Suzuki V-Strom 1000 (2017): first road test and review

While the fully updated V-Strom 650 is the more compelling news, we shouldn’t forget the revamp its bigger brother, the V-Strom 1000, has also received for 2017. Reintroduced only in 2014, the V-Strom 1000 has also benefitted from a raft of changes, not least to the engine to ensure it now complies with the Euro4 emissions regulations that came into force this year. And while, admittedly, the updates aren’t as far-reaching as on the 650 they do go a worthwhile way to increasing the big bike’s competitiveness in what has become one of the most hardest fought-over motorcycling categories of all – large capacity adventure bikes.

But if the 1000 looks largely unchanged, don’t be fooled. There’s a host of updates here that, collectively, noticeably improve the big V-Strom in more than a few welcome ways. 

As with the 650, the idea, as the Suzuki engineer in charge of the project, Nobohiro Yasui, told BikeSocial, was simply to enhance and improve upon the proven and popular characteristics the big V-Strom already had. Or, in his own words, to ‘Make it more V-Strom’.

Job Number One was to get the V-Strom 1000 compliant with the new Euro4 emissions regs. But as the 1000 model is only three years old (whereas the conspicuously aging 650 dates all the way back to 2011) it was deemed unnecessary to make expensive wholesale changes to the powertrain. Instead it merely receives fuel injection and ECU mapping tweaks. Unlike with the 650, which received over 60 new engine internals, there’s no performance gain to this – in fact, although peak power is unchanged at 101bhp at 8000rpm, peak torque is down very slightly to 74lb-ft from 75. to look perfectly at home in a café-racer, especially one as sleekly sculpted as the Racer with its fairing lowers running neatly into the shapely petrol tank, and its trim tailpiece’s seat-hump in matching white with red and two-tone blue flashes.

Similarly, if you think you recognize many of the new V-Strom 1000’s cycle parts, you’d be right again: the inverted, fully adjustable forks and rear shock are unchanged compared to the old, as are its Tokico, radially-mounted, twin four-piston brake calipers. But then, there was nothing really wrong with either of those anyway.

 What IS new, however, are welcome improvements and additions to what before was arguably a fairly basic spec, even for a bike at the budget end of the big adventure bike spectrum. The first of these is the addition of the cornering ABS system Suzuki debuted on its all-new GSX-R1000 superbike earlier this year. This is joined by both the Low RPM Assist and Easy Start systems Suzuki also added to the V-Strom 650, compliments the existing traction control system and collectively significantly improves the V-Strom 1000’s array of electronic rider aids and brings it more in line with more expensive bikes in the category.

And the immediate thing that struck me was that the new V-Strom 1000 is… pretty much the same – but mildly and pleasingly improved at the same time.

Even at standstill, thanks to the pleasingly tactile seat (it’s covered with the same material as Suzuki’s MX bikes, apparently), those gold wire rims, the sharpened-up nose fairing and brighter colourscheme, the big V-Strom is undoubtedly fresher, slightly more up to date and conspicuously better equipped than before. For a bike that is as keenly priced as ever, that’s good.

Also good is how it goes. Yes, on the whole, with so little changed to the drivetrain and chassis, the V-Strom 1000 is much the same as before. But then there wasn’t that much wrong and, don’t forget, Suzuki were after evolution not revolution.

So, from the off, the big V-Strom is familiarly easy, neutral, uncomplicated and natural. As a road-orientated, fairly straightforward, V-twin adventure bike it always was. However, the new Low Rev Assist and Easy Start systems, though largely inconspicuous, are undoubtedly a bonus; I never had any real problem with the familar clocks (although the addition of a central 12v power socket directly underneath them is a little distracting), while the new screen is decent enough, crisp and easy to adjust. So far, so good.

The unchanged ergonomics, seat apart, are familiar and pleasing, too. One of the old V-Strom 1000’s strengths was that it had ‘real world’ proportions (especially compared to some gargantuan litre class adventure bikes). In other words: there’s little about the big Suzuki that’s intimidating, in fact it doesn’t feel that much bigger than its 650 little brother. On balance, I’d say it feels about 10% larger than the 650 all round, but it’s not a dramatic difference. On the move that makes the 1000 instantly easy and instinctive. Its balance is decent, it’s slimmer than many rivals (Triumph three cylinder and Kawasaki’s four immediately spring to mind) and the V-Strom 1000’s ride quality from its decent, multi-adjustable suspension is welcome, too.

But if the V-Strom 1000 doesn’t feel much bigger than the 650, it’s certainly more potent and more imposing, both of which make it a significantly different bike to ride.

The big twin may have enough grunt down low and sufficient power up top to be pretty much class competitive (although it certainly hasn’t the legs of the latest from KTM or Ducati) but, compared to the 650, it’s also enough to get you into serious trouble if you’re cack handed – something you certainly don’t want around the sheer cliff-drop hairpins of our Tarragona test route. While the whole plot, though a decent handler, being more substantial also requires significantly more input and effort from its rider to keep on the straight and narrow when pushed hard. All of which is a roundabout way of saying the 1000 V-Strom is a more serious and demanding bike to ride – and certainly to ride quick – than its almost toy-like 650 little brother. Suffice to say I was already welcoming the addition of the new ABS to go along with its traction control…

But that also makes the updated 1000 a far more long-legged, arguably more versatile (despite being bigger, it’s better off-road, for example, than the 650), more pillion-friendly and plusher bike, too.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS: Suzuki V-Strom 1000 XT