It is no secret that a redesigned 2014 Suzuki V-Strom 1000 is on its way … the only question is just how closely it will resemble the concept shown by Suzuki last year at INTERMOT. We suspect it will closely follow the concept when the production model is unveiled this fall in Milan. So here are more photos of that concept, along with information about the expected production spec.
Expect a thoroughly redesigned 1000cc 90 ° V-twin engine (with a huge spread of torque and north of 100 crank horsepower), new, narrow and light aluminum chassis, upside-down fork, radial-mount front brake calipers with integrated ABS (a big improvement on the old braking system), adjustable traction control, and 19-inch cast aluminum front wheel. Suzuki has also carefully designed luggage, including a top case, that will keep the bike narrow in comparison with the competition.
We expect Suzuki will try to undercut the price of most of the large displacement adventure tourer competition, and pitch the new V-Strom as a lighter, more nimble and economical alternative. Indeed, there appears to be a gap between the middleweights displacing roughly 800cc, and the now-common, pricey 1200s.
Here is what Suzuki is saying about the concept in anticipation of the 2014 model’s release:
2013 Suzuki V-Strom 1000 Concept Key Features
Strong, rider-friendly Engine:
A totally redesigned, liquid-cooled 1000cc V-twin engine produces effortless acceleration along with a strong V-twin rumble.
Lightweight, well-balanced Chassis:
Slim and lightweight aluminum frame, thickly padded seat and an adjustable windscreen provides an easy, comfortable, and fun to ride character.
Brake and Suspension:
Performance-inspired radial mount front brake caliper with Antilock Brake System provides riders confidence in braking on various road conditions. The V-Strom 1000 Concept also features an inverted front fork and an easy to adjust single shock style rear suspension.
Distinctive Styling Design:
Inspired by the 1988 DR750S-Suzuki’s first big on/off-road machine-the V-Strom 1000 Concept features bold and distinctive styling to create an unmatched presence.
Advanced Traction Control System:
Suzuki’s advanced traction control system is equipped for enhanced sport riding, performance, and the peace of mind to negotiate slippery surfaces with confidence.
Luggage System:
An all new luggage system was designed and tested in harmony with the big V-Strom’s overall development. The luggage system provides easy installation, a narrow overall width when installed, and a clean look when detached.
Here is a link to a site Suzuki has set up where you can register to receive updates on the 2014 V-Strom 1000. It is an Italian site (let us know if you find a similar site in English).
I like the old style exhaust better:2 pipes under the seat.
Like the bike, hate the colors. Make it kinda drab with silver, flat black, maybe grey. I’d prob get the trunk for everyday but kip the OEM bags for metal panniers or a huge waterproof duffle for travel.
It seems hard to believe they had to “completely redesign” the engine, they already had more powerful version of the same basic engine in TL1000 and SV1000 guise.
interesting,what is the weight of the bike?
Gotta see another color. I’m really afraid that red seat insert is going to fade to pink in short order.
Suzuki yellow with a tan seat insert would get my vote.
what a surprise..it looks just like every other “adventure” bike on the market. way to go out on a limb.
As a current V-Strom owner I can’t wait to see the new bike. I hope the new bike will be as good,user friendly, maintanance free as the old one.
But;
NO BEAK PLEASE!!!!!!!
NO BEAK PLEASE !!!!!!
NO BEAK PLEASE !!!!!!
That’s why somebody invented the dremel.
http://www.suzuki-vstrom.com/
English web site
If you look closely at the beak, it looks like the road runner.
and not the cool one by Plymouth.
Aesthetically, I don’t mind the chicken beak ( guess Im getting used to them) as much as I dislike the dished in the back saddlebag and whacky angled trunk…especially the bags. Looks like they are giving up some room that the bags could have used.
It’s a damn far sight better than that Ducati Multistrada. That looks like a mutant duck. (Pun intended.)
Please, oh Sweet Baby Jesus, will the manufacturers put spoked wheels on adventure bikes?! Cast wheels aren’t meant for off-roading.
If it performs and handles as well as the Super Tenere and costs about the same or less, but weighs less I’m in.
Unless this new strom has a lot longer valve checks, or is 25 lbs. lighter than my ’07 not much point. Looks about the same (maybe uglier) and probably carries less fuel, will it get better mileage, not likely. Why can’t they come up with a really light shaft drive, or belt or some other innovations? This looks like a “wait till everyone else is done and lets make something the same only cheaper” kind of effort! Come on Suzuki you used to be better than that!
