Going on sale soon at prices “To Be Determined” the 2026 Suzuki GSX-8T and GSX-8TT (the one with the headlight cowl) borrow heavily from the existing 776 cc parallel-twin models in Suzuki’s line-up. Based on MD testing, this engine is very smooth with satisfying power delivery, which bodes well for both of these models.
Here is some press material provided by Suzuki:
Suzuki Motor Corporation has unveiled the all-new GSX-8T and all-new GSX-8TT street bike on July 4. Sales will begin in the summer of 2025 globally, primarily in Europe and North America.
The all-new “GSX-8T” and all-new “GSX-8TT” are neo-retro street bikes that combine the unique and attractive elements of Suzuki’s past iconic models with modern design, incorporating the latest technology, engines, and chassis.
They feature a round headlight inspired by the characteristic flat-bottom light that was commonly used in Suzuki’s past models, and Suzuki’s first handlebar-end mirrors, achieving a modern look while evoking a sense of retro. Meanwhile, we have heightened agility and comfort by combining the compact 776cm 3 engine, which are highly acclaimed in the GSX-8S/R, and a high-rigidity steel frame, with a lightweight aluminum swingarm.
The bikes are equipped with electronic control systems to assist riders, such as the Suzuki Drive Mode Selector (SDMS), ride by wire, and bi-directional quick-shift system, as well as a lithium-ion battery made by ELIIY Power, which is lightweight, compact, highly reliable, and maintains high startability even in low temperatures, allowing a wide range of users to enjoy sports riding with peace of mind.
All-New GSX-8T
The all-new GSX-8T is designed to evoke the T500, known as the Titan, a high-performance naked bike from the 1960s. It features a color scheme that highlights the tank by making the rear of the body matte black, and a 3D-raised emblem on the shroud inspired by the eight ball, which symbolizes a decisive move in billiards, resulting in a design that is both retro and modern.
All-New GSX-8TT
The all-new GSX-8TT features a headlight cowl reminiscent of past models, and an under cowl, design inspired by 1970s road racers. The body color includes black front forks and shrouds, and gray seat rails, creating a premium and calm color scheme that highlights the sporty accents of the wheels and decals. The “TT” in the name stands for a combination of the base model GSX-8T with “Timeless”, signifying the revival of classic bikes in a modern context.
Engine & Performance:
• 776cc parallel twin DOHC engine delivers a fine balance of smooth, controllable power from low rpm and free-revving performance through to the high end.<
• The 270-degree crankshaft configuration helps maintain a feeling in common with Suzuki’s V-twin models.
• Suzuki Cross Balancer, the first primary balancer of its type on a production motorcycle, contributes to smooth operation and compact, lightweight engine design.
• The inlet control of the cooling system speeds up engine warm-up and helps maintain consistent operating temperatures.
• The electronic throttle bodies help achieve faithful response and a linear throttle response.
• The 2-into-1 exhaust system features a dual-stage catalytic converter inside the collector that helps satisfy Euro 5+ emissions standards and a striking short design.
• The 6-speed transmission realizes smooth shifting and improved controllability.
• Suzuki Clutch Assist System (SCAS) helps reduce fatigue on long rides and contributes to smoother shifting.
Suzuki Intelligent Ride System (S.I.R.S.):
• Suzuki Drive Mode Selector (SDMS) better supports the rider in matching performance to the conditions of the riding scene, road conditions, or preferred riding style.
• Suzuki Traction Control System* (STCS) with 3 mode settings (+ OFF) enables greater control over the bike’s behavior under diverse riding conditions.
• Suzuki’s ride-by-wire electronic throttle control system realizes throttle action that responds faithfully to the rider’s intention.
• Suzuki’s Bi-directional Quick Shift System (with ON/OFF settings) provides quicker, smoother, more assured shifting without operating the clutch lever while in motion.
• The ABS** system contributes to more stable braking by helping prevent the wheels from locking up, even during hard braking.
• The Suzuki Easy Start System starts the engine with one quick press of the starter button.
• Suzuki’s Low RPM Assist function helps maintain engine idle speed for smoother and easier starts.
