Is the 2020 Suzuki V-Strom 1050 as good as it needs to be?

Chris is a freelance journalist who has been riding bikes and writing about them for over 30 years.

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For Suzuki’s sake, its new 2020 V-Strom 1050 adventure bike needs to do well. For several years the Japanese firm has been lagging behind the competition, quite simply because the very few new bikes it has brought out haven’t really been so new.

Instead, all we’ve had are either updated versions of current models, or re-inventions of others. You have to go back a long way to recall anything all-new and truly innovative from Suzuki.

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There are two versions of the V-Strom 1050: the £10,145 standard model, and the higher spec £11,455 variant. The chances of the new bikes achieving success aren’t exactly automatic. The big capacity adventure bike class is super popular and competitive these days, with a broad choice of very good bikes to mull over.

However, on paper at least, the Suzuki should be able to cut it. Its Euro-5 compliant engine has an extra 5hp of peak power with a fatter midrange thanks to numerous revisions to cams, pistons, and ECU, as well as bigger throttle bodies and a new exhaust. Altered suspension internals are said to offer more composed handling, and a host of electronic aids should help the 1050 to cope better with changing circumstances.

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The new ride by wire throttle arrangement, allied to a 6-axis inertial measurement unit (IMU) provides you with a choice of three riding modes, a selection of ABS settings (the XT has cornering ABS), an anti-stoppie feature, and an influence over brake balance when the rear shock senses more weight over the rear end (XT only). With hill hold, cruise control (also XT only) and heated grips, mile-eating promises to be secure and convenient.

To find out if that’s the case and if the Suzuki’s likely to be the winner it needs to be, we headed off to Malaga. Down in Andalusia, we whizzed around the mountain roads for a day on the higher spec XT model with its aforementioned electronic superiority, spoked wheels, engine bars, hand guards and centrestand. The test proved enlightening.

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Immediate impressions of the bike are good, though shorties like me with an inside leg of just 30 inches can’t quite get both feet flat on the floor. That’s the case even with the newly designed seat set in its lowest of two positions. In fairness though, it wasn’t the very longest of test rides, and my confidence in keeping the 1050 upright at a standstill was never dented. For anyone who does feel troubled, there’s a lower 830mm aftermarket seat available. The sensible, roomy riding position, plush bum perch, and very protective screen soon invite spending long days aboard. I have to admit the idea of riding the orange Suzuki back home to the UK, rather than the prospect of sitting in the cramped environment of a plane of similar colour was far more appealing.

It’s an easy bike to quickly feel at home on and pushing things along harder and faster couldn’t have felt much more straightforward. There’s a lovely overall balance to enjoy and its very predictable nature means progress always feels relaxed, even when you’re giving it large.

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It’s hard to judge the level of superiority the new V-Strom XT may have over the current model, but the motor does feel a bit keener, and the suspension definitely gives the impression it’s more controlled over bumps. That extra enthusiasm from the big V-twin motor was unfortunately soon suppressed by the effects of altitude once up high in the hills, but even so, you’d still have to rate it as pretty gutsy and very usable. Revving it harder is unnecessary, and though the gearchange was unusually slightly stiff on the bike I tried, I didn’t notice that too often as I didn’t have to swap cogs regularly to ensure enough acceleration. Its configuration and 1,037cc capacity (the same size as the old one even if it’s called a 1050, and the previous on a 1000) allows you to be lazier with your efforts and still get productive results. The flexibility’s a boon on any journey, especially a long one.

You won’t get too fatigued if the trip includes, like much of our test route did, plenty of challenging twists and turns. Steering sweetly, suspended well, and controlled safely by effective brakes, even though the XT is a whopping 14 kilos heavier than the old one, you don’t need much effort at all to boss it about. I can’t say I trusted the grip levels of all the Spanish roads, and after sampling the ‘delights’ of Ronda hospital following a heavy fall a few years back, wasn’t prepared to push really hard. But I always felt good and safe on the stable 1050, and that has to be viewed as a complimentary vote on the chassis.

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Another thing I’m happy to give the thumbs up to is the V-Strom’s new style. It’s been designed by the very same man who penned Suzuki’s DR750, the firm’s 1988 single cylinder trail bike. That was claimed to be the first bike to ever feature the now commonly seen ‘beak’. Striking, attractive and contemporary in look, the 2020 V-Strom is pleasing on the eye, even if the latest, more-functional looking TFT dash appears a bit dated.

By the time I finished the test, I was happy to praise the new 1050, though a couple of issues do spoil the fullest approval. First off, and it’s something that made me regularly giggle in disbelief, is the XT’s adjustable screen’s locking clamp. It’s a good idea, and being able to operate it without tools is a bonus. But it’s on the outside of the screen so the windbreak’s height can’t be moved until you stop and get off the bike. Not sure what people were thinking there.

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The other issue that stops me rating the bike more highly is its lack of any real wow factor. Dynamically competent though the V-Strom certainly is, it left me feeling a bit cold. It’s just not new or exciting enough to leave you feeling thrilled once you’ve clawed the stand down. In the same way that eating even your most favourite dish won’t inspire you if you scoff it too often, because the Suzuki’s not fresh or novel enough, it doesn’t quite have the potential to stimulate and earn complete approval.

To be fair to the Suzuki, I have ridden a few bikes that leave me feeling a bit underwhelmed after a launch test, which I’ve then gone to really like once I’ve lived with them a lot more. I suspect the V-Strom could well be one of those very worthy bikes that takes time to warm to, and given I’ve got one as a long term test bike for most of this year, I’m sure to find out. I have a sneaky feeling once I’ve clocked a few thousand miles on it, I’ll very much admire and approve of it. Time tends to be very informative, and I’m looking forward to the forthcoming learning period.