THE NEW STROM I CANT WAIT SELLING A OVER THE TOP DUCATI MT AND MY SUPER TERERE THE YAMAHA IT SERVED ME WELL I AM GAMBLING ON THIS THE SECOND BEST ALL ROUNDER EVER MADE. I BELIVE IN THE V LIGHTER FASTER COMFORT DEPENDABLY BETTER PRICED I HAVE SEX FOR THE FEEL I RIDE FOR THE SAME THING THIS WILL BE THE BEST BIKE IN HISTORY
So, Ron, do you ride to work or take your lunch?
lunch or not I have 16000 on my tener ride year round I ride for the freedome of it the motion I dont were brands and try not to act like a snob if the adventure bikes had shorter seats the crusier guys would be riding the heck out of then
Wonder if this thing has cruise control for boring highway droning. Then I’d forgive its beakness…
this is “unforgivable beakness”.
I read that the beak adds a small amount of down force improving front end feel at speed. sounds plausible. I for one don’t think it looks bad. Maybe if it wasn’t glowing red it wouldn’t look so pronounced. Let’s just hope someone at Suzuki has enough hooligan in them to make the bike fun to ride.
ya know, it’s just occurred to me (being a deep thinker and all), there’s a parallel here between this “chicken beak” and the concept of evolution and vestigial limbs/organs in biology. this “non-functioning appendage” is really akin to the hind legs on a whale, or the wings of an ostrich.
what do I mean…? ok, as I eluded to earlier, this beak really began it’s existence as a fully functioning fender that blocked mud, debris, etc kicked up from the front wheel. obviously they still serve this function on the “species” known as the MX bike/dirt bike. on those the fender being high mount is as much a function of the need to keep mud from building up as it is to also provide clearance over the de-rigueur 21″ which itself serves a dedicated off-road function.
now once these vehicles rolled on to the highway (ie. crawled out of water and onto land), somebody realized the steering was kinda slow for the asphalt and decided to fit a smaller diameter wheel and tire combination. and ya know what, for quick and dirty’s sake, i’ll leave the high fender in place that way if a venture takes me back off road…? I can just throw the 21″ knobby back on.
now after a few million years of running on-road, it was realized, i’m still encountering debris hazards, just of different kind (small high speed pebbles). with that “grew” the low-mount fender that the distant cousins “the street bike” had already LONG since developed as a consequence of their “asphalt isolation”. and another epiphany occurred in that few million years… finding it’s needs met, rocks blocked, and ready access to resources (read fuel), this “hybrid animal” never ventured back into the woods/forest…? EVER.
ok fast forward to modern day, and here we have this high mount fender (vestigial), no longer serving it’s original purpose, “atrophied” and morphing into a beak. if it weren’t for the un-fortuitous event of the KILLER ASTEROID, we probably would’ve found T-rex skeletons sans those tiny front arms…? given time they, would’ve eventually shrunk into “pointed nubs” same as what Suzuki appears to be doing with what used to be, the “high mount fender”.
Woof! Quite a story… I’ll never look at my pinky-toes in the same way ever again (or T-rex front arms)!
Time for a beer, and some introspective reflections…
re: “I’ll never look at my pinky-toes in the same way ever again”
well get a good look at em, ’cause they’re here “for a limited time only”…!!! from the ankles down, your ancestors are gonna be SIMPSON’s. 🙂
Interesting take but evolution does not work that way. There are two drivers to evolution; genetic mutation, and natural selection. Puppies are born with tails either because we think they’re cute and we starve the puppies born without tails before they can reproduce – or the puppies with tails killed off all the puppies born without tails… In the case of T-Rex, they didn’t get tiny arms because they don’t use them. Their offspring would still be born with just as much ability unless there was a genetic mutation that made the arms smaller. In that case, the little mutant would need to kill off all the other long arm T-Rexs before they had a chance to reproduce in a couple years. No, it is more likely that they were born with either short OR long arm genes and the short arm ones were able to reproduce more often – or kill off all their long-arm siblings before they reproduced – eventually making that a recessive trait.
So for Suzukis with beaks, this must be a genetic mutation since it is the first sighting of such an appendage. In order for it to survive and spawn it will need to kill off all the other model sales or we will need to think it’s cute enough that we don’t let all the other Adventure Bikes without beaks reproduce.
re: “Interesting take but evolution does not work that way.”
it’s figurative. let’s just go with it. 🙂
Just about all the so-called large displacement ‘adventure’ bikes look as if they have been beaten with an ugly stick. The slab-sided KTM 990 was an early one but the BMW 1200 looks as if it has been ridden into a wall, then kicked up the arse shortly thereafter. U G L Y. And totally impractical in an off-road environment. Not even that good on dirt roads. The two best bikes to actually ride in those environments are the new KTM 1200 and Yamaha’s excellent Super Tenere. The rest are merely to be seen riding down to the cafe for a latte…
Give me a decent 500-650 single or parallel twin any day.
