Q How does it stack up against a Japanese bike?
Suzuki’s underrated V-strom 1050XT sits at the lower end of the Japanese-built adventure-bike segment
What’s better on the Japanese bike?
Swapping from the Cfmoto to the Suzuki, the first thing you notice is just how easy-going and compliant the V-strom’s engine is. Refined to the point of being almost unable to fault at all, despite being a big capacity V-twin the throttle connection on the Suzuki is sublime, meaning you can feed in minimal throttle openings with precision.
At low speed or pulling out of junctions, this predictability makes the heavier Suzuki feel far more controlled than the lighter Cfmoto simply because you have faith in how the throttle and the bike will react. The Suzuki’s power is also lower in the rev range so there is less need to chase revs, something that again results in an easier-going ride.
In damp conditions, it is nice to know that there is a traction-control system waiting in the wings just in case. Despite lacking a quickshifter, the V-strom’s gearbox snicks through gears where the Cfmoto’s clunks and the Suzuki’s brakes have much more initial bite.
What’s bad about it?
Suzuki has made an effort to jazz up the V-strom’s styling a bit by taking hints from the ‘DR BIG’ but it is still far from modern or even eye-catching and the European-designed Cfmoto is a much prettier bike. The Suzuki’s dash is horribly old-school compared to the TFT item on the Cfmoto while its screenadjuster system is simply ridiculous, located on the outside of the screen.
Once up to speed, you do miss a quickshifter on the Suzuki, mainly as it has become so common on bikes nowadays upshifting with a clutch seems odd. The lack of a downshifter is less obvious but that may be down to personal preference. When the sun isn’t out, heated grips are a real blessing and it is a shame that these are lacking on the Suzuki and, at £349, they are a fairly pricey extra. In fact, all extras are pricey on the Suzuki with aluminium panniers and a topbox costing £1908.53, accessory lights are £452 and crash bars £286; a total of £2995.53.
So which is the better buy?
Suzuki has just announced the new V-strom 1050DE, which features the tech that is missing on the current V-strom 1050XT such as a TFT dash, up/ down shifter and angle-responsive electronics. Do you need them?
In all honestly, no. While the XT has an RRP of £12,399 or £13,599 for the Tour version with luggage, you can easily get an XT for £9999 with minimal miles
(even a 1-mile pre reg) or a Tour for £12,000. It may lack some tech but a V-strom Tour is worth paying £700 more for than a Cfmoto as not only will it hold its value better, it is also a much nicer and easier bike to ride and feels far more refined and developed than the Chinese bike. Not only that, Suzuki has a much better wider network.
‘Refined to the point of being almost faultless’