Longtermers: V-Strom racks up the miles before abrupt halt!
Even through 2020’s lockdown, the big Suzuki’s wheels kept turning
Forgive me Suzuki, but the V-Strom is a fairly ‘average’ bike. It doesn’t do anything amazingly well, it’s certainly no class leader, but it’s not particularly bad at anything either. It’s just a fairly decent bike at a fairly reasonable price, that can get you from A-B in relative comfort with a bit of fun thrown in. So how does an average bike fare across 4000 miles, the average biker’s average year?
750 miles
I managed to avoid the painstaking first part of riding a new bike, because by the time I received it, it had already been run in and attacked the MCN250. That meant I could immediately start riding it the way it was designed to be ridden. Straight away I fell in love with the even power of the engine. Although it’s a bit down on power compared to its rivals, the laser flat torque curve means it pulls well from low down in pretty much every gear. For smooth countryside trips, riding at the top end of third seems to be a winner although if it was slightly downgeared it would be livelier. After just over 100 miles we stuck it on the dyno and it came in bang on the nose at 100bhp at the back wheel, not bad for a 106bhp claim.
1600 miles
Disaster struck in March as the world was gripped by the pandemic and the UK went into lockdown, preventing all but essential journeys. To keep riding, and to do my bit of good, I signed up to be a volunteer for the Bike Shed’s Community Response team. Without any luggage, I stuffed a backpack full of bits and pieces, doing hundreds of miles across the countryside in the south of England. Chugging along in all weathers, the V-Strom was a delight, with the large screen and comfortable seat passing hours by in a breeze. It was a good test of its range too, with 220 miles the average from full to empty (reserve comes on around 180 miles).
2500 miles
Once things started to open up a little, it was time to stretch the V-Strom’s legs. I treated myself to a few rideouts into Essex where I found the suspension a little wanting. Having softened it all off around 1000 miles prior, it was now wallowing when pressing on. I stiffened things up but lost most of the comfort in the process. This was also when I first really began to experiment with a passenger but struggled a little with the correct preload. This is an area that really needs a closer look, possibly with a trip to some suspension experts.
4500 miles
After 4500 miles the OE tyres are starting to look a little tired and squaring off, despite very little motorway travel compared to my usual riding when I commute from London to Peterborough. I started eyeing up new rubber but before I had chance to change I made a bit of an error. I rode off from the supermarket with the disc lock on – d’oh! Cue one battered ego and one bent disc. A desperate call around some Suzuki dealers the following morning yielded no stock, so the bike has made a sad trip back to Suzuki in the back of a van. A new disc costs £102, plus fitting, so it was an expensive lapse in concentration.