Chassis:
• A steel frame contributes to comfort, straight-line stability, and nimble handling.
• Dual radial mount front disc brake calipers act on ø310 mm discs to provide sure stopping power and controllability.
• KYB inverted front forks deliver a smooth, controllable ride.
• Adjustable KYB link-type rear suspension contributes to agility and stability.
• Cast aluminum wheels featuring a unique design contribute to nimble handling and a futuristic, sporty appearance.
• Dunlop SPORTMAX Roadsport 2 tires contribute to nimble, predictable handling and sporty performance.
• Features a uniquely shaped lightweight aluminum swingarm with enhanced torsional rigidity that contributes to nimble handling and straight-line stability.
• Tapered aluminum handlebars contribute to positive control and an upright riding position that offers comfort combined with a sporty riding experience.
• The uniquely shaped, large-capacity 4.3 gal fuel tank exudes a classic presence, providing stability while riding and a sense of security during knee grips.
• The rider’s seat is designed for comfortable sport riding, delivering solid support and shaped to offer freedom of movement.
Electric Equipment:
• A custom 5-inch color TFT LCD multi-function instrument panel features a clearly legible display of a rich variety of information.
I don’t hate it…
With pricing, add 15% Trump Tariff.
To make the bike more ‘retro’,just use the V Strom 800 exhaust system and exhaust can.
What Titan 500 never had was the under motor exhaust canister with all sections welded up including the headers from 8S ?
I owned an S, R and V Strom RE, all 3 of them. The S has really hard firm forks, the R ones are much better on the road. Chuck in the V Stroms adjustable rear shock too.
Someone in Suzuki thought the S version was racetrack, and R is really a sports tourer, not a racebike at all. All screwed up.
modern parallel twin: destroying style and character in service to the bottom line. Pass
Why does Suzuki refuse to use cruise control? I bet they’re losing sales because of that.
Honestly, I think very few outside of NA care about it.
Other than going for long distances on a super straight freeway, which this bike is not meant for, why would anyone in their right mind want a cruise control? on a motorcyele?
Agreed Joe, completely, however I complained about the same issue a while back and got a sensible answer, just for a few riders only. Slipped right out of my brain skull now.
Not everyone trailers their bike to the curvy roads, or lives close to curvy roads. Long, straight stretches of interstate exist in mid America, and 10 straight hours of highway riding (to get to the mountain roads) without cruise control is painful for this old man. Once you’ve had electronic cruise control, it spoils you and you never want to go back.
Why do you Dudes have to have your hand on the throttle all of the Time?
Cruise pros:
Billfold check,
cramp,
boys need adjusting,
Billings 450 miles…
Infrastructure/wiring in place.
Cruise nit picks:
Unmanly
Agree! In this age of modern electronics, don’t think its a big ask to have electronic cruise control. But if not, a $20 dollar throttle lock will do a good enuff job.
Probably because it’s easier to put an aftermarket throttle lock on a bike than it is for manufacturers to add a button to the particular handlebar controls they are buying. Besides, not all bikes are used for long distance highway touring.
Especially if you already have a ride by wire throttle, it’s ridiculously simple to implement and requires minimal additional controls. IMO every new bike with RBW should also have cruise control, standard.
Cruise control question (never had it on an MC), Do motorcycles come with “Smart” cruise control, like modern cars have?
I’ve always had cars with it but my current car is the first I’ve had with a smart CC that manages distance to vehicles ahead. I find this far more valuable than regular CC, which just holds a speed and I use it more often than I did in prior cars.
You’d need radar or proximity sensors for smart cruise control.
This thread is cracking me up on a Saturday morning. Also, just read that Hagar slacks now has an optional combo infrared / proximity sensor for zipper location awareness. It’s a situational awareness thing.
I love cruise control but absolutely hate smart cruise. Sometimes I’ll find myself daydreaming and look down and find I’m following someone going 10 mph under the speed I had my cruise set at. Regular cruise is a like a wake up call when you come up on someone going too slow.
