My first encounter with Suzuki’s V-Strom 800RE was at Suzuki Live back in the summer. It was only a quick introduction following a pre-arranged route and in the company of several other Suzuki motorcycles.
Despite only riding ten miles or so, something about the V-Strom 800RE captured my interest. While everyone else was focusing on the 800DE (the off-road variant) and the 800R (the sporty one), I came away thinking that the 800RE wasn’t getting the attention it deserved.
As I will be writing the Diary of a Winter Rider articles, when Suzuki kindly offered us a V-Strom 800RE to use, I grabbed at the chance.
While I patiently wait for the inevitable arrival of winter – it is due next week, according to the forecast – I opted to ride a further 150 miles, this time on the Lincolnshire back roads, to complement the motorway and town riding I did earlier this week.
Plot spoiler … Suzuki’s V-Strom 800RE didn’t disappoint.
Motorway Munching
The first couple of hours on the V-Strom 800RE were on the motorway. Perhaps this isn’t the best place to get to know a motorcycle, but British motorways, German Autobahns, and the French Péage system (toll roads) are all part of motorcycling life when you need to cover a lot of miles in one day.
The biggest compliment I can pay the 800RE is that there is nothing to report. It was a comfortable place to sit for a couple of hours, other than some buffeting when the speeds were up around an indicated 80mph. We will get into the cause of this later.
Suzuki V-Strom 800RE
- 776cc Parallel Twin – 84HP – 78Nm
- 223 Kg – 825mm Seat Height
- 55 MPG (Imp.) Fuel Economy (Real World)
- Showa Big Piston Inverted Forks
- Rear PreLoad Adjuster & Rebound Damping
- Bi-directional Quick Shifter
- Radially Mounted 4-Pot Caplipers
- Tubeless 110/80R19 & 150/70R17 Tyres
In sixth gear, at 70mph, the engine is in the sweet spot and will react efficiently to your throttle inputs. Close the throttle, and your speed will smoothly decrease; open the throttle, and the 800RE will leap forward. The fuelling is free from lumps, bumps and flat spots, and each imperial gallon will take you more than fifty miles.
If you need more power, you don’t have to wait for it to arrive or shuffle the gearbox cogs to get the RPM where you need it. From 60 to 80mph, the motorway miles are relaxed and effortless.
Arriving at the inevitable 50mph average speed zone that stretches for 20 miles because they have nowhere else to store the traffic cones, 50 mph in 6th gear indicated 70 miles per imperial gallon.
Good to know if you need to stretch the remaining fuel to ensure you make the next stop.
Even without stretching the fuel, a tank full of petrol will comfortably travel 180 miles, so my need for coffee and “rest facilities” will arrive with fuel to spare.
With Mr Impatient welded to my number plate as the average speed zone ended, and we were let loose, a tap into 5th is all it took to pull clear of him before moving over and letting his ego come past.
In short, on a motorway, the 800RE has the performance to keep you out of trouble, along with the comfort and range to get you where you are going with the minimum of fuss.
On the Back Roads
The V-Strom 800RE has a taught chassis, and in addition to preload adjustment front and rear, the rear shock also has rebound adjustment.
Add to this the responsiveness of the 776cc parallel twin motor, excellent fuelling, and a broad spread of torque, the result is a back road Sunday scratcher that can also eat motorway miles.
The V-Strom 800RE’s handling is wonderfully predictive, even on OEM Dunlop D614 tyres, a one-off OEM special not available in Europe. Replace them with a set of Dunlop Mutants, and the sweet handling RE will only get better.
Exiting a corner where I had previously “enjoyed” the delights of diesel or some other road contaminant, the rear stepped out on me. There wasn’t a violent snap, just a smooth and gradual slide that only needed a small check of the throttle – I’m sure the traction control was in there helping – to get the wheels back in line.
I can think of other bikes where weight, momentum, steering dimensions, and less progressive fuelling would have taken what the 800RE considered to be a minor irritation and turned it into a major drama.
In a one-on-one horsepower drag race, the V-Strom produces 84BHP compared to most other adventure bikes that will cough up at least 100BHP. But if you’re buzzing across the B roads, the 800RE’s engine and chassis come together sweetly to create a package that can easily be worked to keep in touch with the pack.
The 800RE’s heads-up riding position and natural poise give you the confidence to look where you want to go, knowing that the 800RE will be in complete agreement with you. It is a very intuitive motorcycle to ride.
Yes, the 800RE will be outgunned on the straights by larger-capacity adventure bikes, but after an hour of them hauling their 280 kg behemoths around the back roads, you’ll be good to go again while they’ll need a nap.
Tweaks
No motorcycle is perfect, and there are a few things on the 800RE that I would have included as standard, especially as this is the Road Explorer.
I get that the bike’s specification was most likely set two or three years before the production models arrived in the showroom and that they are built to a price point, but would a centre stand and hand guards really have put that much cost on each bike?
Despite having a ride-by-wire throttle, the absence of cruise control is a disappointment. The Aprilia Tuareg is perhaps the only middle-weight bike from 2022-2023 that had it as standard.
If you are solo riding, the suspension on the 800RE admirably copes with most situations. If I regularly rode with a pillion passenger or were planning a long tour with lots of luggage, a trip to Maxton for an upgraded rear shock would almost certainly be on my agenda.
The standard shock would take the weight, but rather than running in the fat part of the spring travel with lots of supple movement in reserve, it feels as if I’d be pushing towards the edges of the bell curve where the range of spring motion reduces.
Hugger
If there were one massive omission on the V-Strom 800RE, it would be the absence of a rear hugger. The rear shock has no protection from the road crap, salt and debris coming off the rear wheel. Not even a shock sock.
Pyramid Moto is currently designing a rear hugger, while Power Bronze has one that replaces the chain guard.
Head Banger
Whether a screen works for you or not is a very individual experience. Discussions on the forums show that there are other riders the same height as me who are very happy with the standard screen.
However, I find that there is a lot of turbulence coming from the air the standard screen deflects over the mirrors when I get north of an indicated 70mph.
My colleague, who is a few inches shorter than me, rode the 800RE and couldn’t understand what I was complaining about. It is a very individual thing.
I swapped the standard screen for a Puig Touring screen, which changed the turbulent air’s slow-speed thump to a faster, lighter vibration. This is a good improvement, but it’s still there in the background.
I also prefer the look of the Puig screen on the V-Strom, but that is subjective. There will be people who disagree with me.
Oxford mirror extenders made the most significant improvement. By moving the mirrors further out, I pushed the turbulent air away from the side of my helmet, leaving me sitting in enough smooth air to keep my visor clear while keeping the wind off my upper body.
Bottom Line
If I were going around Europe for a month, the V-Strom 800RE would be high on my list of motorcycles to take. Enough power to mix it on the motorways and nimble enough to make the mountain passes and twisting back roads effortless and grin-inducing.
More than fifty miles to the imperial gallon is easily achieved. My current average over the first 370 miles is 56.4 MPG.
I’ve heard the V-Strom 800RE described as a little plain. As it comes out of the factory, there aren’t many fancy accessories adorning the bike. Add some handguards, change the screen, and add a top box, and the V-Strom comes alive.
Regardless of our aesthetic tastes, the V-Strom 800RE is – for me – the best overall package wrapped around Suzuki’s 800cc parallel twin.
The 8R has the sporty looks, while the 8S is a street bike. The DE offers off-road capability, but the sweet spot is the RE, which couples touring ergonomics with a beautiful engine.
Seven-year warranty. Several compelling deals on Autotrader – The V-Strom 800RE is almost perfect.