And on a parting note, there was a more practical and better looking Suzuki 1000cc V-twin on show at Intermot in 2004. It was built by some Italians…
re: “The slab-sided KTM 990”
omg, the “blunt nose” 990 adventure Baja is bad ass. it looks the business even more than the GS. i really feel KTM is missing their USP with the styling on the 12…? that’s something really hard to find in the “limited space” of motorcycling. consumers of KTM are drawn to them because they LOOK like KTM’s, not for anything “homogeneous” or “me too”.
“And totally impractical in an off-road environment. Not even that good on dirt roads. The two best bikes to actually ride in those environments are the new KTM 1200 and Yamaha’s excellent Super Tenere. The rest are merely to be seen riding down to the cafe for a latte…”
OK, so what do you think of the Suzuki.
I think it’s wonderful that motorcycle companies are hiring blind people in their design department. The problem comes when their work escapes into the outside world…
Aren’t you being a little hard on the blind designers of this world? 🙂
It is important to realize this particular piece of work has not yet escaped. This is strictly a concept bike. That means the final bike 1) will be identical, or 2) will be completely different, or 3) may never exist at all.
Maybe it isn’t a ‘beak’… maybe the headlight is just REALLY excited to be here!
🙂 !!!
somebody with the skills is going to do a photoshop of this thing in yellow with feathers and everything showing clawed “chicken feet” gripping the front rotors… then you’ll be sorry.
The bike definitely takes styling cues from the BMW G’s. Put a horizontal twin on it, an asymmetrical, one-eyed headlight, and a BMW badge, and everyone would think it a beemer without a second’s thought. That said, the bike will probably ride better and be more capable than the beemer due to its more modern engine and suspension layout.
In the last few reviews, we have seen time and time again, the Japanese undercutting other bike makers by thousands of dollars. What exactly is it about the Japanese manufacturers which allows them to undercut all other manufacturers by such a significant margin? Exactly, what are the Japanese doing right or the others doing wrong?
Does having original styling cues add that much to the cost of a bike? We are just talking about styling cues here. Mechanically speaking, the Japanese bikes are probably better or the equal of those bikes they are undercutting, so the difference is again only about the styling, simply the originality of it.
“That said, the bike will probably ride better and be more capable than the beemer due to its more modern engine and suspension layout.”
Wait … what? You need to refresh your knowledge a bit regarding BMW engine and suspension technology.
whew, you walked right into that one jake.
I stopped playing attention to BMW bikes around 5 years ago. Maybe things have changed a bit since then. Back then, the flat twin was simply a relic of past BMW tradition. They had less performance, less revs than the more the conventional v-twin. Sorry if I was wrong. Just thought a design limitation and performance deficit back then would still be applicable only 5 years later. One still never sees a racing v-twin using a horizontal layout, and I doubt if this is solely due to the ground clearance issue. Does a horizontal twin have any performance advantages over that of a v-twin? Or any advantages at all?
Back then, the paralever suspension was thought to be advantageous due to lack of dive during braking and cause it could it was appropriate for high weight bikes – back then BMW did not produce any lightweight bikes aside from their thumpers. Still, most regarded a properly dialed in conventional suspension layout to be superior and less costly to BMW’s own unique design. Still no one sees a paralever suspension system on any performance orientated bikes. There has got to be a reason for this. Even BMW’s sport bike has a conventional suspension layout.
I just thought these basic design flaws of BMW’s approach would still be applicable today. It’s only been a few years. Maybe BMW has found a way to overcome these limitations in the original, basic designed flaws of their bikes.
“Does a horizontal twin have any performance advantages?”
Low centre of gravity. In theory.
And better air cooling.
re: “Or any advantages at all?”
some could argue, ease of maintenance…?
Heck I think it’s a major improvement.. Y’all do know what the current ones look like right? I rode a wee for 6 years and 50k miles. Great bike in many ways, but ugly to the bone.
If I ever looked back while walking away it was only to make sure the kickstand wasn’t sinking in the grass/about to fall over.
As the (aging/maturing) original owner of a ’97 TL1000S, I love it. Not so much the looks as the promise of a light, comfortable, capable bike with some character. A nose job looks like an opportunity, not a problem to me. Guess I’ll just have to work harder so I can cover kid’s college expenses, retirement savings and now budgeting for a new bike.
It’s interesting that you sport bike guys don’t mind that they all look alike and have the same specs as all the other sport bikes, but you go nuts when a bike has a “beak’. The guys who ride long distances and love to cross mountain passes know the value of these bikes – lots of suspension travel, comfortable all-day riding position, reasonable gas mileage and the ability to hang with the squids in the twisties. Try one and you’ll stop grumbling.
