LONG TERMER: Suzuki V-Strom 800RE

Mossy’s clocked over 7,000 miles on the Strom, together with lately dozens of laps at none apart from Cadwell Park! Right here’s how he bought on…

I may sense the sniggers as I rolled down into the holding bay at Cadwell Park. A lot of the smirking got here from riders of extra track-suited GSX-Rs, who in all probability thought I need to’ve been greater than a bit mad to take an journey bike across the tightly twisting turns and undulations of the well-known observe. ‘I’ll present ’em,’ I assumed.

Really, I had no proper to have any pace ambitions. The 800 may carry out very nicely on the highway, even when pushed onerous. Nevertheless, observe tempo is on one other degree altogether and would put the bike underneath much more strain. Any ‘weaknesses’ could be uncovered rapidly. In brief, I didn’t actually know what to anticipate from thrashing my V-Strom like by no means earlier than. 

Becoming a recent pair of Dunlop RoadSmart III tyres had been a vital mod in my e book and was certain to offer me the prospect to go a bit quicker and achieve this extra safely by providing higher grip. And although the helpful plastic baggage that has made life with the Suzuki a lot extra sensible, one thing I used to be reminded of in the course of the three-hour, 170-mile journey as much as Cadwell, eradicating it was certain to make the bike really feel extra agile.

Early circulations felt snug sufficient, and if I’m trustworthy, had a level of familiarity about them. I’d finished laps on my V-Strom 800DE a yr beforehand on the 2023 Suzuki Dwell occasion – a competition hosted on the identical venue by the UK wing of the Japanese model – and hadn’t disgraced myself. Theoretically, this model, the RE, could be extra suited due to its smaller entrance wheel giving it faster steering, with that dealing with benefit furthered by its 20-kilo lighter total weight. That’s positively the case on the highway, and never lengthy into the Cadwell journey I started to really feel the identical profit. 

I’ve seen on any observe rides I’ve finished of late, the first limitation to my lap instances is my health degree. However that very same pleasant, manageable really feel the V-Strom has on the highway can also be evident on observe. Cadwell Park is a ‘busy’ circuit in that you just all the time appear to be shifting across the bike catering for stuff like important adjustments of course and braking. Below regular circumstances that begins to put on me out a bit after as little as 10 laps, however the Suzuki’s upright using place and large bars provide you with loads of leverage to make muscling it round quite a bit simpler. I feel I did round 60 laps in whole by the tip, and although I wasn’t as recent as once I began, I used to be nowhere close to as knackered as I anticipated to be. 

The engine additionally performs a component within the 800’s extra relaxed really feel. Not particularly highly effective, producing solely 82bhp, means acceleration is modest and doesn’t produce the type of work-out that speedier observe instruments can. Simply as helpful, the pliability of the motor ends in fewer gear adjustments and a typically much less frantic journey. With much less total efficiency, braking doesn’t have to be as onerous and pressing both. I noticed a most of simply 115mph down every of the 2 straights, which might have been far increased or extra strenuous for these GSX-R riders. On the V-Strom the tall display screen provides a great deal of wind safety and slicing pace doesn’t generate a lot G-force, so I by no means had any arm pump. 

All in all, with its predictable steering, and surprisingly succesful suspension, navigating Cadwell was just about simple. Maybe the journey bike’s greatest benefit although is its underdog standing, that means if something extra track-focused overtakes you, that’s no loss. However in the event you get by them, you are feeling like an actual winner!

Chris Moss / 5 months / 7195 miles