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/262687
2014 SUZUKI V-STROM DL1000 ABS FIRST RIDE P60 anything else I've felt on the road. The front brake is a little grabby initially, but beyond that, stopping power is impressive. The rear also had good stopping power but feel is a little on the spongy side. The stock windscreen works well as it creates a nice pocket behind it. The wind blockage and wind noise reduction from manual adjustment was noticeable when going from city streets to high speeds on the highway. I usually chose to run the windscreen in the top position, as it provided the most wind protection and made for a more enjoyable ride. If you want more, a larger wind- screen is available from Suzuki. In redesigning the new V-Strom 1000, Suzuki took little consider- ation into off-road riding. Suzuki downplayed any off-roading with the previous V-Strom and has downplayed it even more with the new one. Suzuki research showed that very few V-Strom owners take their bikes off the pavement, so Suzuki aimed the new V-Strom more towards the masses than the few. In Spain, no dirt roads were incorporated into the ride, nor were any with our California ride, except for one small portion just to show that the 'Strom can handle some very light-duty off-roading on well-maintained, hard-packed dirt roads. Any thing worse can truly turn into an adventure real quick on the 'Strom. It wallows terribly in soft terrain, the front end pushes in the turns, and tires offer little traction. And don't ex- pect traction control to help out, not when you have to slide the back end to get it to turn. TC isn't a benefit in the dirt. Back on pavement, however, traction control is awesome. It's comforting to know it's there, es- pecially on wet or loose (gravely) pavement. On the dry, it'll do its thing without you even knowing it, except for when the little light that comes on the dash telling you so. TC is not intrusive in any way, except for, perhaps, in the most sensitive mode (number 2). Sometimes I felt it reacting a little prematurely in my opinion. Our two days on the bike went entirely too fast. The ride ended with me wanting more, a lot more. The easy-to-ride V-Strom is a kick in the pants to ride, whether its on the open road for a long haul, taking a day trip to the lo- cal mountains, for taking in some canyon riding, or for just using it as an everyday commuter. So, it might not be the ride of choice on the dirt, the $12,699 V-Strom does everything else as good as the big money bikes do, maybe even better in many areas. Even the fully loaded V-Strom 1000 ABS Adventure, which comes with hard bags and a host of ad- venture-riding goodies, is still a bargain at $13,999 compared to the 1000cc-plus bare-boned ex- otic adventurers. Without doubt, the new V- Strom 1000 ABS is a great way to start your adventure. CN SPECIFICATIONS 2014 Suzuki V-Strom 1000 ABS ENGINE TYPE: ... Liquid-cooled, DOHC, 90-degree, V-twin, 4-stroke BORE/STROKE: .....100.0mm/66.0mm DISPLACEMENT: ....................... 1037cc COMPRESSION RATIO: .................11.3:1 FUEL SYSTEM: ................Fuel-injection IGNITION SYSTEM: ...............Electronic LUBRICATION SYSTEM:....... Wet sump HORSEPOWER (Claimed): ........99.2hp/ 8000 rpm TORQUE: ............... 76 Lb-Ft/4000 rpm MAX OUTPUT (kW): .. 74kW/8000 rpm TRANSMISSION: ..... 6-speed constant mesh CHASSIS: Aluminum twin-spar frame FRONT SUSPENSION: ........43mm KYB inverted fork, fully adjustable REAR SUSPENSION: ...... Single shock, link-type, preload adjustability RAKE/TRAIL: ......... 25-degree/109mm FRONT BRAKE: .. Dual 310mm floating discs w/Tokico dual-piston calipers REAR BRAKE: .Single 260mm disc w/ Tokico single-piston caliper ABS: ..................................................Yes TRACTION CONTROL: ......................Yes FRONT WHEEL: ...........19M/CxMT2.50 (10 spokes) REAR WHEEL: ....... 17M/CxMT4.00 (10 spokes) FRONT TIRE: .......Bridgestone BW501 REAR TIRE: ......... Bridgestone BW502 O/A LENGTH: ......................... 2285mm O/A WIDTH: ............................. 865mm O/A HEIGHT: ........................... 1410mm WHEELBASE: ...........................1555mm GROUND CLEARANCE: .............. 165mm SEAT HEIGHT: .................................N/A CURB MASS: ............................502 lbs.