“Adventure” bikes are interesting, but as long as those beaks are part of design language its “no thanks” from me. Why in the world does every maker copy that design, especially when there is already a front fender over the front tire?
How else would you be able to skewer varmints on the fly while blasting through the wild? There are no drive-throughs out there ya know.
omg, that is too funny. ouch, my ribs. LOL
As a group these “adventure bikes” are a practical but ugly bunch. This bike is weird looking and has a beak but so do all the rest! Guess if they make one look good people will get confused and not know its an “adventure tourer” god forbid!
+ 1 . Although they could still call it an adventure tourer so it would be included in the road test comparos. Maybe that would bring about the end of the beak it so richly deserves. Also,they could offer the beak as an option for the avian inclined among us.
Judging from the comments here, they wouldn’t have to make many.
Call it lack of pride, but they arent the serial copiers you accuse them of being itchface. They built Rotary engined bikes..they pioneered sportbikes… and many other feats I’m surely over looking.
Henry Ford is just as guilty as Suzuki with his Model T…..
Enough about the beak already! This is the useful Japanese standard bike that many have been hooting and rooting for: sit-up ergonomics, 1000cc two-cylinder power, ABS, decent legroom (trim the seat or go aftermarket if you have short legs), chain drive for those who think a shaft is too heavy, a luggage option if you want it, tubeless tires, likely a 5+ gallon fuel tank, at a Suzuki price.
Seriously, what’s not to like except European snob appeal?
It’s like dating a foxy chick that needs a nose job.
f’ me Paul A’s swinging the one-liners for the fences…!!! LMAO
Overall the bike to me looks like a me too bike, not much enthusiam for me as I don’t see anything unique about it. One thing I hate is that muffler, did the steal that off my Ford F150?
I like, you won’t see the beak from the seat. have tools?
I read somewhere that ex-BMW designer, Dave Robb, worked at Suzuki back in the day and designed the Katana and the DR Big, which by the way, was the first bike to have a fixed beak, not the BMW oil head GS which Robb later designed in the 90’s. so if that is the case, Suzuki has every right to put a beak on their bike. As a matter of fact, the new Vstrom looks a little like an old Katana.
You’re probably thinking of Hans Muth, not Dave Robb. Muth worked for BMW before defecting to Suzuki. Anyway, this V-Strom 1000 is yet another in a long line of examples of how the Japanese bike industry waits to see what new bikes from the more innovative manufacturers catch on and then come up with cheaper versions of it. Where’s the pride in that?
You may be right about David Robb, but your mostly wrong about the Japanese bike seeing copy cats. I remember when BMW came out with their “bold” idea of talking and inline four and chanting it forward for better CG and performance benefits. I guess it would have a bold new idea if Yamaha hadn’t done twenty years earlier and called it the Genesis engine which was used in the wildly successful FZ series.
This should be a pretty interesting bike to ride. It has a lot of things right. The snoot, though……I dunno. Maybe I’d like it if some aftermarket source made upper dentures to put on the thing, just for fun. On the other hand, I don’t much care how a bike looks when I’m riding it, and the ride is good.
I hope Suzuki makes a café racer version.
What? Too soon?
Do you have to wear the official ADV outfit..you know… dirt helmet, 3/4 length jacket, and motocross boots even if you only intend to ride this on the Highway?
Yes as long as you keep the “beak”
only the fuhrer obligates it’s enlisted to be in uniform at all times. you’re good.
That’s funny
this is awful and takes the bike in the wrong direction. I own a 2005 DL1000. would not buy this new bike, based on its hideous appearance and street biased running gear
Dont lie to yourself. Once you see it in person and take it for a test ride. You’ll wonder why you didn’t trade it in any earlier
And your DL1000 didn’t have street-biased running gear?
At least it doesn’t have tank seams!
Don’t like the beak, that’s why god made tools. Cut it off. I’ve owned 3 stroms and they’ve been crazy reliable for me. Better forks and brakes sound great, same gas capacity is fine, more power sure, but don’t add any freaking weight!!! If they can meet those hurdles I’m a customer. Honestly who gives a crap how it looks, it’s how it rides that counts.
I understand your point, but for me looking looking at the bike before and after the ride is a big part of me keeping it around. It may ride and work great but ugly just won’t cut it for long. Just like picking a spouse. Suzuki could sell a lot more of these with by developing this into a seperate model with all the same running gear, frame, suspension, and brakes, with just the ugly taken out. Market it as a standard model with very little in development costs and you can sell to the anti-beakers. I won’t buy a new bike just to start hacking.
