I’ve spent the last four days trying to find things the Suzuki V-Strom 1050XT can’t do, and for those of you who immediately thought of the Dakar, I’ve kept my desires within the expectations of a modern adventure bike.
True, the 1050XT is a little low when it comes to ground clearance for serious off-roading, but I didn’t have any issues on forest trails or gravel roads and on Bridgestone A41 tyres too.
I’ve ridden forest roads with hairpins and mile upon mile of fast-flowing “B” roads, leaving only chewing through 150 motorway miles, at autobahn speeds, on cruise control, yet to be ticked off the list of challenges.
The Route
To navigate the urban sprawl of Dusseldorf, Cologne and Dortmund, you either take the motorway through the middle or take the roads north through the Sauerland National Park until you reach the A2 Autobahn and then track east.
This was the route I chose, and the scenery is stunning. [Download the Routes here] A word of caution though, this can be a very frustrating route. The German speed limits, away from the Autobahns, are a nightmare. Just as you get going – all the way to 100KPH (62MPH) – and you can see an excellent set of bends ahead, someone from the fun police will have been out and slapped a 50KPH (30 MPH) speed limit on them. Anything flowing will be a maximum of 70KPH, and many of the towns now operate 30KPH (20MPH) speed limits in their centres.
The route is more about the journey than progressing across the countryside away from interested parties and speed cameras.
Having negotiated the National Park, ridden around the lakes and through the forests, I stopped for petrol and the compulsory Bratwurst lunch a few miles before the start of the Autobahn. The GPS indicated I had 300 kilometres to ride to the port at Rotterdam, and it was going to take me three hours.
The speed limits on the Dutch motorways I planned to use, drop to 100KPH during the day, and involve some of the wildest, frantic and scariest driving you have seen, the assumption the GPS was making was that I was not going to be hanging about while in Germany.
Challenge Accepted
Joining the unrestricted section of Autobahn, I set the cruise control for 130KPH (80mph) and settled in to watch the kilometres count down. At somewhere around 4,500 RPM, the Suzuki V-Strom 1050XT wasn’t being tested. It was all too easy.
I started doing the usual set of mental time and distance calculations to keep my brain active when three Dutch BMW GS riders pulled on to the Autobahn. After the typical collection of oddball gestures motorcyclists use to acknowledge each other – car drivers must wonder what we are doing – the three GSs increased the pace to 150KPH (93 MPH) and started to pull away.
At this point, I should say my reaction was neither big nor clever of me, but I wasn’t accepting that. The V-Strom was all but ticking over at 130KPH, so I decided to up the pace and stayed with them.
Proving that I hadn’t been stressing the V-Strom, the difference between cruising at 150KPH to 130KPM was marked only by the V-Strom’s increased fuel consumption.
The ride is still smooth; the engine is in the sweet spot, and the V-Strom stays stable as I move about on the seat.
I’m back on the tail of the three GSs, and they are not going anywhere. For the next 40 kilometres, we are easing in and out of lanes two and three on the unrestricted Autobahn as we pass traffic and get passed by people who are obviously late for something essential.
Eventually, the Dutch riders indicate they are pulling off, and I leave the V-Strom at 150KPH until arriving at a 100 KPH sign, marking the start of a succession of road works.
The V-Strom’s cruise control is pin-sharp and holds the selected speed to within 1 KPH. Just be ready for when you disconnect cruise control. It is an instant return to a closed throttle, not the gradual reduction in power we usually experience when rolling the throttle closed.
V-Strom Aerodynamics
The screen on the V-Strom doesn’t look like much and yet is impressively effective. While crunching through the kilometres on the Autobahn, there was never any buffeting. I have the seat in the high position, and I’m looking over the screen, so I was expecting to have something to complain about, but the factory standard screen is excellent.
Crouching down on the tank made little or no difference, and when I stretched my head up into the airflow, the excellent work the screen was doing became obvious.
The V-Strom’s bodywork around the tank and the beloved V-Strom beak also play their part and keep the worst of the rain showers off you. You are still going to get wet, but the V-Strom’s aerodynamics are doing what they can to divert the worst of the rain around you.
Conclusions
Over the past week, I’ve ridden 1,800 miles on the V-Strom and haven’t found anything it can’t do. The low RPM assist has saved me from an embarrassing stall a couple of times. And the Hill Hold control caught me out twice when I was being lazy and using gravity to roll backwards. I also used it once for its intended purpose. It is an elegant feature.
With the panniers and a bag across the pillion seat, finding a handhold to use when putting the V-Strom on the centre stand is awkward. The Suzuki top box the Touring version comes with as standard wouldn’t have this issue. The wide footpegs negate most of the advantage shorter riders will get from the slimline tank and seat, but it only takes a day to adjust for them.
I find the instrument display overly busy, but the four things I wanted the most, speed, RPM, gear and range, are easy to read. The rest of the information is fun to have yet not an essential part of everyday riding.
The V-Strom produces 105BHP and 100Nm (105/100) of torque. Compare that to the CRF1100L Honda Africa Twin (100/105), the Yamaha Tenere 700 (72/68) or the KTM 890 (103/100). The V-Strom is on par with all of them.
The BMW GS 1250 produces more power and torque (134BHP/143Nm) and has roughly the same curb weight but a £4,000 heavier price tag.
V-Strom Attitude
So as the V-Strom is highly capable, has enough power and is an excellent value proposition, what would I change?
I divided my time riding the V-Strom between throttle modes A & B. Mode B gives a smooth linear power delivery, perfect for the wet or the dry, and will pull out of a hairpin even when I cock it up and I’m in the wrong gear.
Mode A is the more aggressive setting and delivers the power with more of a snap when you open the throttle, but it is easily manageable.
So … Delete mode C (rain) and move the other modes down to fill the gap (Mode B become C – Mode A becomes B). Develop a performance tune that adds ten more BHP and some extra torque to put the V-Strom clearly out in front of the Honda, Yamaha and the KTM. Fit a factory exhaust that delivers a rasping note, and call this version the Suzuki V-Strom 1050XP.
The Suzuki V-Strom 1050XT is a highly capable, good-handling motorcycle that is loaded with technology. It simply needs some attitude to make it stand out.
Clarity
Thank you to Suzuki GB for the loan of the V-Strom. Everything else, including the GB sticker, we paid for.
