Above is the latest teaser photo from Suzuki for its mid-displacement adventure bike that is expected to be fully unveiled later this year. A few things are now relatively clear, including (1) the new bike will have conventional forks like the existing V-Strom 650, and (2) the engine case (at least on the left side) appears to be identical to that found on the current V-Strom 650. See for yourself by comparing the photos below of the current model. Let us know what else you think about these photos in the comments section.
Suzuki is out with the “New Bike” – well its a freshened Vstrom 650. Swing and a miss! All that hype and it’s just a 650 again???? Are you freakin Kidding me??? Who is running the marketing dept over there? —- OK it’s a fine little bike with a following, most of them love their bikes – how many will upgrade??? How about a stroked version up into the 800s??? and keeping the lighter frame etc etc. Where is the 1200 version to really comptete in the Big Trailee Class??? At least then there would be some buzz…
I call mine the “Warthog,” it’s so ugly it’s beautiful.
I think a lot of folks here are overly concerned about the oil filter and cooler placement. Nearly any aftermarket bash/skid plate provides plenty of protection for both, as well as the lower portion of the front down pipe. Someone planning on taking any bike on any unpaved surface is wise to fit sort of bash plate and tip-over protection anyway so it’s really no big deal.
I’ve found that adventure tourers couldn’t care less about the aethestics of these bikes….maybe the wonkier the better. Whatever.
The oil filter looks really easy to get to but, isn’t that also a somewhat dangerous place to put your bike’s achillies heal…..? One little rock bouncing just right and you got a gusher.
V-Snore
Brilliant…lmao.
Well one good thing on this new model is that it looks like the oil cooler is gone from it’s home behind the front wheel. Most likely they are using the Gladius motor. Surprised no one mentioned this, to busy trying to figure out if a V Strom is ugly or not I guess.
Good eye.
You missed my mention of it two days ago, then?
…i has a 650 strom…2 years 37000 odo..think was a good bike but i wore it out….lets hope the can build one like the versys….
How do you wear out a V-Strom in only 37,000 miles? There are tons of them running around with 3 and 4 times that many miles – a few with even more.
It’s obvious by the tires that it’s going to be a more dirt oriented machine and that’s a good thing. Who wants to ride around on a street bike that’s taller without the benefit of actually be able to do a little offroading with it? As long as they don’t make it too ugly, it should be a great ride.
The Versys was ‘refreshed’ last year – and I’d expect the same sort of ‘fresh’ from Suzuki.
Suzuki has had a tough three years. Development money for new product is in short supply. The picture confirms the same engine and forks. We’ll get some new plastic. Maybe a taller front wheel. We can expect to spend money on suspension upgrades and brakes.
Will the bike be better? I’m betting it won’t be significantly different under the plastic.
Well I have a Suzuki Freewind, a sort of DR 650 with dropped suspension, way better seat, a fairing in front, and a bash plate with no oil filter to smash into first. I love the ride, suspension works great with low weight, comfort for ages with the seat and riding position, good brakes and GREAT handling.
The engine COULD be more refined, with better low rev flexibility, but there is good mid range thrust, and really, do you need any more??
They sold bulk of these in France and Germany, heaps throughout Europe, but few elsewhere. UK and US riders wanted more power, the BMZ F650 sold better without BEING better. But really, this is the NICEST bike I’ve owned out of 15 or so over the years, and does everything I want to do on a bike, even though it’s now a bit old. It’s a LOT better off road than the DL650, and could easily have sold alongside it. Suzuki dropped the ball by not continuing with this model.
To reject the v strom solely on looks, is to short change yourself. One of the great aspects about the strom is, i can have fun at legal speeds, unlike my prior sportbikes.
Someone on ADVrider pointed out that the front wheel in that photo looks awfully skinny for a 110/80-19 — is it even possible that Suzuki fitted a 21″ front wheel instead?
I so believe the V-Strom 650 is one of the best rides todate.
On my second one and been everywhere except hardcore mud and water.
It`s now time for more Horses 850 cc will do it less weight also.
Ride on Suzuki.
The front so far looks the same, forks should be USD’s, would be nice to see shaft drive and I’d consider it, hopefully will have a 800-850cc.. If not then will go with a Triumph tiger XC which is a sweet ride.. Like someone said hopefully this is a prelude to something totally new and redone that can compete with the other current offerings.