+1. The ability of a bike to get me to turn around to look at it one last time after I park it is a way under-rated factor of ownership.
re: “Just like picking a spouse.”
thank you. i was just about to go there.
I’m with you. My ’02 Tiger 955 is hardly attractive but it is the best riding bike I’ve owned in 40 years.
one word: FUGLY!
Why does everyone think an adventure bike needs a beak? That is a stupid thing to have as it serves no purpose except to increase wind drag.
Adventure bikes are NOT Goldwing touring bikes for dirt.
Adventure bikes are supposed to be simple and capable of going anywhere. See the original R80GS…
re: “Adventure bikes are supposed to be simple and capable”
you’re probably correct, but unfortunately “simple and capable” doesn’t sell. remember once upon a time, motorbikes USED to be simple and capable, but with each passing year we (joe consumer) demanded more, bigger, better, faster.
none of this was the manufacturer’s idea. they’ve simply been responding to OUR demands. they would just as soon stamp out the same bike year, after year, after year, like so much nin250 or Vmax.
Norm, I don’t think it is in response to consumer demand. It is more due to the manufacturers always pushing “new and improved” so they have something to sell.
If they can’t argue the new bike has some new widget, then they loose their main selling point…
Then there are also those that want motorcycles dumbed down so they require no skills to “drive” them. I hope that never happens but I see people riding motorcycles all the time that have no business riding them. They keep making better idiots so I don’t think motorcycles will ever be remotely idiot proof.
The squillions of GS’s sold over the past 30 years would support Norm’s assessment: It is market driven. Yes, manufacturers test “new and improved” ideas out all the time. If the market responds, then new and improved becomes the standard. If not, it goes away.
With respect to the R80GS, it seems “simple” because it is a 30-year-old bike. When introduced, however, it was cutting edge and probably being slammed by guys like you for being so complex and heavy compared to real adventure bikes like their Honda 175’s. 🙂 Anywhere the R80GS could go I guarantee you this V-Strom could go while doing it faster, more comfortably, more safely and more reliably.
re: “It is more due to the manufacturers always pushing “new and improved” so they have something to sell.”
tail wags the dog. i know, it’s ugly. it’s not human nature to accept that WE are actually the source of our problems, but it’s true. kneejerk behavior is always to first point a finger externally.
re: “Then there are also those that want motorcycles dumbed down so they require no skills to “drive” them.”
no doubt, and the wise men have a name for them. they’re called “the minority”.
Going by the amount of comments on this article, I would guess Suzuki will sell a bunch. I’d consider one if the seat height is the same as my wee.
I see mandatory drug testing at Suzuki in the near future.
Nope!
I think they should call it “The Black Mottled Frizzle”….which is a rare Japanese Rooster.
Just because the BMW GS sports a beak, doesn’t mean every Trailee needs one. The Tenere looks great without one
And BMW continues to sell about 50 GSs for every Super Tenere that Yamaha sells….
That could be because the Tenere is overweight and underpowered compared to the GS, at least in my opinion. Really, it is both heavier and less powerful than the GS, which is a serious detriment considering that it doesn’t have the advantage of that all-important blue and white roundel. OTOH, it probably won’t frag it’s rear drive like the BMWs have been known to do.
Considering it’s chain drive you’re most likely correct.
Not chain drive. Yamaha Super Tenere (1200cc) – look it up.
Sorry, was thinking of this Suzuki.
Tom, you aren’t really saying BMW sells more becasue of the beak are you?
whoa whoa whoa guys, the gs does NOT sport a beak. that thing is a fully 2-dimensional upper fender. 🙂 it has a measurable length and width (L x W). it might actually be able to block a rock or 2.
Probably not. I guess I have just grown accustomed to the look. When the upcoming KTM 1200 was recently shown it seemed to me that something important was glaringly missing. It took a little while to realize that it was totally beakless, no doubt intentional by KTM so as to NOT have something resembling a Beemer.
I agree that the feature can look a bit weird, as it does on the Suzuki.
I just looked at the new KTM again. It may not have a “beak” per se, just a bit of a jutting chin.
no fenders allowed in the “cool” races like the Dakar or the Baja.
As a K3 V-Strom 1000 owner, I’d buy this … IF;
– Suzuki fixes the clutch
– Gives us 100 horse at the rear wheel
– Right saddlebag doesn’t have a giant chunk taken out of it.
– Air filter access that doesn’t require removal of the fairing and gas tank.
I like that they’ve upgraded the brakes and suspension over existing. I love that I would no longer have to take half the bike apart to change rear brake fluid. Actually LESS windprotection would be an improvement over current buffeting. I also like that it’s an ugly bike. Hell, make it even uglier! It would keep those that don’t know riding Harley’s or GSXRs, and thieves looking for the same.