The TT with the T seat works. Unfortunately it’s impossible to hide all the plumbing in a l/c engine unless it’s wrapped in Tupperware. I’d nix the idea of a Wes Cooley edition, that’s holy ground the anything less than a tho should fear to walk. I think these look like pleasant motorcycles to own the won’t shake the loose change out of your pockets, strain your body with some S&M racerboy riding position or ruin retirement plans with hideous insurance premiums. Sporty enough for the twisties and yet adle enough for one up touring. It’s a home run in my books.
suzuki motorcycles are great
I also found the website blurb about “Suzuki’s first handlebar-end mirrors…” interesting. My first bike was a 1981 GS450S, which came with a bikini fairing and yes, handlebar-end mirrors. Loved that bike. I rode it from College in LA to home in Seattle several times. If the TT model came with Gold wheels (in the US) like my old GS450S, I might just need one.
Had the ’81 GS450E model for my first bike in the candy apple red from Bellevue Suzuki new in ’84. Nice having a dealership a mile from my house. Never knew there was a “S” model until now after Googling as I had never seen one. Always think about buying one and restoring it as a retirement project. Cheers!
I can only assume that whoever wrote the press release wasn’t aware of the earlier use and thought they were correct, it serves as a reminder that the folks working at a company now don’t necessarily know everything about its history.
Or they asked AI to write something and didn’t check it for accuracy.
Fellow former GS450 owner here. Mine was the L (cruiser) variant. Picked it up for a song on ebay and loved everything about it. Traded it for a Ninja 500, and still kicking myself over that decision to this day. On paper, the Ninja was slightly better in almost every measurable way, but wasn’t nearly as endearing as the GS.
That was long ago, and I’ve since progressed through the years to a BMW R1200R, which is a fantastic bike. I still search online for old Suzuki GS’s from time to time, though.
Farts smell so good after White Castle, hug me please.
These bikes certainly look better than the 8R (I think the 8S looks good). Retro…kinda sorta…maybe a better description would be “a new style direction”. If the 8T had wire wheels it would be a great looking bike, the 8TT is fine with the mags.
Apparently the GSX bikes respond well to a tune, airbox and exhaust mod (over 90HP on the dyno)…I have a feeling that Dirck might have first-hand knowledge of these mods on his personal GSX.
I have my R’s and S’s mixed up above.
You stated my thoughts on the retro description exactly. I kind of like the way they look, I couldn’t point to a single thing I’d call retro about either except maybe the headlight cowl.
When I first saw these bikes pop up I was pretty sure they were going to make the MD cut. I didn’t look very closely at them at the time. I was interested to see the reaction of team retro over at MD. Now that I have looked a little closer I guess that I understand the, what I am going to call, luke warm response. The bikes aren’t really faithful retro representations. There is no big flat seat or organic shapes in the body parts. Omitting the side panels is a real clue that the retro bit is more of a marketing claim than a real design choice. It’s funny how the retro fans only get catered to by certain companies than more or less specialize in it. There are rare exceptions. But these bikes? You would have to be under thirty to buy the retro bit.
Yes. why they are presented as “Neo Retro”. “Neo-retro, a combination of “neo” (new) and “retro” (referring to the past), describes a design style that blends modern elements with inspiration from past eras. It’s not just a simple revival of older styles, but rather a reinterpretation and modernization of those styles, creating something new that still evokes a sense of nostalgia.” unquote.
They got a way to go yet. Does not remind me of anything 1960s or even early 70s.
Think UJM motorcycle from the early seventies. But I think many here will never see these new groups of motorcycles, as anything except ugly. this is the future. these machines are terrific in how small physically they are, powerful, clean, torquey, smooth, and still some will complain. I can only think back in 1981 when the first Katana came out, 9 out of 10 hated the new look.
It’s fine that they don’t faithfully evoke the 60’s. The riders they hope to reach weren’t there to remember.
The “lukewarm” reaction is an example of how were our own worst enemies. If people turn their noses up at this and bikes like it because they’re not “perfect”, the signal to the makers will be that this isn’t valuable to the American market and our choices will continue to diminish while healthier markets will continue to see more options.
If you hate the origami look of the 8s and hate this less, buy this, or it’ll go away and only bikes like the 8s (or nothing at all) will be available to you later because that’s what the rest of the world buys.