Someone above said that the bike will be shown on June 22 – can anyone else confirm this? I placed a deposit order on a 2012 Super Tenere, but due to the earthquake in Japan the delivery date has been pushed back 5 months and Yamaha offered to give me my deposit back. I may choose the new Strom over the Super Ten.
Not considering the Triumph or BMW 800s ? Unless the DL650 increases the displacement to give it 15-20 additional horsepower someone wanting the Super 10 won’t be happy with it’s current so-so powerband let alone it’s budget suspension . I’d wait a week to see what this change involves , then road test the Triumphs , BMWs , and possibly a used VStrom 1000 . The Triumph or BMW to replace the Super 10 , the used big Strom as a placeholder for the Super 10 (when available) or new middle weight Strom which probably won’t be available until late in the year . Don’t know where you live , but here in the northeast riding season will be just about over in 5 months . I don’t buy new without a test ride , which more dealers now give to experienced adult riders with the state of the economy these days . My rule is no ride = no buy . Good luck .
My last bike was a Ducati Multistrada. The every-6,000 mile-valve-checks and every-other-year-or-12,000 miles-belt-replacement finally got the better of me. Plus, the gas tank began to bubble and warp due to ethonal contamination from gasoline. I have considered the BMW and Tiger 800. I don’t care for BMW upkeep and repair (valve checks are every 6K miles also) and the Tiger is perfect – except the road going model which I would get doesn’t have an adjustabel fork. I very seriously considered a Kawa Versys, but felt I wanted more power, ABS (to keep my wife happy) and traction control, so I put a deposit down on a Tenere.
With the Super Tenere having shaft drive , fully adjustable suspension on both ends , traction control , three position fuel mapping and more none of those other bikes really compare to it . Have you tried other Yamaha dealers ? Not saying it happened , but with only a certain number being imported your dealer might have got an offer for a lot more and sold your bike out from under you – that happens more often than you’d think with new models having limited availability . Even some dealers on cycletrader are selling them for 1K over retail . There are 27 Super Teneres on cycletrader if you put in any distance from your zipcode . I’d call a few nearest to yourself and see if they actually have them in stock , if nothing else to see if your dealer is being straight up with you .
I recently owned a Ducati Multistrada, which received much of the same knocks about looks as the V-Strom. As it turned out I put more miles on that bike than any I have ever owned, and I have owned at least one of every other style of bike.
As long as I am only going to have one street bike, this is the type of bike I am looking at – don’t care about the visuals. If somebody can make a good looking adventure bike, then all the better.
Please tell me there will be an updated 1000 too and not just a 650.
I’ve owned a vstrom 650 for over 5 years. So maybe I’m biased. A bike’s looks are subjective, so you can’t really *prove* the vstrom is ugly or not. For the V owner to say the bike is ugly is like saying your own kid is ugly! Even if it’s true, you don’t publicize the opinion 😉 Some people think Sarah Jessica Parker is hot. Okay, maybe just a “but-‘er-face” problem.
You *can* prove the V is a good model to ride. One thing for sure is that no one can mistake the bike for another, which is something not too many bikes can claim. And those that know motorcycles see it coming and know the pilot made a good choice. It’s not going to get the supersport or exotic jaw-dropping reactions from people when it pulls up, but it’s a fun bike anywhere you want to go.
And all the fat chick comments should be reserved for moped riders, not motorcyclists with vstroms. That said, let’s have a look at the new one…
My God.
One, straight-on shot where the left fork leg and the oil filter are the only things in focus and people are already dismissing the bike in its entirety. Wait….it looks like it might be similar to the last bike? ZOMG!!!! The horror of family resemblance.
Ridiculous
Hope they kept the rails in the back so I can tie down my milk basket. LOL I would never buy this ugly of a bike sorry. The Buell Ulysses was a beauty queen compared to the V-Bum
The machine is solid as is, no doubt. What could be different is styling and name… what is Strom anyway? Styling looks crude and as I heard the bike can get tipsy in side wind.
Yes – it does look similar to my 2009 V Strom….but let us not forget that the V Strom is probably the best all-around bike on the market. Yes, there are better sport bikes, there are better dirt bikes, there are better standards, and there are better touring bikes (although I think it is a very good touring bike),….but it is rock solid bike that never fails to start and take you the last 1,000 miles home….with a measure of comfort.
