Suzuki have announced their 2023 V-Strom 800DE will be priced at £ 10,499 in basic, unaccessorised form. The 776cc parallel twin adventure bike was launched in the autumn alongside the naked GSX-8S, which will be available for a more affordable £ 7999. The Strom’s pricing makes it a few hundred pounds more than a base spec BMW F850GS and £399 more than the ever-popular Yamaha Ténéré 700. Whether that harms its sales remains to be seen, with bikes hitting dealers in the spring.
Carving a more adventurous path alongside
the Suzuki GSX-8S is the new V-Strom 800DE which is firmly pitched at the
serious adventure rider who isn’t fazed by more committed terrain. Despite
sharing an identical engine with the 8S, the DE actually develops marginally
more peak power of 83.1bhp @ 8500rpm, thanks to a more conventional exhaust
system and mapping changes Additionally the throttle response has been honed
extensively off-road to ensure that the rider gets the feel and delivery they
need.
On top of an electronics suite that
matches the 8S’ armoury, the DE gets an additional ‘G mode’ – G standing for
Gravel – giving riders a dedicated set of mapping and TC options to support
them further when the tarmac runs out. The aim of this was make the bike as
effortless as possible to ride on any terrain, regardless of the rider’s
ability. The engine and electronics package are wrapped in the same frame as
the 8S, but with a beefier bolt-on subframe capable of taking a greater load
for pillion and touring duties – and full 3-box hard luggage.
Hanging off the steel frame is an
aluminium swingarm with fully-adjustable monoshock and inverted
fully-adjustable Showa fork, each gifting 220mm of travel and leading to laced
rims. The front is Suzuki’s first 21in wheel on a V-Strom, opening up a greater
depth of off-road tyre options (90/90 R21 front, 150/70 R17 rear – running
Dunlop Trailmax Mixtour as standard). The centrally-laced rims mean owners will
have to run with inner tubes – underpinning the DE’s off-road intent. Core to
the design brief was a goal of achieving a range of over 400 km between
fill-ups, and Suzuki say the 20-litre tank will take you 454 km at
circa 64mpg.
Chassis and rider geometry have been tuned
for stability on all terrains, and long-distance comfort, whether sitting on
the plush single-piece seat, or standing on the broad footpegs. Seat height is
855mm with the DE weighing in at 230kg. And, importantly, there’s an extensive
range of accessories available, from different luggage options (plastic or ally
cases) to rugged bash plates, nav mounts, higher and lower seat options (+30mm
or -20mm), heated grips, fog lights and more.
No pricing is confirmed, but expect it to
arrive equidistantly between the £ 8799 650XT and £ 13,699 1050XT.