Suzuki's new V-Strom 800 debuted with a surprising off-road focus in the V-Strom 800DE, and now Suzuki is set to offer a more balanced version in the form of the 800RE.
Suzuki’s V-Strom 800 takes a more road-focused lane with the new 800RE which was announced earlier this month.
The Road Explorer version of the V-Strom (as the RE in its name stands for) takes the DL800 platform back to the V-Strom’s roots with a more road-oriented take on adventure touring compared to the DL800DE.
For the 800RE, Suzuki once again adopts wheel sizing of 19 and 17 inches with new seven-spoke cast alloy rims taking the place of the laced units of the DE.
As with the 800DE, the V-Strom 800RE is built around Suzuki’s new 776cc DOHC parallel twin engine and housed within a steel frame. However, on the RE Suzuki has also swapped out the suspension which is now tuned to maximise straight-line stability and on-road cornering performance.
According to Suzuki, every aspect of the V-Strom 800RE is designed to appeal to riders who desire a powerful, usable, flexible middleweight adventure bike with a suite of electronics crafted to enhance the riding experience.
While the rest of the chassis remains the same as the DE model, Suzuki has made plenty of changes to the DL800RE to emphasise its road explorer pedigree.
The windscreen is now larger and wider than that of the 800DE model in favour of reducing rider fatigue on long rides.
Seat height drops to 825mm as part of the switch to shorter stroke more road-focused suspension, while the handlebars are narrower for a better on-road riding position.
The first examples are expected to arrive in New Zealand Suzuki dealers early in 2024 with pricing currently set at $17,999 plus on roads.