GMTA. Suzuki should look at what Yamaha did on the S-T in terms of the exhaust, which doesn’t eat into luggage space.
Also be nice if the bike’s handling was solid and predictable up to its top speed.
-V-Strom Ry
Why would the right saddlebag has a huge chunk taken out of it? I’ve owned 3 Stroms, all with full sized bags on both sides. It’s the 650 that has a single sided exhaust, the 1000 has dual exhausts? I agree on the airfilter, though most bikes I own have an identical setup, excluding my KLR. Never had a clutch problem, put 140K on one without replacing the clutch.
Dat BEAK!!!
re: “Expect a thoroughly redesigned 1000cc 90 ° V-twin engine”
i’m going to go out on a limb and say DON’T expect a thoroughly redesigned 1000cc 90′ V-twin engine.
Gee Norm, couldn’t you be a wee bit more uplifting?
As far as “slapped together hack jobs” go, to my eyes the adventure bikes with the aluminum side cases look that way to me. They appear as though someone strapped on a pair of tool boxes and are far from looking integrated. To each their own though.
Other than the color scheme I don’t see too much out of line for this sort of bike. The real proof is how it will go about its business. That’s the true measure of its worth.
i should rather say, the only justification for the expense of a complete redesign of this engine is if it were having it’s capacity increased to 1200…? ie. same as all the other players.
if it were going to stay a liter, you only need sort the weak bits and save a ton. fwiw, gobert won a SBK race with kit.
as the southern gals would say, that thing looks a hot mess…
see, here’s your second example of misguided corporate decision making at Suzuki (the first would be the lagging SBK effort). the adventure category is hot property, yet have you seen a more slapped together, hack job…? yeah, me neither.
the v-strom faithful know they can do WAAAAY better than this, but how can you when “tons of funds” are being spent on a ne-er-do-well grandprix effort…?
The beak – whatever. Don’t really care for it, but it’s an adventure bike so it’s supposed to be kind of ugly anyway.
The fairing – appears to offer less wind protection than the current model, which is a step backwards in my opinion.
The luggage – looks like the right side bag will have a big chunk taken out of it by the exhaust canister. Current V-Strom setup may result in a rather wide bike with bags, but does allow pretty much any desired luggage to be installed, i.e. Givi, Jesse, etc.
The engine – let’s hope they can coax a more competitive amount of power out of it. 90 RWHP just isn’t quite enough from a liter bike, IMO.
Still, I’d be interested, if the price is right.
Excellent point about the luggage. Too bad they don’t try an over-the-rear-wheel centered exhaust as seen on some race-replicas.
I am surprised they stuck with a chain drive for this segment, though it may imply that Suzuki intends to target the middleweights directly rather than try to be an in-between alternative between the two displacement categories. I like the bike overall. I am interested to see what it costs and how much it weighs.
Needs a spoke wheels option and then perfection is acheived!
Suzuki’s 650 and 1000 v twins are both good looking , great performing, great sounding motors. I’d love to see more of the motor in the bikes these come in though. If John Britten can make a good performing frameless design that showed off the motor, why can’t Suzuki? In just the ADV category alone it would be a true innovation and set Suzuki apart from the crowd, to say nothing of being lighter.
It’s not often you see a design that has obvious influences without being derivative. I’ve read others go on about this concept, and this is my first time really looking at it. I must say that I agree. If so were to have bought a 2013 Strom 650, I would be upset that it did not look like this concept. I also think that the headlight design shown here is the better evolution of the one used on the Gladius or Versys.
I think it could be used as the basis for a new familial design across the street models.
No sale for this prospective bike buyer for one reason only: chain drive. Also it’s kind of ugly. Okay that’s two reasons.
Very close to perfect. Rectangular and practical luggage please, a bit bigger windshield, and keep the beak!
i honestly think you are the first person to like the beak!
a yellow coat of paint and it’s BIG BIRD from sesame street.
This is a bike I’d much sooner buy than any of the Euro competitors. Less money, better dealer coverage. I think the bike is rather handsome and I love the beak. Part of the fun of this style bike is how much this styling cue offends certain segments of motorcyclists. I like it when I come outside after stopping on my KLR to find a Harley rider or two circling my bike scratching their do rag.
wow the second like! you like your motorcycle to look like a bird?