Ho hum…at best restyled plastic for the vstrom. what else can you expect from dead in the water Suzuki?
Lame… hows it ‘really’ different?
Lets face it. The V-strom has never been ,and likely never will be a thing of beauty.
It is kind of like a over-weight ,ugly women that is great in bed. It is a great ride that no-one wants to be seen with or admit to.
Like others I can’t seem to place the source of the V-Strom “ugliness”. I do know however that it follows a very Japanese design policy. If you have ever watched any of the old “Kamen Raida” (think of a lone bug-eyed Power Ranger on a bike) you can see the just-add-more-plastic-to-make-it-look-cooler design strategy.
Its too bad, because the SV design I rather like, and all the strom needed was to add longer legs to that design and it would have been fine. Less is more I think as can be seen with the fetching Beneli TreK Amazonas.
All Suzuki needs to do on the Vstrom is get rid of all that ugly plastic. With the skinny tires it reminds of an overweight lady on skinny legs.
I’m guessing its just a styling remake of the current Vstrom!
The existing model can be made pretty reasonably off road worthy with a few dollars and some elbow grease. Entered mine (1000) in the 2006 Alcan 5000, and have run a number of AMA dual sport events on it. The only thing I can see different from the picture is the oil cooler appears relocated, you can’t tell about the filter. The picture really says nothing about displacement as the 1000 case is similar, unless your eyes are better than mine. Looking forward to learning more. I agree with others 800-850 cc would be perfect.
Is the oil cooler gone/relocated on the teaser pic or is it just angle of the shot hiding it behind the fork slider? I’m still holding out hope for a 750 to 850 cc mill. They could still use the same cases or very similar appearing ones.
You know, people complain about the lack of off-road, (whatever that means to you), or adventure worthiness of the V-Stroms but one of the things that’s so great about them is their versatlity. Any perceived short coming, (oil filter location, fender too close to the front tire, lack of bash protection, etc.), can easily be addressed through the aftermarket. Most owners never take their Stroms off the pavement so the bike is excellent as a street only, light sport-tourer. Those who wish to be able to follow more gravel/dirt roads might want to make some mods to facilitate that type of riding. Those mods are easy enough and won’t break the bank – especially compared to replacing the whole bike with a Tiger 800 or F650/800 GS that might still need a few mods.
Gravel/dirt roads isn’t off-road. I’ve ridden hundreds of miles on gravel and dirt with a Honda Valkyrie, at speeds up to 70mph.
Off-road is un-predictable, so your bike better have a suspension that is capable of allowing you to maintain control and the ground clearance ( think dry sump )to get over the many obstacles you will encounter. It also helps to have a bike that is easier to get back upright when you do dump it.
That is why I will never entertain buying big beemers or the other so-called adventure bikes.
To me, the V-Strom is akin to a cute-ute, you have a good view ahead in traffic but you really don’t want to blaze new trails with it.
I agree with your opinion of what constitutes “off-road” I was just pointing out that it’s not the same definition for everyone. Still, there are folks, (with TONS more off-road talent and experience than me), who have done a lot of honest-to-goodness off-road riding on V-Stroms of both flavors. Just because I wouldn’t do it doesn’t mean the bike isn’t up for it. Are there better choices out there for rugged trail blazing? Absolutely. Is everyone else duty bound to observe my limitations of what a certain bike should/can or should not/can not do? Nope.
agreed. Real off-road almost ensures rocky steps that would have this thing high-centered easily, or other rough conditions, deep mud, etc. This is a great motorcycle for just about everything else however. AND, I have a friend that knows how to haul ass on a serious scale on the twisties with one also. So they are versatile, but lean WAY more toward pavement than real ATV trails.
As a former long term partsman at a suzuki dealership for the past 20 years , I have seen some real inovations come from suzuki but if it was not a race bike it was just a stop gap. If you want the best race bikes either street or dirt buy suzuki if you are looking for a cruizer or any thing else the other manufacturers will be leading the way.
Wow. So far it looks pretty much like…the current model. Leave it to the Japanese to “tease” the public with a photo that shows absolutely no hint of genuine updating or innovation.
Let’s hope that this is some perverse strategy to lull us in to low expectations, and that the actual unveiling will make our eyes pop, or at least raise our eyebrows a little.
