Suzuki V-Strom 650 ABS

There are mixed reviews on the overall looks of the Suzuki V-Strom 650. This adventure motorcycle looks big and intimidating for a middleweight motorcycle, which gives it a powerful and unmistakable road presence and stance. However, at the same time, Suzuki hasn’t given major updates to the way the V-Strom 650 looks, which makes it feel dated in the current era.

Nevertheless, the overall stance of the Suzuki V-Strom 650 is quite impressive. The motorcycle looks tall from the front, with its front face comprising of a large headlamp with a clear transparent windscreen above it. The headlamp misses out on modern-day LED treatment and gets an archaic all-halogen setup. It is surrounded by a black cowl, which gets a high-mounted body-colored beak just below it. Apart from this, Suzuki has given an additional conventional front fender to the motorcycle.

The high-mounted front beak of the Suzuki V-Strom 650 merges well with the semi-fairing of the motorcycle, which further blends well with the huge fuel tank. This fuel tank has got adequately sized knee recesses between it and semi-fairing, which is useful while riding on rougher terrains. The motorcycle comes with a golden coloured spoke wheel as standard, while the engine is finished in a theme of grey. The engine here too gets a sizeable cowl below it.

The Suzuki V-Strom 650 comes with minimal side body panels, with its frame exposed to the eyes, thus making it look raw and rugged. The motorcycle looks functional and purposeful from the rear, with it getting large pannier mounts and luggage carrier behind the long seat. The chunky-looking exhaust pipe with a silver-finished shield over it further makes the motorcycle look even beefier.

The instrument console of the Suzuki V-Strom 650 is a part-digital unit, which is quite informative but lacks the attractive visual appeal of modern-day full TFT units. The analog tachometer has dated-looking fonts, and the missed layout for other digital details like speedometer, gear indicator, odometer, trip meters, clock, range, and other data look simple as well.

However, the motorcycle, being a true-blue Japanese machine, exudes a high-quality fit and finish. The Suzuki V-Strom 650 feels well put together, thus justifying its premium appeal.

The overall mechanical setup of the Suzuki V-Strom 650 is quite basic by the standards of middleweight motorcycles, but it gets the job done perfectly. The motorcycle comes armed with a suspension combination of conventional hydraulic telescopic forks at the front and a linked-type mono-shock at the back. The suspension of the V-Strom 650 is one of the finest in the business of adventure motorcycles, as it tackles both off-road terrains and highways with equal finesse. The bike gets a dual disc brake setup at the front and a single disc brake at the rear.

The Suzuki V-Strom 650 is bestowed with a very refined, torquey, and reliable four-stroke, liquid-cooled, 90-degree V-twin engine, which displaces 645cc and is coupled to a 6-speed gearbox. This engine makes healthy power and torque outputs of 70 bhp at 8,000 rpm and 62 Nm at 6,500 rpm. The engine feels refined all the way to redline, with enough torque in the lower and mid-range, thus giving it effortless riding abilities on both urban roads and highway stretches.

Apart from a dual-channel ABS, the Suzuki V-Strom 650 misses out on modern era electronic riding aids, which makes this motorcycle feel like the last decade’s machine.

The Suzuki V-Strom 650 is one reliable workhorse with its basics done right – it has a refined and powerful motor that can last trouble-free for years and has a dreamy suspension which makes it a super practical machine on two wheels. However, it definitely needs an update to its design, with visual tweaks and added features on board.