Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128144
RIIIIDIEC:J The V-Strom is brand new from the ground up... except for the motor. It's basically the same V-twin engine that powered Suzuki's TLl OOOS and TLl OOOR street bikes, but detuned a bit to increase the V-Strom's usability. Where the TLlOOOR (the TLlOOOS is no longer with us) pumps out nearly 130 horsepower, the V-Strom's engine delivers a claimed 98 peak horsepower at 7600 rpm, which is still quite respectable. With horsepower figures like this, Suzuki is rightfully entitled to dub the V-Strom a "Sport" Adventure Tourer, and perhaps hail it as, indeed, the first of its kind. Further emphasizing the "sport" performance side of the V-Strom is its relative light weight. Comparing claimed dry weight figures (unfortunately, I couldn't fit our scale into my gearbag) of the BMW Rl150GS and the V-Strom, the Suzuki comes out significantly lighter. The BMW checks in at 530 pounds, and the V-Strom at 456 pounds. To satisfy the touring criteria, the V-Strom features a large 5.81-gallon fuel tank, a small (but effective) windscreen, handguards (they call 'em "knuckle guards" down there), and a relaxed, upright seating position. To fit that adventure theme, Suzuki styled the V-Strom with that go-anywhere look, including going off-road, but, in reality, Suzuki had no intentions of actually going anywhere near the dirt when they were designing the V-Strom. In fact, when we were first invited to go to South Africa to ride the bike, Suzuki made it quite clear right off the bat that we would be riding entirely on the pavement. Still, if we had come across a tempting dirt road, I probably wouldn't have felt too guilty about taking it on the dirt, especially compared to a more "regular" street bike. 16 MARCH 6, 2002' II: U II: • 2002 Suzuki V-Strom We were pretty much thrown right into the fire when we left our hotel in Cape Town for our first ride on the VStrom. In the heavy traffic, we had no choice but to quickly adapt to riding on the "wrong" side of the road, while trying to keep our group leader in sight. Most of my concentration at this time was spent on these challenges, but I did get a chance to think about the V-Strom for a moment or two before the roads opened up. I appreciated how well the Suzuki accelerated from just about any rpm setting when it was time to make a risky pass on a car or truck - the bike flat-out moves, which comes as no surprise, really. After all, the TLl OOOs (which share the Strom's motor) might have some glitches, but a lack _ n _ ... s of power certainly isn't one of them. When traffic finally thinned out as we entered the open countryside, leaving the hectic pace of city life behind us, I was finally able to actual- Iy think about the bike and what it was doing. And it was doing a lot of good things. Not only does the V-Strom accelerate well, but it's downright fast. ~fJJ@@5(jfj(§5fflJn@fiDr;; fJ@@fJ ~[}f]Zlr[}f]rz5 \!lo@(JfJ@[JiJjJ V@@@ ENGINE Eight-valve, DOHC, 90-degree, V·twin, four-stroke DISPLACEMENT 996cc ENGINE COOUNG Uquid·cooled COMPRESSION RATIO 11.3:I COMBUSTION CHAMB.ER DESIGN .....•...•.•.....Twin Swirl Combustion Chamber , .98.0 X 60.0mm BORE x STROKE REDUNE ........................•..•..••.....................9500 rpm VALVE TRAIN TYPE , Bucket Tappets, gear cam drive FUEL DEUVERY SYSTEM Fuel injection AIR FILTER TYPE ...........•..•••.....•.•.........Non-woven fabric element 2·2 EXHAUST SYSTEM IGNITION Electronic (transistorized) Wet sump LUBRICATION SYSTEM FUEL CAPACITY 5.8·gal. TRANSMISSION 6-speed constant mesh CLUTCH .........•.•••••••••.•...•...•.....•............ 'wet multi-plate PRIMARYDRJVE .57/31 (1.838) F1NALDRJVE .41/17 (2.411) FRAME Twin spar (aluminum alloy) RAKE .........••.•••••••••••••••.•.•••••••••..........26-degree 30 min. TRAIL 4.3 in. WHEELBASE 60.4 in. SEAT HElGHT 33.1 in. SUSPENSION Front 43mm, telescopic. coil spring, cartridge-type (non-adj.) Rear Unk type, single-shock (semi-adj.) WHEEL TRAVEL Front 6.3 in. Rear 6.3 in. BRAKES Front .......•..............Dual floating 310mm discs, 2-piston Tokico calipers Rear Single 260mm disc, I-piston Nissin caliper WHEELS Front 19 in. M/C X MT 2.50 in., cast-aluminum alloy Rear 17 in. M/C X MT 4.00 in., cast-aluminum alloy TIRES Front 110/80 R19M/C (59H), tubeless Rear 150/70 RI7M/C (69H), tubeless CLAIMED DRY WEIGHT .456Ibs. O/A LENGTH 90.4 in. O/A WIDTH 34.1 in. O/A HEIGHT ............................................•...... .52.6 in. GROUND CLEARANCE 6.5 in. COLOR ...................................•..•.. .. _ Black MSRP ..................•••.•••••.•..••..•••••.•••••••••••••....$8899