I see a lot more neo and nearly zero retro. They’re trying to get by here with a vaguely round headlight. Is the tail section anything like traditional? Nope! Same abbreviated thing you get now with a huge splash guard to make it look silly as usual now days. No nice tank no side panels at all. Spoked wheels? Nope!
I don’t think that not buying motorcycles because the manufacturers refuse to make modles that are attractive to buyers is really being your own worst enemy. Look at the dirt bikers. They get far superior equipment. Why? Because they won’t buy anything less. The street bike crowd gets what they get because they make excuses and tell anyone who points out the shortcomings in the market that the are ignorant and that they should shut up. You don’t get what you don’t demand or even ask for. Heck, these bikes don’t have a crazy deep sump like the Yamaha does and if you can get about 90hp out of the like Gary says. You could make a decent rig out of the thing. But you would have to do it yourself. Because the street bike industry does not make premium editions of budget bikes. The dirt bikers get premium editions at all power levels. Because they demand it.
Motorcycle manufacturers do not listen to consumers, as much as some here on MD would like their ideas to inspire. What the metal cutters respond to are sales, lotsa sales, IF, they happen to hit on a form AND function design. Think about bikes that have F&F over a long production run. It happens. Now, the time of a design without F&F could just be a give a shit attitude also.
It’s all about the money, not a passion for a beautiful experience on a week end.
I think the dirt bike products evolve because there is a global community of competitive riders who view their bikes as short-term investments in their sport. This guarantees a volume turnover that the moto-makes can bet on the business.
The sub-set of street riders who turn over their bikes only ever few years is exceedingly small and as we’ve discussed in the past, young riders just aren’t coming in for bikes of this size.
The problem here Mick, is that perfectionists like you aren’t “asking”, you’re just sitting with your arms crossed. If you don’t buy something, the motorcycle makers can’t hear you. KTM made the bike you said you and others wanted and you didn’t buy it, so they stopped.
KTM never made a decent street bike. Kramer does using KTM engines. But they aren’t sold as street bikes.
I used to replace my street bikes at a higher rate than my dirt bikes. The last motorcycle I bought was three years ago. It was a street bike. The wife wanted me to buy a new one. But the new ones were ride by wire. I bought an 1100 mile used one with a real throttle. It’s an air cooled two valve Ducati. I’ve always liked that engine. The new one was a four valve water pumper. Not fond of those. I did go to a dealer and looked at the new bike. I went to check out that Ducati single too. But the new bikes are all so creepy. The manufacturers all seem so proud to make motorcycles that are constantly not doing exactly what you tell them to.
The dirt bikes are selling well because they don’t last as long as they used to. Ever since KTM stopped making the RFS engine all the four strokes are really high maintenance trash that is guaranteed to grenade anyway. Why they sell at all really shows to power of advertising. They didn’t destroy the racing series for dirt bikes in 2002 and they still sell. They devastated road racing in 2002 and sport bike sales got devastated right along with it. That the manufacturers don’t do anything about that astounds me. People sit around here and they blame the kids. Hello! They stopped advertising to them. They even made a ton of ADV bikes to try to ride the coat tails of the racing series that they didn’t destroy. Odd that their own behavior doesn’t make their problem obvious to them.
I am refering to the KTM Duke 690, the 2016 and later model with the balance shafts that smooth it out. By all accounts it is a great street bike that comes very close to meeting all of the metrics you claim are important to you but you didn’t buy it, or the Husky styling exercise of the same. They have continued to offer this engine in a few flavors of SM (KTM, Husqvarna, Gas Gas) and you haven’t bought one of those either, despite your claimed affinity for riding converted dirt bikes.
Maybe read a little about ride by wire and the opportunities it opens for outfits like Two Wheel Dyno Works, who can extract much better peformance from bikes equipped with it, with a simple (to the user..) ECU flash.
Aand as usual, your revisionist history of what happened to racing and why is complete fiction.
The 690 is just as, if not more responsive than any stock carbureted bike I’ve ever ridden. I was a diehard carb guy, might still be because my new Beta has a carb, but the 690 and my K75S have proven that fuel injection and RBW can work really well.
