Suzuki V-Strom 650- What to expect

With only a couple of weeks left before it arrives in India, we tell you what to expect from the upcoming adventure-tourer from Suzuki's stables.

Design

The V-Strom 650 looks like the scaled down version of the V-Strom 1000 as it heavily borrows design cues from the latter. It gets the distinctive oval-hexagonal shaped headlamp, small beak-like extension and cladding on the fuel tank. The bike is likely to be offered in two variants- standard and XT. While the standard rides on alloy wheels, the XT gets spoke wheels, hand-guards and engine sump guard to make it more off-road capable. However, both bikes sport tall windscreen and luggage rack as standard.

Engine 

Powering the V-Strom 650 is a 645cc, V-Twin engine that puts out 70bhp and 62Nm of torque. This motor is mated to a six-speed gearbox and final chain drive. With a 20-litre fuel tank capacity, the standard Suzuki V-Strom 650 has a kerb weight of 213kg, while the XT variant tips the scale at 216kg. 

Technology

Suzuki has equipped the V-Strom electronic kitty with a three-stage traction control system and ABS unit as standard. It also gets the Easy Start System which is a one-touch ignition technology. The bike’s instrument cluster consists of an analogue tachometer and LCD unit which displays speed, odometer, two trip meters, fuel gauge and gear position. 

Cycle parts

Both bikes ride on 19-inch front and 17-inch rear wheels. Suspension at the front is taken care of by conventional telescopic forks and a preload adjustable monoshock at the rear. The braking hardware consists of 310mm twin discs at the front held on by Tokico calipers and a single 260mm disc with a Nissin caliper for the rear.

Pricing

We expect the Suzuki V-Strom to be priced between Rs 7 lakhs to Rs 8 lakhs. It will go head on against the Kawasaki Versys 650 which retails at Rs 6.69 lakhs. The bike also competes with the BMW F750 GS and F 850 GS that retail at Rs 12.20 lakhs and Rs 13.70 lakhs respectively.