#Video

The Route Napoleon is considered one of the best drives across France. It starts near the French Riviera and runs up to the southern tip of the Alps. The route earns its namesake by following the path that the one-time French emperor used to covertly make his way north after escaping his first exile. Despite wet conditions with gravelly sections enroute and frost at higher elevations, it was a most excellent place to have our first dance with Suzuki’s new naked, the 2023 GSX-8S. The second of two 776cc Parallel-Twin-powered models from Suzuki, the GSX-8S proved its mettle over just a single day’s ride in terms of being a contender in the middleweight naked category. Let’s get to it. 

Each year thousands of motorcyclists and motorheads flock to the rainy town of Portland, Oregon, from all over the continent and even the world to see more than 100 custom bikes of all styles on display. The final count of attendees to the 8th-annual One Motorcycle Show over the February 10th weekend was 17,000, with another 2,000 at the 1 Moto Pro flat-track races on Sunday.

Why so popular? Well, the crew from See See Motorcycles & Coffee created the show with a specific idea in mind: “Take all the knowledge you have accumulated and build a machine that encompasses your vision of the ideal bike. The ONE motorcycle.”

Here we are again, nosing around the garage area and the vicinity of the start/finish line, anticipating a full new season of MotoGP. Everyone is optimistic. Everyone is putting their best foot forward. The power brokers, the likes of Yamaha’s Lin Jarvis and Honda’s Livio Suppo, are maintaining low profiles, keeping their powder dry in case – this probably of more concern to Suppo than Jarvis – their 2016 project turns out to be a dumpster fire.