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May 27, 2023

Ride Review / 2023 Suzuki V

The Strom on an easy gravel road. The new 800DE eats this up easily. Photo: Zac Kurylyk Suzuki’s V-Strom lineup has been around about 20 years now (the1000 came out in 2002, the 650 came out in 2004).

The Strom on an easy gravel road. The new 800DE eats this up easily. Photo: Zac Kurylyk

Suzuki’s V-Strom lineup has been around about 20 years now (the1000 came out in 2002, the 650 came out in 2004). Over those decades, it’s developed a reputation for being solid, reliable, affordable… and maybe lacking personality. I’m here to tell you that with the new Suzuki V-Strom 800DE, that last part, the reputation for mild-mannered docility, may be about to change.

The V-Strom 800DE debuted alongside the new GSX-8S in late 2022. They share many components, particularly the engine. Immediately, riders pointed out it wasn’t a V-Strom at all—technically speaking, the new bike is a P-Strom, since it runs a parallel twin engine, not a V-twin like the 650 and 1000. And even though this engine is brand-new to these models, it’s somewhat familiar, because Suzuki teased this engine for years before the launch. We first saw it on the show circuit 10 years ago, as a turbocharged 588cc parallel twin in the Recursion concept bike.

The V-Strom 800DE engine was under development for a very long time. Originally, we saw this with a turbocharger attached. Photo: Suzuki

Flash-forward to 2023, and that engine is now naturally-aspirated, growing to 776cc to make up for the loss of the turbo. The engine comes with DOHC top end, including four valves per cylinder. It’s supposed to make 83 hp at 8,500 rpm and 57 lb-ft of torque at 6,800 rpm (at the crank, not at the rear wheel). A ride-by-wire throttle allows Suzuki to build in an up/down quickshifter, and three selectable Drive Modes to regulate engine power output and delivery, and five-mode traction control, including a Gravel mode. The gearbox is a six-speed, with an assist clutch.

These are all good to have, but not revolutionary, or different from the competition. What is different is the new Suzuki Cross Balancer, a counterbalancer intended to smooth out the vibrations.

The rest of the bike is similar: It’s more-or-less in line with the competition. However, it is a massive improvement over previous V-Stroms, at least for dirt riding. There’s 8.7 inches of ground clearance, the most of any V-Strom model; front and rear shock both have 8.7 inches of travel as well, more than any other Strom. Both fork and shock come from Showa; the fork is fully adjustable, as is the shock (with remote hydraulic preload adjustment).

This theme continues with a 21-inch front wheel (typically, the Stroms come with a 19-inch front). The rear wheel is a 17-incher. Some riders might have preferred an 18-inch wheel, for more tire choices, but the 21-17 combo matches Suzuki’s long-selling DR650, which has been flogged all around the world just fine, with the current tires on the market. Both front and rear rims are spoked, of course. Unfortunately, the rims are not tubeless.

A 21-inch front wheel and a bolt-on rear subframe are both welcome features for the off-road enthusiast. Photo: Suzuki

The new Strom comes with a TFT screen, which makes switching electronic options on and off an easy task. Speaking of electro-trickery, we see ABS and traction control as standard, but neither system uses an inertial measurement unit. No IMU means no leaning-sensitive antilock bracks or TC system, so beware of that.

LED lighting is standard all-round.

The bike comes with a mini-windscreen that’s manually adjustable (you’ve got to remove the mounting bolts and then re-install them). Plastic wraparound handguards also come standard, and a plastic skid plate and rack. The fuel tank has 20-liter capacity; seat height is 33.7 in. Curb weight is 507 lb.

When I picked up the V-Strom 800DE at a local dealership, all I knew about the bike was what the salesman told me: “It’s fun, but a lot more street-oriented than my Tenere 700.” Rolling out of the parking lot, I saw what he meant; the new Strom has a lot of jam right off the line. Around town, in stop-and-go traffic, if you’re in Drive Mode “A” the 800 is a machine on the edge, only a throttle-crack away from closing any gap.

On the highway, it’s the same story. The 800DE may make max horsepower at 8,500 rpm, but it gets there in fast, with max torque at 6,800 rpm. The gearbox shifts briskly and slickly with or without the quickshifter, and soon you’re in the top cog, where you might see that even though the bike gets to 100 mph-ish quickly, that’s where the stock gearing runs out (of course, such tests are only run at a top-secret private test facility).

So, riders expecting the 800 to turn into a hyper-speed machine on the street are not going to get that. I think that’s a good thing.

Suzuki’s own PR says “V-STROM 800DE’s engine is ideal for the back roads. It demonstrates tenacious staying power at extremely low speeds, which makes for easy control on gravel and hard dirt roads.” This thing is made for the places that you ride adventure bikes for enjoyment, not autobahn bragging rights. And, it is very, very enjoyable once you leave the superslab for rural routes.

The 800 practically launches itself out of corners on a two-lane country road. It wants to exit corners with the unslowing moment of a locomotive, and it does it all with smoooooooth power delivery.

In my first hours on the Strom, I noticed some vibration in the footpegs, despite the rubber insert, but basically none in the handlebars. A few days later, I didn’t even notice the pegs buzzing; maybe that disappeared over the break-in period, or maybe I just subconsciously filed it away with all the other stuff that doesn’t matter. After that, I just enjoyed the smooth, on-demand torque.

Suzuki tucked the oil filter away behind the exhaust headers, and also included this plastic skid plate. Much better protection than the old Stroms’ oil filter placement. Photo: Zac Kurylyk

Why is the engine so smooth, when it has a 270-crank to deliver a V-twin experience? Other OEMs do this to add a bit more grumble to the power delivery. What’s different with the Suzuki?

