Small-displacement adventure bikes are officially a “thing” now, with Honda and now Suzuki unveiling 250 ADV machines at the EICMA show this week.
Yesterday, Honda announced their long-anticipated CRF250 Rally. Today, Suzuki fired back with confirmation and details of their V-Strom 250 model that we first heard about on the Chinese show circuit.
The V-Strom label is a bit of a misnomer; while the new 250 shares the styling of its bigger 650 and 1000 brothers, it has a parallel-twin engine, not a V-twin. The motor is the same unit used in the GSX-250R, derived from the made-in-China GW250 that’s been on the market for a few years now. Suzuki rates the engine at 25 hp and 23.4 Nm of torque, and it has a six-speed transmission.
The new Strom supposedly sees very economical fuel consumption, with a claimed 500-km range from its 17-litre tank — a figure that ought to interest frugal ADVers everywhere.
Thoughtful touches include a USB power charging socket, and an aluminum rack with 8.5 kg load limit.
Unfortunately, spoked wheels don’t seem to be available for the new V-Strom, at least not yet. All we’ve seen so far is cast rims. However, with spoked wheels available for the 650 and 1000 versions, perhaps they’ll be in the future for the 250 as well.
Pricing and availability dates haven’t been confirmed for any market; we haven’t been told it’s coming to Canada yet, but we’ll likely hear soon.
GALLERY
Check out all the pics that go with this story!
Can be a very good first bike for new motorcycliste (not everybody like sport bike) or a great second bike to own to do some off road (will require some modification). If the price is good of course… Even if it’s only a 250.. i think it look way better than the Versys 300…..
Yes – it appears that this bike has emerged as the secret love-child between a V-Strom 650 and a Royal Enfield Himalayan! Very heavy. Very under-powered. But likely to be very affordable…..
-snickering behind my keyboard-
But seriously folks. The GW250 is regularly available for $3k in Canada. That is a crazy low price for a bike with a five-year warranty. If they can bring this one in at $4k levels, and some enterprising Chinese manufacturer brings out low-priced wire wheels, this will become a cult classic.
I’m secretly rooting for Suzuki. BTW – thanks so much for all the photos and bikes from EICMA. This is one of the most exciting trade shows in recent memory. Lots of really interesting new bikes.