Can’t tell much from the purposely crappy photo but it just seems like they decided to re-style the plastics. Really, what’s wrong with the bike basically in the first place?
The present Stroms don’t look bad to me but I wouldn’t say they were classically pretty by any means. I have a feeling this “new” model won’t be much of an improvement.
Current V-Strom 1000 owner. Yup. It’s ugly. Not nearly as ugly as my old Honda CX. With either, it didn’t matter one iota, as functionally they are/were fantastic motorcycles. If you think the Strom is ugly, take it to a severely twisted section of roadway. In 2 minutes, you won’t care what it looks like, and only care to ride it again.
As for the Suzuki teaser pictures … I’m most dissappointed. The 1000 hasn’t seen an update since ’04, and the 650 is the same bike with a smaller engine and less seat foam. We need an updated DL 1000 Suzuki!!!!
Looks like it still has the same tire hugging front fender as before, so no real adventure riding through mud and sticky loose soil for this “adventure bike”. I really hate that term, “adventure bike”, its pure poseur.
oil filter in the most vulnerable place possible? I guess adventure does not include any off-road. Back to the klr650.
Yeah, cuz nobody’s ever taken a V-Strom off road.
There’s off-road and off-road. Personally I was thinking of say shortcuts, going to camping places just of the pavement and stuff like that. Things that almost any cruiser is capable of – as long as it doesn’t have “leading-edge oilfilter” (or cooler). That’s the least I would expect of an adventure bike.
Unveiling is June 22 now……oh well, I give up. The current Vstrom is like P$%^Y to a man….it’s the most beautiful thing in the world….right before you see it.
Wonder if it will get a partial steel trellis frame like the Gladius.
I’d expect the same Stone Age suspension and brakes.
“Leading edge oil filter”. That alone means that the bike is not an “adventure bike” no matter how good it might be otherwise. Of course any bike can be modified to be anything, but that’s besides the point.
In Addition to my comments below: The skip pan is a good idea and should have been added to v-stroms and sv models years ago. The engine bars could be made larger to protect the tank and to hang things on, like dirtbagz or lights. I still don’t care if its ugly, because what I intend to do to it will make scratches and dirty spots look like a badge of honor.
Adding those boxes as standard equipment would be nice. Make the drivers seat and the passenger seat seperate pieces. I prefer to ride without a passenger seat so I can put a tail bag there. If it truely is an adventure bike then I would expect an extra large gas tank (with the fill hole to the right side of the tank so we won’t have to muscle it onto the centerstand at fillups), at least as an option. Standard handguards are good. Metzler Tourer type tires. I don’t care if Harley riders think it is ugly, because I will be going places that they wouldn’t dare.
+1
I was prepared for a new model annoucement. Let’s hope this isn’t “BOLD NEW GRAPHICS” posing as a new bike.
No matter distasteful the bike, can we all please agree to never again use the term “fugly”?
+1
Disregard the lone +1 above.
Because….(O_O )?
It’s internet math!
I don’t get it. Is this a joke?
Looks like they just painted the barn. Same old mechanicals with new plastic covering. Ho-hum.
The v-strom must strike certain people as hideous for some reason that I do not understand. Suzuki does make some hideous bikes, see GS500F , any Katana, etc, but the strom looks great to me. I have always thought they were/are great looking bikes
I think i can relate to u…somehow…
I think the SuperTen is fugly and yet i like it/would like to own one…and yet, i just can’t swallow the Strom.
So, umm–it’s exactly the same?
Several times I’ve considered owning either V-Strom model. I stare at them over and over, images and in person. No idea what makes them look so hideous, but no matter the angle and/or color they never fail to confirm: V-Strom are among the worst styling exercises in all of motorized transport.
Looks like the v-strom only re-styled and i’d bet it is, since suzuki
prefers to do it than innovate, see the bandit family.
The 650 V-Strom is quite a solid machine. Restyling might be enough to sell quite a few more! You never know. (I enjoyed mine except for any time I was looking at it.)
(I enjoyed mine except for any time I was looking at it.)
Sir: U have made my nigth there…LMFAO.
LOL. True, though! Awesome fun to ride (and I’ve had several bikes that were considerably more exciting) but the only good view was the one from the saddle, some way into a day-long ride.
I sure hope that’s a teaser of a teaser. It looks like the same exact bike period….. How about a fuel injected DL 650 motor in a DR 650 type chassis?