Yes, yes! Beaks are cool!
accidental yes, but not when one deliberately goes out of their way to sculpt and shape it that way. then it’s just a goof.
actually, if you take a flintstone thumb (like i’ve got) and cover over the appendage in the right side view, the kit looks entirely sane.
out of the 20+ bikes i’ve owned, my vstrom 1000 was my favorite, sans the front brakes. I welcome this new addition and will probably buy on given Suzuki’s reliability record.
ok, to be fair, the Multistrada (what this bike emulates in certain ways)is much better-looking in real life so I imagine the ‘Strom to be as well. The beak is really my only criticism and the rest of the bike is cool. Plus, this is still a “concept”, perhaps there’s time for rinoplaste before production.
If spec is good and priced reasonably, I will get this bike, red chicken beak and all.
I am not much a fan of the adventure touring bikes, this bike seems to fit right in with the rest of the pack.
AD bikes are like the SUV’s of motorcycles, and I just know most of the riders won’t even ride them in the rain………..
I would like to see something a little more creative in this field of bikes, perhaps a dedicated single passenger only bike, so the truck doesn’t look like some type of misplaced appendage. With so few of them actually being used off road perhaps they could lower the seat height a tad……….. Anyway it is nice to see Suzuki redesigned the V-Strom and it’s powerplant.
these kinds of bikes make great two up rides, the strong – comfortable suspension travel being the largest contributing factor. So no manufacturer is going to make it a solo seat only bike. You turn it into that when you buy it – That’s why the BMW GS comes with a two piece seat.
No to the lower seat. There are plenty of bikes out there that fit those who are 6′ or under comfortably – most sport bikes and sport tourers, actually. Those of use who are longer of leg like these bikes for the greater leg room they give us – at least, that’s a big part of why I’m riding a V-Strom – got tired of having my knees folded up at too uncomfortably tight of an angle to be comfortably on longer rides.
For all the negative comments about the “beak” on these types of bikes, it’s become so commonplace that I rather see it as part of the look. I don’t really mind it. Similar I guess to BMW’s odd pairing of two dissimilar headlights on some of their bikes. When I first saw those it seemed all wrong, just wasn’t standard practice, but now, I don’t mind so much.
BMWs while having their own thing going on there have always looked too odd for me. with the exception of the 1000RR which is beautiful, not sure where that came from…
This seems like a really great bike if I hold my thumb up on the side view to cover the plastic on the front. There’s tons of quick release aftermarket fairings available, why not let me chose my own? Better yet, how about a factory optional quick release fairing that works well , that when removed is small and flat enough to fit in a saddle bag. Yet another example of a well engineered bike hindered by it’s “styling”. I’m suprised we haven’t heard of a “revolt of the engineers” yet. I guess the marketing dept doesn’t think it will sell in this class unless it looks like a GS. Personally I’d take this motor over a boxer anyday.
yeah, and im being serious here… whats the deal with the ‘beak’? why has it become a generic element on adventure bikes? i dont understand, its been excepted by multiple brands.
is it functional? the only comments ive read on multiple forums have been negative, yet i really havent heard people defending it. and why havent KTM used it in their design. if it has a function, surely they would use it no?? i for one, as i have stated many times on this forum in fact, find it hideous…
I like the engine size. 90 degrees, like a Duc. And 1200 is to big, so the size is right. Less is more. That goes for gizmos as well. And price. Fewer gizmos is better, please, especially if I have to pay for them.
A top case can be helpful, but first let’s get the saddlebags right. Those bags look like touring bags, a Concourse’s bags. We want adventure bags.
But I want a flat, long range seat. I don’t want to sit on my dangly bits for 600 miles. That’s why I don’t want a BMW. BMW seats are gawdawful. Unrideable. This motorcycle tries way too hard to emulate a BMW.
And definitely, no beak. It’s a deal breaker.
This bike looks like it is going to want to go south every winter.
funny, but a Rooster will hunker down for the winter
The V-Stroms have been established as a very enjoyable brand. I bet that this model will do as well. I just wish that somebody would make a model of adventure bike that was designed for us short people.
It’s fairly easy to lower these bikes. Most times since the bike was based upon a road bike design, they handle much better when lowered. Which is an added benefit. The current model of V-Strom has proven it’s self as a very reliable daily rider. They have an issue with a weak clutch. But other than that it’s a great bike.
Why – especially with a 1000cc twin! – do we need ABS and traction control? Are we really terrible riders that need electronic’s to keep us safe? Good God – what ever happened to throttle control, trail braking & technique? With ABS & throttle control, just wack the throttle open and stand on the brakes – the bytes will take care of you.
Thanks but no thanks.
re: “do we need ABS and traction control?”
yup, you must be saved from yourself.
no seriously, it’s a “value added”. and contrary to what people talk about regarding MotoGP, electrics are dirt cheap to implement. it allows them to compete in the segment, and affords the manufacturers a profit margin. ya know, the profit margin that allows them to stay in business, but we conspire 24/7 to try and block them from having.
