Suzuki V-Strom 800DE review | Episode 1 - 400 miles in 24 hours

[@stevecrocker6904]

that's 550 kms in a day. That's a decent day of travelling in Australia - so doubly good to do that in England. Looking forward to hearing about the trip. I've been saying for a while that when this bike gets Cruise Control and tubeless wheels it'll come home with me.

[@quentinjackson6015]

I enjoyed the informal approach to this video and appreciate your observations regarding the 800 DE. It looks to be a great bike for comfortable journeys and I will look forward to your Scottish tour update. Cheers.

[@murraylove3632]

Great video/review... cheers

[@roadwarrior8560]

Nice one Tony and enjoy the bike, test rode one of these and loved the engine/brakes etc but don't like the looks of it so much or the spoked tubed wheels. Put 19-17 cast wheels on it and add cruise control and a bigger screen it would sell like hotcakes.

[@sportsbikeshop]

Good to hear your thoughts on the V-Strom, thanks. I've heard others criticise the fact it runs tubes so that's worth bearing in mind for me. I would imagine a 19in/17in Strom would be a sensible range extension for Suzuki and it'll be interesting to see if they decide to go for premium kit like cruise control. Cheers, Tony

[@Flipper-1201]

Tony, loved the video, interesting you mentioned the wide bars make your shoulder ache, I went from a Pan European to a GSA about 15 months ago and I find that after about an hour and a half my right shoulder starts to ache, so the cruise is a God send. I wonder if it's the height coupled with the width of the bars that causes it.

[@sportsbikeshop]

Interesting thought, thanks. I'll see if there's any chance of rotating the bars to alter the height. I rode around 90 minutes last week, mostly on duals and motorways, without it troubling me so my shoulder might be adapting. One to watch! Cheers, Tony

[@DaveWorker]

I enjoyed the video. Seriously considering one of these bikes. How did you find the headlights? None of the tests I've seen mention them. I guess nobody else has ridden at night!

[@sportsbikeshop]

Thanks 😊 It's been a few weeks since I rode at night and can't really remember what it was like! I'll get out for a night ride ASAP and update you. Cheers, Tony

[@marktaylor4277]

@@sportsbikeshop I only came across one review that mentioned the headlights and they said.. think of the base of an upside down wine glass, I can see exactly what they mean in your video. Would love to hear reports about full beam 🙂Nice intro to the bike, subscribed for more

[@marktaylor4277]

Found one! Though in this video the lights are set too high, he uses main beam which adds a further brighter center light, I thought it looked spaceship like 🛸 kzbin.info/www/bejne/pKCtpppqapqqjNU

[@sportsbikeshop]

I went out last night to test the lights and I thought they were very good. Dipped beam has a wide spread, as you can see in the video that's been linked above. Main beam then throws it a long way up the road for good forward vision. Perfection would be if the main beam spread a bit wider to help see through corners. I've tried capturing some footage and we'll hopefully make a short update specifically about the headlight. Cheers, Tony

[@DaveWorker]

@@sportsbikeshop That's good news. I'm going to get a test ride soon. I look forward to seeing your updates with the bike in the future (as well as buying some excellent products from your Reading store!)

[@JW-cq4ez]

Seat comfort? Looks like the low seat its on? Larger windshield from Puig or Suzuki touring windshield one will be the first thing I would do. Seems like a very good bike well priced as well.

[@sportsbikeshop]

Seat comfort has been good, and it is the standard-height seat rather than the low option. I did get a bit achey on that long day's ride, but standing up on the pegs through towns and villages gave some respite. I think a screen like that might be a good shout. I'll see if Suzuki can throw one of theirs its way to find out what difference it makes. Cheers, Tony

[@bearonatinybike]

Enjoyed that Tony, thanks. I like a Simon Hargreaves-style "mission" ride. 😀 One observation re SBS videos, I've thought for a while that the thumbnails are letting you down a bit, though I'm not entirely sure why. Possibly because they're in a standard format each time which doesn't really get across the variety of content or clearly depict the specific topic of the video. A road trip video like this for example doesn't stand out any differently than a helmet review, say and I might gloss over it when looking through my subscriptions. Looking forward to the next video though. 🙂 Cheers.

