V-Strom 1050 price shows Suzuki’s strategy

Despite a new name, new looks and a sprinkling of electronic fairy-dust there’s no hiding the fact that Suzuki’s updated and uprated 2020 V-Strom 1050 is a development of the earlier V-Strom 1000.

As an entrant in the most competitive segment of the motorcycle market, the field of adventure bikes that might be seen as a disadvantage, but the announcement of the 2020 V-Strom 1050’s pricing structure shows the ace in Suzuki’s hand. It’s (comparatively) cheap.

With a starting RRP of £9999 for the base model, the new V-Strom 1050 doesn’t only come in at far less than rival ‘big’ adventure bikes but it’s actually cheaper than its 2019 predecessor. This year’s outgoing V-Strom 1000 was listed at £10,399, and if you want to step up to a Honda Africa Twin or a BMW R1250GS you’ll need to find north of £13,000 before even glancing at the options list.

That means the new DR-Big-inspired V-Strom 1050 is priced to compete with machines that might be seen as a tier lower in size. BMW’s F850GS, for instance, starts at £9875, and Triumph’s soon-to-be-launched Tiger 900 is likely to be in the same ballpark.

Even taking a leap up the V-Strom range to the 1050XT version, complete with wire wheels and much more capable, IMU-assisted electronics suite only pushes the price up to £11,299.

Suzuki GB’s head of motorcycles, Jonathan Martin said: “Suzuki’s V-Strom range has always delivered exciting and dependable performance you can enjoy every day and everywhere while offering great value, and the new V-Strom 1050 and V-Strom 1050XT continue to do that. Available from just £9,999, it means it is the most competitively priced adventure bike over 1000cc, and means customers can enjoy all the benefits of the new V-Strom 1050s plus still afford to take off on some adventures on their new bikes.”