Why This Suzuki Adventure Bike Still Has Cult Status

Suzuki is the smallest of the Japanese four two-wheeler companies, and it usually doesn’t get much love outside of a few models. Yes, there’s the Hayabusa, but the rest of the famous brands like the Katana and GSX-R seem to be lagging behind the competition. They tend to sell more by virtue of their great value.

And this is something that Suzuki does extremely well: deliver value. It has the most powerful cruiser under $20,000, the Hayabusa doesn’t have much competition anymore, and you’ll find it very difficult to find sport tourers that deliver better value than the GSX-S models. Among all of these, though, the Suzuki adventure bikes get the least attention simply because the adventure bike segment is a popular one, and there are new models and features added all the time – and Suzuki does things at its own pace. There is one midsize adventure bike that has a devoted following, though. And here is why this Suzuki adventure bike still has cult status.

To give you the most up-to-date and accurate information possible, the data used to compile this article was sourced from authoritative sources, such as Suzuki Cycles.

Here’s Why The Suzuki V-Strom 650XT Still Has Cult Status

Price: $9,799

The V-Strom 650’s roots can be traced to the SV650 naked bike, which in turn was designed as a cost-effective alternative to the Ducati Monster. The SV was a fun bike in its own right, and happily, that fun DNA has carried forward to the V-Strom 650 series. The base V-Strom 650 is the touring motorcycle, with alloy rims and tarmac-biased tires. However, for just $500 more, you can have the V-Strom 650XT with its tubeless spoke rims, although the rim sizes remain 19/17 inches. Suzuki’s 650cc platform has always been a well-mannered one with enough refinement to hang with the current crop of bikes as well. This, coupled with its incredibly low maintenance costs and equally high reliability, have made it achieve cult status.

Suzuki V-Strom 650XT Engine

Simplicity is the name of the game here. Today’s parallel twins all want to ape the character of a 90 degree V-twin, but they need to employ power-sapping counterbalancers to give them acceptable levels of refinement. The V-Strom 650 engine is old school in layout, but it has always employed fuel injection and water cooling, and it breathes through 4 valves per cylinder operated by dual overhead camshafts. This is a reasonably high compression engine as well, and while the 69 horsepower and 51 pound-feet might not sound like much, take a closer look, and you’ll see that those peak figures are separated by 1,600 RPM, hinting at how flexible this engine is.

Simple But Effective Tech Makes The Engine Up To Date

Suzuki has also equipped it with the ‘SDTV’ Suzuki Dual Throttle Valve technology. This places a second set of throttle valves in line with the primary cable-actuated ones. These secondary valves are computer controlled. They help smooth out power delivery, on-off throttle transitions, and play the same role that the choke does on carbureted bikes for cold starts. The cable-actuated throttle means that there aren’t ride modes or cruise control, but there is traction control. The six-speed gearbox has a tall sixth ratio for comfortable highway cruising, but lacks an assist and slipper clutch and quickshifter. A chain drives the rear wheel.

Suzuki V-Strom 650XT Chassis

The V-Strom 650’s skeleton is an aluminum twin spar frame. This is unusual today, with most midsize bikes opting for steel tubes as they are more cost-effective and lighter. There’s no doubt that an aluminum frame will weather the elements better, though. The engine is used as a stressed member of the chassis as well. The suspension is as simple as they come: regular forks up front, and a link-type single shock at the rear. There is adjustment available for spring preload and rebound damping at both ends.

Adventure-Touring Wheels Make This A Versatile Package

The wheels consist of a 19 inch front and 17 inch rear for all versions of the V-Strom 650. The 650XT gets spoke rims that support tubeless tires, and Suzuki uses a unique spoke design to achieve this. The brakes are equally simple but effective: twin 310 mm discs at the front are grabbed by two axial floating calipers. The dual-channel ABS isn’t switchable; the V-Strom 650XT has no illusions about what it is, and it is part of what makes it so brilliant. Curb weight stands at 470 pounds, which puts it on the portly side for the class but given its tarmac-bound intentions, is alright.

Suzuki V-Strom 650XT Features

In keeping with its retro roots, the instrumentation on the V-Strom 650 consists of a large analog tachometer that also houses the warning lamps, and the rest is displayed in an LCD display. Despite it looking old, it displays a lot of information, including but not limited to the gear indicator, distance to empty, traction control, the time, ambient temperature, fuel level, coolant temperature, odometer, and of course, the speed.

The windscreen is manually adjustable and has three different levels of adjustment, just like the traction control. The V-Strom 650XT Adventure is the most expensive variant at $10,999, and gets hard luggage and mirror extenders for the extra cost. On the options list is a center stand, heated grips, different footpegs, aux lamps, and seats with different heights, both low and high.

Suzuki V-Strom 650XT Competition

The Only V-Twin In Class

The V-Strom 650XT is a low-cost midsize adventure bike that knows its place in the world. Its calling cards are reliability and low ownership costs, with a dollop of fun. There are a couple of very strong competitors available today with similar characteristics. We’d consider Suzuki’s other midsize adventure bike, the V-Strom 800DE, but at $11,799 it is a little too much of a reach from the 650. You could also look at the Yamaha Tenere 700 – it is a simple, light, fun bike made better with the additions of a by-wire throttle, ride modes, and an optional two-way quickshifter.

We’re then left with the manufacturer that usually has the most value products, CFMoto. The Ibex 800 E has a startling list of features – the most not just among its peers, but in the price range, period. However, if you’d rather go with an established name, the Honda XL750 Transalp costs just $200 more than the V-Strom 650XT, and the kind of equipment it offers, it makes even the V-Strom look like less value. You get the most powerful ADV under $10,000, switchable ABS, a two-way quickshifter, and a 5-inch TFT color screen with Bluetooth and navigation.

Suzuki V-Strom 650XT Vs Rivals