Suzuki V-Strom 800 RE (2024 – ) review

The 800RE isn’t about to win any beauty contests but integration of the signature V-Strom ‘beak’ into the light cluster and adjustable screen is at least neat and it all looks suitably modern. The steel frame and bolt-on rear subframe are combined with a chunky looking aluminium swingarm driving a linkage monoshock rear suspension arrangement. Bars are narrower, lower and further forward than the DE while pegs are higher and a little rearward, the RE using a more road-oriented 19-inch front wheel rather than the 21-inch of its more off-road oriented brother. These are also cast and tubeless in place of the tubed wire wheels of the DE, which is perhaps less fancy but rather more practical for an everyday bike. Suspension travel is also significantly reduced from the DE’s 220mm to a more road friendly 150mm, this bringing the seat height down. This all helps the price, the RE ducking under the £10,000 threshold but still equipped with all the electronics and other kit you’d hope for of a modern road/adventure bike.

For those who find adventure bikes a bit unwieldy for town riding and commuting the RE strikes a nice balance, the 825mm seat height usefully reduced over that of the DE and the lower centre of gravity making it feel a little less top-heavy at low speeds. But you still get that confidence inspiring, upright riding position and the comfort of an adventure bike, just tweaked to make it more suited to road use. For a mid-capacity bike it strikes a nice balance between feeling roomy and substantial for taller riders but not too overwhelming for smaller ones, and proved a comfy place for racking up big miles on both fun roads and boring motorway sections.

As above, the V-Strom 800RE is an inherently friendly and comfortable bike, so straight away ticks those boxes for useability and usefulness. While not fully-faired the adjustable screen does a decent job of deflecting wind blast on motorways and there’s enough around you for a sense of protection from the elements, meaning it would be well suited to an all-year commute. The seat is broad and comfy, the pillion seemingly getting a decent deal as well while the standard rack has both chunky grab handles for your passenger, tie-down points for bags and mountings for a top box as required. If you’re already planning for longer trips away the Tour version includes a full set of aluminium luggage and makes a lot of sense, though you can of course configure your own set-up from Suzuki’s extensive range of factory accessories. Features like the 20-litre fuel tank and an easily-reached hydraulic preload adjuster for the rear suspension to adjust the bike up for pillions and/or luggage both point to Suzuki’s intention to make life as painless as possible whatever journeys you may have in mind.

Reading this far you might have got the sense the V-Strom 800RE is all sensible pants practicality over excitement. But there’s a nice surprise waiting when you fire up the 776cc parallel twin and realise there’s more of the spirit of the GSX-8R naked and 8S sports bike with which it shares its foundations than you might have expected. For a modern parallel twin it’s absolute peach, impressive smoothness from Suzuki’s Cross Balancer arrangement and Clutch Assist System combining with easily accessible torque and flexibility. True, 84 horsepower might not be class leading but with 78Nm the motor has useful grunt for riding solo or fully loaded and there’s an unexpectedly exciting appetite for revs and increasingly satisfying growl as you indulge that. Sure, there are faster bikes out there. But the 800RE makes great use of the performance it has, the twin has bags more attitude and character than you’d have expected for the looks and whether you shift with the clutch or take advantage of the standard issue quickshifter it’s way more fun than you’d have credited. It would be going a bit far to describe it as a sleeper but it’s fair to say the V-Strom over delivers on its performance, to the point where you might catch a few folk napping. Twin 310mm discs grabbed by radially-mounted Nissin calipers up front are on the money tech-wise for a modern bike and in combination with the 260mm rear brake provide all the stopping power you need.

You’ll be getting the gist by now but easy-going doesn’t have to mean boring and while the V-Strom 800RE is clearly geared towards comfort and long-distance practicality it’s not shy of throwing some shapes in more dynamic situations, as we discovered when we used it for an on-track IAM Roadcraft skills day at Mallory Park. True, this is hardly the V-Strom’s comfort zone but with the emphasis on learning road skills rather than knee-down racecraft it proved the perfect bike for the job, the predictable handling, strong brakes and flexible engine all providing a solid foundation for improving the most important component on the bike – the rider! This was backed up on the road as well, and while it initially felt a bit Steady Eddie in comparison to the racier GSX-8R we swapped from with those new skills in mind we were confident flinging the V-Strom around with more abandon than the size, weight and riding position might have suggested sensible.

The sub-£10K starting price is obviously attractive, and when you look at the spec you feel you’re getting a lot for the money as well. Beyond purchase (or finance) costs the V-Strom should prove reasonably affordable to live with as well, the mid-capacity engine meaning things like insurance and fuel shouldn’t break the bank while also being gentler on consumable parts over the longer term.

Suzuki has invested heavily in this critical mid-size engine and platform combo, and it will underpin this core part of the range for some time yet. On that basis we’d have to hope it delivers on the expected reliability and, while time will tell, we have no obvious reasons to worry.

If you’re looking to buy a V-Strom 800RE in 2024 then good news, given Suzuki has extended its standard two-year manufacturer warranty from two years to three for all bikes registered over this period. Once that ends you can extend it to as much as seven years (or 70,000 miles) if you commit to the in-house Service Activated Warranty scheme. After the initial break-in check those services come up every 7,500 miles or annually, the instrument cluster including a service warning indicator to tip you off it’s time to book it in if you haven’t already.

If not cheap we’ll call the V-Strom 800RE good value on the basis of the standard kit included. While the Showa suspension isn’t tweakable for damping you do get that remote preload adjustor as standard, so no need to break out the spanners if you are setting the bike up for a tour with luggage and/or a pillion. The standard two-way quickshifter is another nice standard feature, the V-Strom’s modernity meaning it also has all the electronics you’d want under the Suzuki Intelligent Ride System umbrella. This includes multiple riding modes through a choice of three throttle maps, cornering ABS with two settings and three levels of traction control. We also appreciated the clear graphics of the standard TFT screen and chunky, easy to operate handle bar controls. A standard USB charging port within the fairing is another handy feature if you’re mounting your phone to the bars for navigation. Beyond that there are plenty of accessories if you want them, including a taller touring screen, centre stand, lower or higher seats, plastic or aluminium luggage and more.

The V-Strom 800RE doesn’t look like an especially exciting motorcycle but it is a very practical one, with a range of abilities stretching from commuting to long-distance touring. Perhaps surprisingly if you find yourself on a solo blast with all the luggage and other paraphernalia removed it’s also more fun and entertaining on a backroad blitz than you’d expect. It might never get the pulse racing or turn heads but for this, and its unexpectedly fruity engine, it’s a more appealing bike than we’d have credited before slinging a leg over it.