DON’T DO THE BEAK, SUZUKI.
They must; its a f-a-s-h-i-o-n. If they don’t no sales, so they think.
I like it as is. I bought a new DL650 and I really like it. The one thing I would want (on both the 650 and the 1000) is better weather protection. Sure, the aftermarket will rush to develop taller and wider windscreens, but there is nothing like having weather protection engineered into the design.
A long range of adjustability of pegs, seat, and bars would also be a nice feature.
Yeh the beak …HACKSAW PARTY !!!
Maybe they took time to fix the KNOCKING clutch basket…Bankrupsy may help hire cheaper labor.
Zammy!
‘sup brother Boz ?
Bankruptcy was only in the US car business, nothing to do with the motorcycle end of things. It allowed them a smoother path when leaving the market.
Yes it did indeed close motorcycle plants world wide and about 20% of US dealerships so far …Suzuki won’t tell you they are in deep Doo doo but bankruptcy is …well…bankruptcy.
OK I give up, under that beak, handguards, radiator cover and other junk is a functional and possibly good looking bike. Just make it esy to pull all that junk off, and get a clean look without re-enginnering all the details once the covers are removed. You could re-sell them easy enough when adventure riders need parts after their last adventure on a 1 liter dirt bike.
No shaft drive? Styling doesn’t turn me off that much, but no shaft drive is a deal breaker for me.
Say you’re in the middle of the Atakama Desert. Do you think you’d be more likely to be able to fix a broken chain, or a broken driveshaft?
Point taken. Since I’ve never had a chain or driveshaft break on me and I’ve never ridden in a desert, I can’t comment. However, every time I’ve ridden on unsealed roads with a chain driven motorcycle, I’ve had to spend an hour post ride cleaning the chain. Sealed shaft drive, I just hose off the dirt. 30 seconds.
A nice, rectangular top loader saddlebag is great. An oddly shaped, sorta rectangular bag, not so much.
You’re kidding me Suzuki, right? Some sort of strange joke you are throwing out there, with the whole bird beak and all? This will probably be a great bike, with a great price, so the production unit will undoubtably look really cool, right?
yes, this bikes only saving grace will be it’s price. it’s sure to be to cheap. this bike reminds of BMW’s r1200st. with a face only a mother could love, motorrad put that thing out of it’s misery also.
What The ???? – This thing would get lost in the barnyard with the rest of the CHOOKS – What the hell is wrong with these bozo designers …. The only thing that might be ok is the engine – and even that isn’t a flowing design – Way to much like a bloody TRANSFORMER ROBOT for my liking …
SORRY _ NO SALE !!!
frostbite.
Ummmmm…Will Suzuki offer a snout eliminator kit? I feel like I should offer it a cracker or sunflower seeds. Otherwise very interesting.
re: “Will Suzuki offer a snout eliminator kit?”
gives the term “SNORKLECTOMY” a whole new meaning.
I don’t think there should be a law against it, but I’m all for a rule that motorcycle designers should have to wax their creations before they are release into the wild. This design is way to fussy with decoration containing hard to detail edges and too many of them. A mess in my opinion.
I know guys who would bitch-slap you if they ever caught you waxing the ABS of an adventure tourer. Just sayin …
That’s not a beak. More like the clasper of a great white shark.
i saw an outback pelican scoop a perch once.
Looks like adventure bikes are turning into the Universal Generic Motorcycle of this decade. They even share the same front wheel diameter of the 70s UJMs.
Looks like BMW GS and Triumph XC had a kid! I like the looks of it except for the luggage, which looks horrible.
“Lightweight, well-balanced Chassis” is the key element for me. Lightweight compared to a R1200GS won’t get it. Lightweight compared to Yamaha’s new FZ-09 (say 25 lbs more for the extra displacement and adventure tourer configuration) and I am REALLY interested.
Enough with the beak bikes!
Maybe it is just because I was a Hawk GT owner… but I am kind of liking the spar frame, over a 1000cc/100hp V-twin engine.
Now if only there were an SV1000S variant with this new frame and engine, with good suspension parts, and an aluminum single-sided swing arm.
I can’t bring myself to be enthused about a big road bike trying to be a dual sport. Not a R12GS, not a Multistrada, or a V-Strom.
I want my road bikes to actually be good looking, sportier-than-a-car, real road bikes. Not race replica, though, either.
R1200S, Ducati SS or Sport Classic, and SV1000S… real road bikes.
Looks just like Woody Woodpecker from the side.
eh eh eh eh eh……eh eh eh eh eh……eh eh eh eh eh…… eh eh eh eh eh eh eh eh eh.
Again with the beak…