NEW AND RIDDEN: SUZUKI V-STORM 1050
A good bike made better. But is ‘better’ enough?
It’s 1985 and a young motorcycle designer called Ichiro Miyata has just sketched a radical design for a new Suzuki trail bike. The DR750S features a prominent beak that pokes out high above the front wheel, and when it’s unveiled in 1987, Ichiro’s bold design causes a sensation. The DR becomes a hit on the continent (the UK is too obsessed with GSX-RS to notice) and starts the trend for adventure bike beaks.
Fast forward 35 years and Bike is at the world launch of the V-strom 1050, where Suzuki bigwigs are chatting about how its design was inspired by the DR750. I’m stifling a scoff – why can’t modern designers think of something new? And what would brave Ichiro think? I tune back into the yammering suit: ‘we wondered who would be the best person to design the new bike. And the answer was of course Ichiro Miyata.’ Yep, the V-strom is designed by the man who designed the bike it was inspired by.
There’s more to the V-strom than Ichiro’s design and unlike the new Katana – essentially a retrotabulous sketch plonked on a GSX-S – the new V-strom has plenty of other changes. The V-twin engine is heavily tweaked (though its capacity remains the same despite the new 1050 name), there are stacks of new electronic rider aids and a sprinkling of key new parts.
On the twirling mountain roads near Ronda in southern Spain, I’m trying to feel the engine changes while my V-strom distracts me with entertainingly assured handling. The chassis hasn’t changed, but Suzuki have altered the fork internals to give a slightly firmer ride, and it feels plush, controlled and up for it. New Bridgestone A41 tyres give it a light, frisky feel that’s at odds with a 247kg wet weight. It’s fun. The old V-strom had a great road bike motor
– it didn’t have a torque curve, it had a torque shelf bolted on at 70 lb.ft – so detecting differences here is tricky. The new one hasn’t lost that pick-a-gearany-gear flexibility, but seems keener to rev – I don’t remember the old bike feeling so partial to a thrash.
This fits with the engineers’ description of their meddling. Most changes were provoked by Euro5 regulations and involved fitting higher lift cams that are timed to reduce the valve overlap. There’s only 6bhp more top-end power (to 106bhp) but crucially that torque shelf now tilts upwards – as you increase revs, torque increases too. From the saddle, it feels a feistier, more interesting engine to ride hard. It’s still remarkably smooth.
The engine also gets a ride-by-wire throttle, which is the tip of a vast electronic iceberg. There are three levels of lean-sensitive traction control (plus o¥), two levels of cornering ABS, and three levels of throttle response sharpness (A and B feel the same, C is very fluffy and could be useful if it’s icy). All these can be adjusted on the go.
Then there’s hill hold control, an anti-stall system, and electronic brake balancing. If you’re braking down a steep hill and the rear lifts, this will reduce the back brake and give you more of the excellent monobloc fronts. But how often will you need that on a 247kg V-strom? Odd.
Far more important is the screen, which is an aerodynamic joy. To try and look adventurous I’m wearing a peaked helmet, which causes buffeting on GSS, Multistradas, Africa Twins… everything. But not the V-strom. You can’t adjust the screen as you go along, but I never have to – it’s a whispering miracle on the highest and lowest settings.
After a day on the bike, I’m impressed. The old V-strom was a fine, if underrated, motorcycle, and this one is better. At £11,299 the XT version we tested is well-equipped (the £9999 base model lacks most of the fancy stu¥) and is excellent value. Suzuki’s problem is bikes such as the BMW F900XR TE (see page 60), which have similar power and capabilities and are cheaper.