A few weeks back, we saw hints of a new bike in the V-Strom 800 lineup, aimed at street riding. That machine was unveiled earlier today in Europe and now we also see it confirmed for Canada–but with no price tag. In Europe, the new bike is called the V-Strom 800RE. In Canada, it is simply called the V-Strom 800.
A more basic bike
The V-Strom 800 has several parts switched out for asphalt-friendly options. Most noticeably, the wheels are switched from a spoked 21-18 combo to a cast-rim 19-17 combo, shod in Dunlop D614 rubber instead of the knobby tires of the V-Strom 800DE (see our review of that bike here).
The new bike gets a new fork and shock from Showa, with less travel than the DE model. The front suspension is only preload-adjustable; the rear suspension can be adjusted for preload or rebound.
Lest you think the bike is all dumbed-down for easy pavement riding, Suzuki in turn made some changes that will make it a more competent machine on the street. There’s a new, larger windscreen with three-way manual adjustability, and upgraded brakes with radial-mount four-piston calipers.
The handlebar is more narrow, and dropped a bit further forward, with the footpegs raised and brought to the stern of the bike, creating a more crouched riding position for attacking the twisties. Suzuki also stripped off the handguards and crash bars from the bike, as they’re not really needed on the street.
All these changes have resulted in a reduced price for the bike in the US, but we still don’t have the Canadian MSRP listed. The base price for the DE model is a $13,299 MSRP in Canada, and we’d expect at least $500 less for this new model. Here in Canada, we do have more choices in colour; the US only gets one choice, and we get our pick of Pearl Vigor Blue, Metallic Mat Steel Green or Glass Sparkle Black.
So they lowered the bars and raised the pegs for a bike intended for touring? I’m looking for the opposite when I want to do long-distance riding. Otherwise, the rest of the changes seems to make good sense.