You still don’t know what you are talking about, and yes, you still need to shut up.
Bob! You figured out how to post another comment. Good work buddy! I’m so proud of you!
Looks like a fun bike.
Reminds me of the Yamaha FZ07, MT07, XSR700.
Motorcycle sales are declining because they are too expensive. If you can afford the bike, you can’t afford the insurance. We need more smaller, affordable bikes. Just look at Grom sales. I’m 70 and don’t need or want a 800cc bike. The Grom is nice but looks like a kids bike.
There are bikes like the XR150L, Trail and Cub 125, Duke 200, the RE Meteor, TW200, new Triumph 400s, etc. there are plenty of low cost, excellent, simple motorcycles that will move you around town or even across to the next town.
I had a ton of fun on a Honda CB-160 in the mid 60s and went from town to town no problem. That 160 sure could handle better than expected. I now would expect better performance from a 60 plus year newer small displacement bike. No better looks than that CB-160 though. It was purely elegant in style and function. Just enough.
“Suzuki’s first handlebar-end mirrors…”
Au counterair young copywriter, my 1980 GS400S had handlebar-end mirrors as standard build.
Actually I believe it was a 450, an upgrade of the “79 400.
“designed to evoke the T500”.
Not sure of any real resemblance to the old Titan, but would we really want that anyway? Maybe the marketing arm was just told to get the terms “evoke” or “retro” in there somewhere, as that is the trend lately. I don’t care that they don’t much look like the Titan OR a Katana (the latter was was tried a few years ago and it sold like lead dirigibles). I think these designs are fresh and attractive, yet still evoke (just can’t help myself) some hint of past classic sporty styling.
Kudos to Suzuki.
There is a guy up around Seattle that still rides a Titan. Always thought it was a reliable and sensible looking bike, if one wanted a 2 stroke.
So disappointing. I was hoping for a sport touring model. A mid size GSX S800GT+.
The GSX8R fills that need.
It seems Suzuki is struggling, especailly since they almost went out of business during covid. that the new 800 twins are starting to trickle out and its a really good bike, shows they might make a comeback. like others, i think they could make one a Wes Cooley special, or a Katana look a like. In the meantime, we get a really good bike, with great performance, small physically, and with a round headlight, few like it. go figure, because is doesnt look Suzuki?
I think it’s really interesting that they decided to make two versions. Other articles indicate that there will even be two colors each in other markets. This indicates that they think they’ll sell A LOT of these. The EU speculation is that these will cost between $1-2k more than the existing 8S. That’s a shame because it appear to be only a styling exercise, no mechanical upgrades.
What disturbs me is that there is nothing ‘Suzuki’ about their looks. If you took the Suzuki badges and stickers off them, I’d be very surprised if anyone could identify them, at first sight, as ‘Suzuki’. Are bikes now mirroring cars with their increasing visual uniformity?
In the spirit of brand identification and the good ole days, YES still important for a Suzuki to not be mistaken for a Ducati. Brand colors used to be relevant also, and I liked that.
The front fenders on Harleys had a flat bottom edge just to distinguish them from an Indian, when in a dealership line up.
Style counts.
IMHO.
Just squint and imagine this bike in Suzzy colors. BIG difference.
Pee Sss – with proper side panels to hide stuff.
Can’t say I care for the styling either. Nothing inspiring here. That headlight looks like it came off the Honda CB650. The 1970s and 80s GS or GSX Suzy-Qs all looked nice.
The Reason retros are good, they are SENSIBLE ! Everything is where it belongs.
Wes Cooley Edition Please? Well, ok, I’ll take a “T” model then, please! Been looking for a naked/fun bike for tootling around town to let the wind run through my hair…..Ok, ok, over my bare scalp! Don’t want a liter-bike so these enter into the equation along with a Husqvarna Vitpilen or 701 SM. While I liked the fit of the GSX8, I just don’t care for the styling. These bikes aren’t retro in my eyes and certainly don’t remind me of any old Suzukis. First five bikes I purchased were 80’s GS series and a XN so always had love in my heart for Suzuki. Hope they appear soon as my 60th is just over a week away!