[@sportsbikeshop]

Interesting feedback on the thumbnails, thanks. We've already started looking at that and will see what we can come up with. And a mention in the same breath as Si H is always a treat. He's been the puppeteer pulling the strings on several of my hardest mission rides over the years 😄 Cheers, Tony

[@yjud8540]

Nice to see you with that Vstrom800, mate. I can't wait for mine to arrive hopefully very soon! Been looking at every reviews of this bike out here on tube and most common is the wonderful engine response and comfort. Although no cruise control (which I dont mind really) and tubed tires (easily kitted with outex conversion), I still prefer this as value for money. Simple but not outdated, paired with suzuki reliability. I'd say this should do the trick. How do you find the quickshifter and How's the stock light doing at night? Thanks and waiting for more of it from your trip! Cheers!

[@sportsbikeshop]

Thanks for getting in touch. The quickshifter works well and it makes upshifts a lot smoother. I still tend to use the clutch for downshifts as it feels more sympathetic that way. That's the case with all quickshifters, unless I'm on track, where they seem to make more sense for downshifts. The headlight... it's been a while since I've been out in the dark, and even then it wasn't for a 'proper' ride. I'll get out for one of those ASAP and update. Cheers, Tony

[@sportsbikeshop]

Headlight update incoming... I went out last night to test it and found it very effective on a very dark road. The dipped beam spreads nice and wider, then main beam is narrower and casts up the road for better forward vision. Short update specifically on the lights is coming soon, hopefully. Cheers, Tony

[@yjud8540]

Thanks, mate. Looking forward to your videos. I plan to attach auxiliary lights to crash bars, soon. Also Still looking for a subtle crashbar that's not too huge and over the top. More kinda you know its there but not taking over the looks of the bike.

[@blackskunk54]

The quickshifter is awesome but is best used in certain circumstances. I did a demo on one and the QS was brilliant most of the time. I did not read the manual first which is probably a good idea to.

[@HAlanJohnson]

Thanks for the "V" in "V-Strom". What does the "Strom" stand for? I think the "DE" stands for Dirt Edition and the "RE" stands for Road Edition.

[@sportsbikeshop]

The Strom part of the title is derived from the German word for flow of current, electricity or river. Typing 'Strom' into Google Translate from German to English yields 'electricity'. As for the 'DE' and 'RE', your suggestions of Dirt Edition and Road Edition seem eminently sensible to me. Cheers, Tony

[@HAlanJohnson]

@@sportsbikeshop that would make sense for KTM or BMW, but not a Japanese company.

[@ashleyhinton6926]

Is it hard on your right wrist when traveling distance without cruise control?

[@sportsbikeshop]

I've not found it to be a problem, though my longest spell of riding like this has been 90 minutes so I can't be definitive until I've done some longer motorway stints (which I will do soon). Cheers, Tony

[@ashleyhinton6926]

@@sportsbikeshop thanks, I'll be watching the next episode

[@blackskunk54]

No

[@dii6266]

What's the difference between a Parallel motor and an In Line motor?

[@sportsbikeshop]

I thought this was going to be simple and I'd say there's no difference. Just a quirk of language that two cylinders next to each other are described as 'parallel' and triples, fours etc are described as 'inline'. Seems there may be a difference between a parallel twin and inline twin in that a parallel has one cylinder head and an inline twin has two. But then inline triples and fours share a cylinder head, so I don't know anything any more. I hope that helps, even if only a little bit! Cheers, Tony

[@alphacapo]

100 miles in 3.5-4 hrs. We're you walking the bike? Lol

[@sportsbikeshop]

It felt like it at times, with the amount of faffing going on. Cheers, Tony

[@Geshmaal]

Props to you if you can walk at 25mph for 4 hours straight even without pushing a 230kg motorbike along.

[@alphacapo]

@Geshmaal a regular Einstein you are. In America 100 miles takes no more than 2 hrs that's using backroads and scenic routes. Interstate it takes 90 minutes. I can ride my pedal bike 100 miles in five hours on flat grade.

[@Geshmaal]

@@alphacapo remember the UK is much more densely populated than the US, trips on country roads rather than the motorway mean you go through lots of villages with 20-30mph limits. A journey I often do is from near Glasgow in Scotland to Preston in the North of England - Google Maps has that at 190 miles in 5h with "avoid highways" selected, so under 40mph on average assuming you don't stop at all!

[@F3udF1st]

Not really a by the book break-in but..

[@sportsbikeshop]

Agreed. If the Suzuki techs had asked me to do 600 miles then I would have, but they were happy with 400 and I got to bed at a respectable time! Thanks for getting in touch. Cheers, Tony