You know, the funny thing is … I never wanted a V-Strom. If I’d had my choice, I would have bought a Tiger 800 or maybe the F800GS. But at the time FortNine had this relationship with a Suzuki dealer so my boss came over and said “Hey, you know, we can get a deal on this.”
So I said, “Alright. V-Strom 1000 it is then.” Wasn’t really my decision but … it was the best decision I could have made.
I remember when the bike showed up. It had this dealership clean… cleaner than I’d ever get it again. And I just thought, “wow… this thing looks stupid. Haha.”
Suzuki gave the Strom a facelift in 2014 and I never liked it. They threw a beak on the front to match the ugly ducklings at BMW, but with the gaping headlight and cow-licked windscreen it came out looking like a frightened Dodo bird.
I mean yeah… the windscreen has 9 positions and it prevents buffeting just fine, even for a 6”3 guy like myself. And the stacked lamps in that oval headlight illuminate the road way better than most motorcycles.
But visually … nah. My first impression was of a shiny, sparkling doofus and I wanted nothing to do with it.
I guess the one thing I did like about the V-Strom, right away, was its ability in the corners. Suzuki gave the bike a lighter, stiffer aluminum frame so it’s quite responsive. Plus, they made it narrower between the legs – it’s actually slimmer than the 650 – so it flicks side to side like a sport tourer.
Aaaand, the V-Strom wears 17 and 19” radials off the factory line, hung by some seriously premium suspension. That’s the main thing. So yeah, it loves to sink its teeth into a corner.
But I’ve gotta slam the Strom on power. It’s a bit gutless, especially at the top end. The thing revs to 9000rpm but there’s not much point in going past 5 ‘cause nothing happens up there.
Down low is a different story. When the Suzuki geeks bored the old engine to 1037ccs, they only found 99hp but they did stumble into a bunch of fat, bottom-end torques. You’ll have the better part of 76ft-lbs below 4000rpm, so it pulls like a train down low.
One thing I had to get used to was the initial throttle response … it really likes to lurch off the clutch. I also had to get used to the vibrations … you can feel every pop and pull of the V-Twin through the seat and at first, it’s a bit unrefined.
Under braking… yeah I like it there. The slipper clutch lets you slam downshifts hard. Then it’s Tokico calipers, four pistons in each, dual 310mm discs up front … Honestly these brakes spoiled me for a lot of other bikes. Huge stopping power, loads of feedback, and a ridiculously strong initial bite.
That last bit is actually a problem off-road. If you breathe on the front brake around gravel, you’ll tuck the front.
I think it was during the Explore series that I started to love the bike. We were filming all over Quebec, doing a lot of 12, 13, 14, 15 hour days in the saddle. And on the V-Strom is was strangely effortless .
The La-Z-Boy seat is wide and supportive. The power outlet is handy. The clutch pull is extremely light for a litre bike. And the gearbox is slick … I mean I’ve never hit a false neutral with my V-Strom. Never.
Plus, the dash offers more info than I even need. Fuel consumption, average and immediate, range, volume, electrical usage, temperature, several trip metres, gear indicator … the bike is a know-it-all.
The main thing though, to me, is the effortless ride. It’s so well-balanced at slow speeds. So well-behaved on bumpy and windy roads… you get to the end of a long ride and still have energy to go for a ride. To explore.
My V-Strom has got me to a lot of places and that’s worth something. You can’t measure it in pounds or centimetres but for 13 grand, it’s about the most adventure you can buy.
Yeah of course there’s a few downsides with touring. Somehow Suzuki forgot to put cruise control on it… so that’s a big misstep. And the 20L tank is too small in my opinion.
How is it off-road? Haha. Ummm, let me tell you a story. Or two stories, actually.
The first is from when we were filming our first travel episode, in Saguenay. And Suzuki was clearly marketing the V-Strom as a touring bike at the time. Not an off-roader. But when we got to the end of the Fjord there was this massive sand dune overlooking the waterway so I just said screw it.
And the Strom was surprisingly okay off-road. It’s actually one of the narrowest and lightest adventure bikes at 503lbs, so it’s pretty easy to control while standing. Plus, like I said, it grunts down low. So you can really lug it around on the soft stuff without losing traction.
Speaking of which – Traction Control. TC2 is a useful nanny on wet pavement, and TC1 just prevents the big wheelies and big crashes. But on dirt they’re both crap . Way too inhibitive. So I always just turn it off.
It’s a different story with ABS. You can’t disable it short of yanking a fuse but honestly, you won’t want to. It’s one of the best systems I’ve used off road … muddy hills, grass, sand, whatever … it does an amazing job slowing the bike down.
Yeah, I did crash it a few times on the dunes, ‘cause the stock Bridgestone Battlewings are pretty slippery off-road. But the bike is tough . I’ve only ever bent this sidecase bracket, ‘cause that’s pretty weak, and scuffed up the plastics. Of course after Saguenay it was better protected. I put crash bars on it, a skid plate, a radiator guard and knobbier tires.
It takes a lot of aftermarket work to get the Strom off-road ready. But at least the wrenching is easy, because every part on this bike is accessible and simple.
By the time the second story takes place, I had adjusted the suspension for off-roading. The 6.3-inch forks can be dialled for dampening and preload, and the monoshock just for preload … but fiddle around for a while and you can get it pretty surefooted.
So anyway, I was riding a really gnarly trail last spring. Loads of water, mud … a real challenge even for dual-sports. And halfway up the trail I met a couple guys … one on a KLR and another on a KTM 990.
And they get all judge-y about my bike. Like hey, you should be careful out here on that. Watch those mag wheels, blah blah blah … I mean, fair enough, but I had abused the wheels with ruts and rocks for two years at this point with no problems.
Anyway, we ride together for a while until they both get stuck on a hill climb. And I. Keep. Going.
That’s not to say a V-Strom is better than a Katoom or a KLR off-road. It’s not. It’s one of the worst in its class. But if you have the skill and you deck it out right … it’ll go as far as you can.
The only thing that does consistently hold me back is the ground clearance. 6.5” specced, even less with the skid plate I stuck on there … so yeah I get it hung up on logs pretty often.
Should you buy one? Haha.
Well for a machine its size, the V-Strom handles scary good in the twisties, it’s rock solid for touring and if you slap it around enough, you can get it to go off-road.
It doesn’t excel at anything. But if you look at all the things you can do with a motorcycle – versus the price of that motorcycle – it’s probably one of the best on the market.
I don’t know if you should get a V-Strom 1000. But I did … and I never regret it.