The platform, a first for Suzuki, consisting of the 776 cc twin-cylinder engine and the steel frame could soon receive a new evolution. Born with the V-Strom 800 DE (the maxienduro with a 21-inch front wheel) and the GSX-8S, this platform will certainly not be limited to just two models. We’ve already mentioned the likely arrival of a fairing for the GSX-8R, while we’ve made some assumptions about the V-Strom 800 with a 19-inch front wheel, based on the emissions documents filed with the California Air Resources Board and the Swiss vehicle homologation documents discovered by our colleagues at Motorcycle.com, who published the very low-resolution photographs of the bike taken at the Australian homologation authorities.
As mentioned, the V-Strom 800 loses the DE suffix to receive a 19-inch front wheel with a 110/80-19 tire and other details point to a taller fairing and a weight loss of a good 7 kg (probably due to the absence of the sump guard and handlebar protectors), as well as a change in external dimensions that suggest the same approach and philosophy expected for the two 1050 models. Notice in the photo the suspension with less travel than on the DE, the alloy wheels and a different, more protective fairing.
Will we see it at EICMA 2023? From our point of view, it’s very likely. More uncertain is the fate of the twin-cylinder engine and, consequently, of the V-Strom 650, the Hamamatsu production’s adventure touring bike: an excellent and best-selling motorcycle, but one that could capitulate at the moment, both because of the presence of the V-Strom 800, which overlaps to some extent, and because there may no longer be any reason to upgrade the glorious 650 cc V-engine for the Euro5+ future. We’ll see.