Trail – 2017 Suzuki V-Strom 1000 XT Test: a super cost! – Suzuki V-Strom 1000 XT test page 1 – Static: a taste for simple things

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2017 Suzuki V-Strom 1000 XT test: a super cost !

Trail - 2017 Suzuki V-Strom 1000 XT Test: a super cost! - Suzuki V-Strom 1000 XT test page 1 - Static: a taste for simple things

The Suzuki V-Strom 1000, relaunched in 2013 after a career suspension in 2008 due to Euro 3 standards, made small changes in 2017 to strengthen its versatility. Very slightly restyled and equipped with an ABS sensitive to the angle, the maxi-trail also receives a new more convincing screen. XT version trial.

Suzuki V-Strom 1000 XT test page 1 – Static: a taste for simple things

Remember the Herta commercials from 1985-2001, in which a child made a mill and a raft from pieces of wood and three pieces of string? While his mother was cutting slices of ham or cooking the brand’s sausages, doing the same things? Accompanied by music by Pierre Bachelet, these pubs advocated the joys of simplicity, with the slogan "Let’s not miss the simple things". A master stroke at the marketing level !

Trail - 2017 Suzuki V-Strom 1000 XT Test: a super cost! - Suzuki V-Strom 1000 XT test page 1 - Static: a taste for simple things

Since its return in 2014, the Suzuki V-Strom 1000 has tried to impose the same philosophy on fans of maxi-trails. The tendency is to overpower (160 hp for the, for example!) And sophistication at all costs? The V-Strom 1000 takes the opposite view with its performance and reasonable positioning, without neglecting the essentials. The goal ? Attract pragmatic bikers, a little frightened by the arms race in which the 1200 cc maxi-trails engage and frankly put off by their price which exceeds € 16,000 !

  • MNC of December 24, 2013  : Duel V-Strom 1000 Vs R1200GS
  • MNC of April 28, 2015 : 2015 Suzuki V-Strom range review

On paper, this rational approach is attractive: the V-Strom 1000 offers a 90 ° V-twin of 1037 cc sufficiently powerful (101 hp) to calmly face duo escapades, while its frame with double aluminum spars, its fully adjustable inverted fork and its radial 4-piston calipers ensure a healthy and efficient behavior. Comfort is matched thanks to its adjustable bubble without tools, its wide grab handles, its integrated luggage racks or its handguards and its adjustable levers in spacing. 

Its 12V socket on the dashboard, its shoe (unfortunately plastic), its adjustable traction control and deactivatable gas cut and its luggage rack on which can be placed an optional top-case (35 l with suitcases, 55 l only), advantageously complement a series endowment fairly extensive in view of its price placed under 13,000 € (see all). A "good cost", the Suzuki? Yes definitely !

Trail - 2017 Suzuki V-Strom 1000 XT Test: a super cost! - Suzuki V-Strom 1000 XT test page 1 - Static: a taste for simple things

And yet, the mayonnaise does not take: only 345 V-Strom 1000 found takers in France last year, against 4010 BMW (standard model and Adventure combined), reference and standard-bearer in the maxi-trail category! Beyond our borders, the comparison is hardly more flattering: Suzuki counts "64,900" sales of V-Strom 1000 in the world between 2002 and 2015 (with a break from 2008 to 2013), when the "Gehesse" – all versions – sold 46,727 units … in 2016 alone! A harsh "blow" for Hamamatsu’s coat of arms…

  • MNC report of the 2016 annual motorcycle and scooter market

The same only better … but not sexier !

It just goes to show that the biker is a complicated consumer, who regularly calls for a return to basics while eagerly throwing himself on the latest innovations always more efficient, high-tech and expensive … Still other factors also explain this success let’s say , mixed: the saddle of the V-Strom 1000 is not a comfort model, the space below is too small to fit a U, the protection is not perfect and the optional center stand makes the chain transmission look. 

Trail - 2017 Suzuki V-Strom 1000 XT Test: a super cost! - Suzuki V-Strom 1000 XT test page 1 - Static: a taste for simple things

And then – especially? – its insipid lines are frankly no dream, just like its dull finish … It is not insulting its designers to assert that the silhouette of a Honda – at random – is much more evocative! By presenting us its 2017 V-Strom 1000 vintage, Suzuki claims to have taken all these elements into consideration, frankly admitting its lack of sex appeal..

But by discovering the "novelty", MNC realizes that this aspect should not traumatize the manufacturer too much: the 2017 V-Strom 1000 is almost identical, aesthetically speaking, to the previous model! Without disassembling, its designers try to draw our attention to the remodeling of the front part: the nose is thus less pronounced, while the trim around the fork crown is slightly refined. But honestly, only enlightened connoisseurs will detect the difference ! 

The presentation of the V-Strom 1000 also evolves on some points of details, such as these plastic covers placed on the uprights of the frame to avoid scratches caused by the boots. However, the finish does not take a major step forward: the perceived quality remains correct, nothing more. Hoses and cables not very discreet around the engine, contactor barrel uncovered on its front part, valve on the exhaust exposed to the eye (and to all-terrain shocks): some details do not flatter the retina.

Same feeling at the sight of the vulgar piece of plastic sheath "chrome" which surrounds the hose of the rear brake, to protect it from the heat of the rear manifold. Finally, the welds of the frame are nothing exceptional while the square shaped mirrors are identical to those of the DR750S, the initiator of the famous "duck beak" on the big trails. Problem: the "Big" DR was launched in … 1988. Hello stylistic development !

Trail - 2017 Suzuki V-Strom 1000 XT Test: a super cost! - Suzuki V-Strom 1000 XT test page 1 - Static: a taste for simple things

Inside, the changes made are the same: "it’s an evolution, not a revolution," admits the Japanese manufacturer. Thus, in addition to its inevitable switch to Euro4 (causing a loss of torque of 2 Nm, with a total reduced to 101 Nm), the 2017 V-Strom 1000 receives a redesigned – but not thickened – saddle and a bubble whose height climbs by 49 mm. The tilt of this windshield is easily adjusted with one hand – while driving – in three positions. As on the 2017 V-Strom 650 discovered the day before by MNC, its height is adjusted by means of four screws and an Allen key.

  • 2017 Suzuki V-Strom 650 MNC Test :

For good measure against its more advanced rivals, the ABS is now informed by an inertial unit (IMU), which allows it to be sensitive to the inclination and the attitude of the motorcycle. The Bosch central unit also combines the forces between the front and the rear (coupled braking), for the benefit of the quality and comfort of braking. Everything else is virtually identical to the previous model, including the chassis. 

In the wake of our, MNC therefore takes the handlebars of the V-Strom 1000, also in "XT" configuration. This version with off-road accents is characterized by its 4 mm wider variable section handlebars and tubeless spoked rims, all offered at € 13,999 (€ 12,799 as standard). Will the 1000 prove to be as convincing as the 650 on the superb winding roads of Tarragona (Spain)? Answers in our on page 2 !

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