An undeniable truth of life is that everything is a compromise. We merely select the compromises that work the best for us – and so it is with motorcycles. We go out with stars in our eyes and cash in our hands, hoping to find that ideal fit for our purpose. However, if you’re a normal person with normal amounts of money to spend on a motorcycle, you’re going to have to settle.
If you’re looking for an adventure bike, the best in the business usually has a propeller on the tank. However, that engineering and luxury come at a premium, which narrows down its audience quite a bit. If you want a reliable adventure bike (and we all do, don’t we?), we usually head in the direction of a Japanese manufacturer. And who better than Honda when it comes to reliability? Honda doesn’t seem very interested in running the rat race with everyone else, though, offering practical solutions to everyday problems instead of going all out and spoiling the customer. Where do we find the ideal combination of both these traits? Where can we find the adventure-touring bike with Honda reliability and BMW-level luxury?
The Case For A Suzuki Adventure Bike
Suzuki is one of the smaller manufacturers of both cars and two-wheelers, but what products it makes are generally very strong in their respective segments. It has a reputation for reliability, with its bikes and cars being popular in many developing markets, where reliability is more important than usual. This means that it is a perfect choice for an adventure bike, because these bikes go to far-flung places where AAA isn’t usually available.
Can Suzuki Do Luxury?
We know that Suzuki can do reliability as well as the best in the business; we need merely to have a look at the Hayabusa and the DR series of dual-sport motorcycles for evidence. However, luxury is something that Suzuki hasn’t really chased in a while, preferring to go with value rather than fight with the established luxury names. We know that it can develop a great sport bike, and we also know that it can dominate with dirt bikes. It isn’t very well known for its products in the adventure bike segment. However, there are three models, all of which are extremely competent. They all occupy a niche that any other product will find difficult to fill, and one of them occupies the niche between Honda and BMW, with the reliability of one and the luxury of the other.
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The Suzuki V-Strom 800DE Is The Adventure-Touring Bike With Honda Reliability And BMW-Level Luxury
The V-Strom series of adventure bikes from Suzuki is available with three different displacements in the US market. One of the well-known ones, like the V-Strom 650, should get an update at some point in the near future for emissions compliance. At the other end of the spectrum is the big V-Strom 1050, which is also like the 650 in that it utilizes a V-twin engine and old-school engineering. In the middle is its latest model and one that is more in line with today’s motorcycles: the V-Strom 800. It has a parallel-twin engine, a set of modern features, and it retains Suzuki’s famous reliability. Therefore, it is the adventure-touring bike with Honda reliability and BMW-level luxury.
It Is Priced The Same As Its Peers
The V-Strom 800 range starts at $10,249 and tops out at $13,249. The V-Strom 800DE sits in the middle, at $11,799. It is the off-road-focused model with spoke rims and the right wheel sizes for excursions into the dirt. The price is similar to the competition – but a little more than the Japanese equivalent, although it isn’t as high as the European competition. This puts the V-Strom 800DE smack in the middle of the segment.
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A New Parallel-Twin Engine For Suzuki
This engine isn’t new anymore, but it certainly is one of the latest additions to Suzuki’s two-wheeler lineup. It shows its young age by being the only parallel twin in the ADV lineup, with the other two being V-twins, and it is a short-stroke design with a 12.8:1 compression ratio. It also has a 270-degree crank, which explains its good torque curve. It generates 83.1 horsepower at 8,500 RPM and 57.5 pound-feet at 6,800 RPM from 776cc. A six-speed gearbox with an assist and slipper clutch and a two-way quickshifter are standard fitment.
A Twin-Spar Chassis Is Uncommon
With everyone moving to trellis frames for their lighter weight and lower cost of production, it is not usual to see a twin-spar frame outside of a sport bike. The V-Strom 800DE has one made out of steel. A steel subframe is bolted on, but the swingarm is made of aluminum. Suzuki says the parallel twin engine has allowed it to put the rider closer to the front of the bike, which helps with weight distribution and control.
Showa provides the suspension, with inverted forks and a link-type rear monoshock with a remote reservoir. Both ends are fully adjustable and offer an equal 8.7 inches of travel. Nissin is the brake supplier, with twin 310mm front discs and a 260mm rear disc. The front brake calipers are axially mounted and are two-piston floating calipers, which is unusual for a new model in the segment. The rear caliper has a single piston.
There is more strangeness with the spoke rims – the V-Strom 800DE is the only one in Suzuki’s ADV lineup without tubeless wheels. The V-Strom 650 has a tubeless spoke rim design that isn’t a cross-spoke one, while the V-Strom 1050DE has a 21-inch cross-spoke tubeless design for the front wheel. It’s a head-scratching decision by Suzuki to not provide tubeless rims at least as an option when it has them in its lineup. The tires are Dunlop Trailmax Mixtour tires that are semi-off-road tires, so there is some benefit to the tube-type rims.
The V-Strom 800DE Is A Big Bike
The V-Strom 800DE is a big bike for its class, with a length of 92.3 inches, a 38.4-inch width, and a wheelbase of 61.8 inches. The seat is quite high, at 33.7 inches, but you also get 8.7 inches of ground clearance. The fuel tank capacity stands at 5.3 gallons, a good amount. It weighs 507 pounds, which is among the heaviest in the segment.
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A Decent Feature Set For The Money
Suzuki usually offers a decent feature set with its newer models, and that is the case with the V-Strom 800DE as well. There is a five-inch TFT display, and adjustable hand levers, radiator guard, skid plate, luggage rack, and USB charging port are all standard features. If you want luggage, the V-Strom 800DE Adventure offers standard hard cases for $13,249, a premium of $1,450 over the V-Strom 800DE. It is available in two colors: Suzuki’s signature yellow or a pearlescent white.
There are places where there is room for improvement; however, we’ve already mentioned the lack of tubeless spoke rims. The engine guard is 0.15 inches thick, but is made of plastic. The windscreen is adjustable, but requires you to undo four bolts to change the position. There is no six-axis IMU, which is fine, but the omission of cruise control on such a motorcycle that already has a by-wire throttle is another massively puzzling decision by Suzuki. You do get four-step traction control (including off), ABS that can be turned off at the rear, and ride modes.
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There Is A Honda And A BMW In The Competitor List, Yes
When it comes to the midsize adventure bike segment, competition is fierce, and there is no real bad example. Honda has its contributor in the Transalp. However, it leans toward reliability rather than luxury even though it got a significant features update in its last refresh. It leaves the luxury to the BMW F 900 GS, which has luxury as well as reliability, but asks for an appropriate amount of money for the privilege.
There are various other options with different combinations of luxury and reliability if you don’t like the Transalp or the F 900 GS: the Yamaha Tenere 700 is dead reliable but prefers to keep things simple, with the addition of a by-wire throttle, a new thing in 2025. The CFMoto Ibex 800 E has luxury in spades, but it is a young brand with a new model and has yet to establish its reliability. The Aprilia Tuareg has incredible prowess, especially off-road, but is in the same boat as the CFMoto. The Aprilia has returned to the ADV/off-road segment after a very long time, so it will need some time to catch up to the segment leaders’ reliability.
Source: Suzuki Cycles