…
Lastly…Suzuki has approved directly all of my videos as they gave me the bikes…interesting that they are not bothered by it (they want true and unbiased reviews)….
If you watched the videos you would know that I said that I dont like the quick shifter and the few things listed here that can be changed with the aftermarket…buuuuut that overall I think its a great bike for the money.
Thanks for watching and the comment…cheers.