All the Duels – Duel Tiger 800 XCx Vs V-Strom 650 XT: adventurers or bullshit? – Motorcycles – practically – all-terrain

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Duel Tiger 800 XCx Vs V-Strom 650 XT: adventurers or talkers ?

All the Duels - Duel Tiger 800 XCx Vs V-Strom 650 XT: adventurers or bullshit? - Motorcycles - practically - all-terrain

Thanks to their spoked rims and their equipment for adventurous motorcycles, the new Triumph Tiger 800 XCx and Suzuki V-Strom 650 XT intend to go off the beaten track of the mid-size trail category.. A relevant bet? Duel.

Motorcycles – practically – all-terrain

If all maxi-trails or almost have their variation – a little more – oriented all-terrain (,,,, etc.), the offer in intermediate displacement – from 600 to 800cc – is limited to rare European models such as and even rarer Japanese "mid-size" trails.

Neither Kawasaki nor Honda for example seek to make vibrate the fiber "adventurer" via adventurous versions of their or. As for Yamaha, the aging XT660R certainly still occupies the "ground", but its single cylinder mechanically reduces its versatility..

This disaffection of the genre is regrettable, as mid-displacement trails prove to be relevant for those who plan to venture out on a rolling trail, whether to taste the charms of "light" enduro or to enjoy from a point of view inaccessible by road.

More obvious on the ground than the heavy maxi-trails (which have become road on stilts), the "mid-size" also support the comparison on the (auto) road stages, except during duo relaunch – less power requires. On paper, they are therefore monsters of versatility, formidable on all kinds of roads (especially the bumpiest) and capable of cutting through fields. Enticing, no ?

A priori not enough – commercially speaking -, since only two manufacturers animate in this niche in 2015: Triumph with its and Suzuki with its. Two new products recently landed in concessions and opposed in stride by MNC !

The mouth of employment

On this kind of motorcycles, the image takes on a primordial aspect. These trails must evoke adventure, wide open spaces, goat paths approached without hesitation when the road stops … And it doesn’t matter if the escape will be more imagined than business: drunkenness is sometimes felt by a simple contact with the bottle … hence the interest of the appearance of the said bottle !

In this area, the Tiger XC takes the advantage over the V-Strom 650 XT thanks to its 21-inch radiated front rim (19 on the Suzuki) and its White Power (WP) suspensions with generous travel of 220 mm at the front and 215 mm at the rear. That is 70 and 46 mm more travel than on the V-Strom XT (150 and 169 mm), strictly identical to the standard version in terms of damping. Pity…

The robustness released by the English tubular steel frame, its braided brake hoses and its high-quality stainless steel hardware also plead in its favor. Just like its stable and easy to unfold side stand (despite the absence of a lug), its notched brake pedal and its numerous protections (fork, radiator, lower engine, etc.).

Of course also the removable rubber supports (without tools) installed between the notches of the footrests (see thumbnail below), a trick that combines comfort on the road and grip in TT. Bad point on the other hand concerning the absence in series of the central stand, the hand guards, the heated grips and the protection bars around the 3-cylinder of 800cc.

A questionable choice given the orientation and the price of the Tiger XC (11,290 €), even if its rich technological content – ride-by-wire accelerator, deactivatable ABS and anti-skating, 12 V socket and full on-board computer – largely compensates for these shortcomings (see our table "Practical aspects" on page 3).

To take advantage of the above equipment as standard – and a solid aluminum shoe, not plastic -, you have to pay an additional 1200 euros (12 490 €) to afford the luxurious XCx version opposite in this duel. A damn tidy sum, especially compared to the € 8,599 requested by Suzuki to set off again on the handlebars of its V-Strom 650 XT !

Fatally, the counterparts of this floor price are perceived at first glance when the motorcycles are confronted statically: the quality of the performance of the "medium caliber" Hamamatsu trail is a net notch below, especially at the level of the ” integration of the electrical network, surface treatments and choice of materials.

The "beak" placed under the double optics and the engine guard (accessories specific to the V-Strom XT, just like the hand guards and the spoked rims) are thus really "plastoc". Decorative artifice, this shoe also covers only the sides of the lower engine, leaving exposed to shocks the underside of the 645cc twin-cylinder, its exhaust and its oil filter. Too bad for the crossing projects…

The old-fashioned orange turn signals, huge rectangular mirrors – unsightly but effective – and the basic square-section swingarm of the Suzuki also cost it points in the detail review. The Triumph, much more expensive, flaunts with its pretty white led indicators in the shape of a point and its elegant swingarm.

Less rewarding, the V-Strom XT nevertheless bravely supports the comparison by playing placed in terms of equipment: its instrumentation is rich, readable and can be controlled from the handlebars (like the Triumph), its grab handles are well designed and its pares – standard hands offer an effective bulwark against cold bites or chafing from branches !

The height of its screen also varies in three positions while it receives a damper preload adjustment wheel, practical equipment absent on the Triumph. Of course, raising or lowering your windshield requires taking out tools, but we forgive it insofar as it offers better protection of the head. Wider, that of the Tiger 800 however more effectively protects the shoulders.

To better distinguish itself, Suzuki could have taken the "adventurer" approach a little further on this XT version by grafting it as standard with a deactivatable ABS for "off-road" excursions, a central stand (€ 268.47 optional) or more engine protection bars (€ 198.20 optional).

Heated grips (€ 291.13 optional) would not have been too much, as well as an adjustable saddle: perched at 835 mm, the comfortable seat of the Suzuki does not allow you to put both feet flat in below 1.80m. No wonder for a trail, even if it is possible to do better in this area given the displacement of the V-Strom, in particular by reducing its arcade width.

The accessibility of the Triumph is even more selective despite its seat height adjustable without tools in a jiffy: not only because its seat is higher (840 mm mini, 860 mm maximum), but above all because its general size is larger. , especially between the thighs because of the greater width of the "3-legs" facing the v-twin.

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