It comes down to that afore-mentioned Suzuki Cross Balancer. When introduced, they told us “The first biaxial primary balancer on a production motorcycle to position its two balancers at 90° to the crankshaft, this patented mechanism suppresses vibration to contribute to smooth operation, while its design also helps realize a lighter powerplant that is more compact from front to rear.”

It works—vibration is almost eliminated, and I actually had to start watching the tach a bit more, instead of shifting solely by feel. A lot of the haptic feedback you’d expect, telling you when to shift, is gone.

While the engine is perfectly matched to back road blasting, the chassis is also well-suited to this environment. I feel it’s right in between KTM’s Ready-To-Race 890 Adventure series and the softer Husqvarna Norden 901 Explorer. Of course, if you want to fool with the adjustments, you can tweak the ride to your liking further, but as stock, I found it stiff enough that it responded well to a hard push on pavement, but soft enough that potholes and tar snakes weren’t a misery.

A stacked headlight throws a crazy amount of candlepower downrange, but alas, the beam pattern is a bit wonky. Also note that small windscreen; it keeps the air off your chest, and throws a pretty clean windstream around your helmet, but don’t expect lux all-weather dead air behind it. Photo: Zac Kurylyk

Even that 21-inch front wheel felt more nimble than you’d expect, and braking was excellent. As for the bodywork, the smallish windscreen does a good job of keeping windblast off your chest while not overwhelming you with a push of dirty air around your helmet. The flares on the side of the tank also protect you from the elements. And the seat is perfectly shaped for street riding, keeping your weight off your tailbone without canting your crotch forward to be mashed into the fuel tank.

But what about the dirt? The new Strom is definitely a street bike first and an off-road bike second. But the more I used it off-pavement, the more I came to enjoy its capabilities here.

I wasn’t ripping and tearing around at high-speed off-road, because A) I’m not talented enough a dirt rider, B), I hate to beat up a bike that isn’t mine and C) this is a heavy adventure bike, not a lightweight enduro. But I will say that the longer I rode this machine on gravel, the more my confidence grew and the faster I took it down two-track. Eventually I was picking my way up some gnarly boulder-strewn hillclimbs with the 800, and found it can get you a lot farther into the woods than you might think at first.

Although the suspension is more dirt-friendly than either the 650 or 1000 Strom, the 800 still comes with a stiff fork and shock, which means you will have to tickle the clickers if you want to dial the chassis in for the dirt—and you will never get this machine to the level of a true dual sport, because it’s a big, heavy bike. The mass is well-hidden when you’re rolling in the direction you want, but when things slip and slide around and you lose that forward momentum, you’re reminded of how much the 800 weighs, especially the front end.

Easily shift between the electro-features with help of the left-hand controls. However, it would have been better for Suzuki to use less-cryptic labeling for the options. Photo: Suzuki

If you want to allow more wheelspin, switching the TC to Gravel is easy, and I left the machine there during the last few days of my bike loan. Switching to off-road ABS (antilock brakes at front, but not in back) was a bit more tricky; you can’t do it while moving, and the bike re-sets every time you turn it off. But you’ll quickly get in the habit of changing this if you’re riding the bike regularly, even if you find it frustrating to have to re-set every time you turn the machine off. At least it’s easy to switch the options out via the TFT screen and left-hand control module.

Stock, the Strom comes with Dunlop Trailmax Mixtour tires. They’re good on gravel, and even do surprisingly well in sand, but I will say that they are most unpleasant in mud. No big deal, that’s also true of many other dual sport tires, but just keep it in mind if you buy one of these. You’ll be replacing the rubber soon enough anyway.

To sum up my seat time in the dirt: This bike is a competent off-roader, maybe a bit more less dirt-oriented than other middleweights, but for almost all motorcyclists, the limitation will be the rider’s skill, not the bike—at least, that’ll be the case once you change the tires. In my case, the more I rode the bike, the more I looked for gravel roads to take as a diversion to pavement. It’s a fun machine once the pavement ends.

The Showa fork is well-suited to backroad blasting and gravel road riding, but uses screw-type adjusters on top, instead of the easy-peasy clicker types that you see on modern ADV suspension from WP. Photo: Zac Kurylyk

Overall, I highly enjoyed the time on the V-Strom 800DE. I am excited to see Suzuki bring out an all-new platform. I think this engine will be a cornerstone of the company’s lineup for at least the next decade, so I’m glad to see they did such a good job.

What would I change on the bike? I’d like to see metal-core handguards, not plastic. And I think the skid plate should have been made of aluminum, or at least much thicker plastic. I also think tubeless rims were a no-brainer, and the lack of them will drive many customers away.

I’m not as fussed about the lack of an IMU, as I suspect most riders won’t miss it, and the added electro-trickery is nice but not needed.

There is one thing that I was surprised by, with both its capability and deficiency—the LED headlight.

That plastic rack will easily hold a strapped-down duffel, but if you want more luggage space, Suzuki offers OEM luggage options and the aftermarket is also ramping up their own design production. Photo: Zac Kurylyk

The low beam has very defined edges, with holes in the light pattern. Not a huge deal, but when you’re cornering at night, sometimes I was unable to see as much of the lane in front of the bike as I wanted. When switching to the high beam, I found the same issue. However, the high beam is otherwise very bright, probably able to burn the eyelids off an alligator. I just wish there was a bit more splash to the sides of the road, especially as I live in moose country. I imagine that many owners will augment their main headlight with auxiliary spotlights as a result.

At a $11,349 MSRP in the US ($13,299 in Canada), the Suzuki V-Strom 800DE doesn’t have the same performance as its Euro counterparts, but neither does it have the same sticker shock. I personally feel that while it might not be as edgy or sleek as the competition, the price difference and Suzuki’s reliability will endear this machine to a new generation of riders.