2014 Suzuki V-Strom 1000: First thoughts | GTAMotorcycle.com

2014 Suzuki V-Strom 1000: First thoughts

Cranky Pete

Well-known member
I took a new Strom on a 600 km rip through Muskoka and Haliburton on Thursday.

First thoughts...


  • Not a conventionally handsome bike, but very striking, with great fit and finish. Better looking in person than in photos.
  • Comfortable riding position, with a firm but supportive seat. One of the better stock saddles I've experienced.
  • The motor has a lot of oomph. It feels comparable to an R1200GS, even though it has fewer horses. The gearing is extremely relaxed on the highway--the tach was reading 4700 rpm at 130 km/hr.
  • I did find the motor to be a bit on the rough side above 6000 rpm. I ride a Wee, so I was expecting the same silky smoothness. However, I rarely found myself revving it hard. There's plenty of power in the lower rev range, and anything approaching the redline above 2nd gear puts you well into illegal speeds.
  • The adjustable windshield--you can click through various positions with one hand, even at speed--is a smart design, and very effective.
  • The brakes were powerful but very sensitive. A gentle squeeze with one finger is plenty.
  • The handling and suspension were impressive. You can really rail through corners on this thing.
  • Hard bags were too small. The one fitted around the exhaust was practically useless.
  • Fuel range showed 330 km, which is about 70 km less than my Wee.
  • Overall, I'll give it an A-. If the motor was smoother and the brakes easier to modulate, I'd give it top marks. Even still, it will probably be my next bike.
 
I liked the bike, but disliked the change to premium fuel. There have been too many times I have been out riding far from home and the only gas station open only had regular octane. Not to mention the extra costs of the premium fuel.
 
I liked the bike, but disliked the change to premium fuel. There have been too many times I have been out riding far from home and the only gas station open only had regular octane. Not to mention the extra costs of the premium fuel.

Fair point. Although I'm sure a tank of regular in a pinch wouldn't be that big a deal.
 
Looks like a good all-round bike to me. I would prefer a smaller engine on a bike like that (500-600cc) to increase range between fill-ups.
 
Fair point. Although I'm sure a tank of regular in a pinch wouldn't be that big a deal.
If your bike is fully loaded on a tour, your bike can stall while attempting to accelerate
 
If your bike is fully loaded on a tour, your bike can stall while attempting to accelerate

87 octane vs. 91 makes that big of a difference? I doubt it. You might get some pinging on a hot day. It wouldn't be good for your motor in the long run. But I doubt it would just up and quit.
 
The adjustable windshield--you can click through various positions with one hand, even at speed--is a smart design, and very effective.
Do you have a Madstad on your 650? I was wondering how the new adjustable windshield compares to the Madstad bracket. I really like the Madstad for being able to adjust it while on the move.

Thanks for the review - they are nice bikes for sure. I'd like to ride one for 600km through the Muskoka and Haliburton areas!
 
Do you have a Madstad on your 650? I was wondering how the new adjustable windshield compares to the Madstad bracket. I really like the Madstad for being able to adjust it while on the move.

Thanks for the review - they are nice bikes for sure. I'd like to ride one for 600km through the Muskoka and Haliburton areas!

Yep, I've got the Madstad. The new screen is the same in principle, but easier to adjust on the fly. It allows you to set the angle of the windscreen, from about 45 degrees to 90. You just push the screen with your hand to click to progressively steeper angles. On the fourth click it will re-set to the original position. There are three height settings, but that's adjusted by allen key.
 
87 octane vs. 91 makes that big of a difference? I doubt it. You might get some pinging on a hot day. It wouldn't be good for your motor in the long run. But I doubt it would just up and quit.

Yep, an engine under load & not under load makes a big difference. That's why there is a difference between Research Octane # and Motor Octane #.

During acceleration, your engine is under load and if it pings, it means that the gas/air mixture is exploding before the spark plug goes off. The timing is off and can give stalling issues.

At higher RPMs, its less of an issue because the engine has more momentum and is under "less" load.

I've experienced this first hand on my bike & car. My bike requires 91 oct, if I put 89 it will stall while accelerating.
I have a BMW car, the computer will compensate for 89 oct, but anything under that and you can't even drive properly.
 
Yep, an engine under load & not under load makes a big difference. That's why there is a difference between Research Octane # and Motor Octane #.

During acceleration, your engine is under load and if it pings, it means that the gas/air mixture is exploding before the spark plug goes off. The timing is off and can give stalling issues.

At higher RPMs, its less of an issue because the engine has more momentum and is under "less" load.

I've experienced this first hand on my bike & car. My bike requires 91 oct, if I put 89 it will stall while accelerating.
I have a BMW car, the computer will compensate for 89 oct, but anything under that and you can't even drive properly.

Huh! Good to know. Thanks!
 
I bought one, love riding it. Engine is a little on the weak side at 100HP, not sure why it needs high octane fuel not being a performance engine and all.
 
I picked one up near the end of August and have about 3000KM on it now. So far I'm really happy with it. I upgraded from an '07 EX650 and I was worried it would feel heavy in comparison, but I haven't noticed a difference in weight. It's really well planted in the corners compared to my old bike, very confidence inspiring. One thing I was looking to improve with a bigger bike was highway riding and it's definitely better. Like Pete said it will keep up with fast traffic with the engine still at a fairly low RPM. At highway speeds I do get some buffeting right at the top of my helmet, so I'm considering getting an aftermarket screen for it.

The brakes did take a bit of getting used to, but once you're familiar with them they're fine. I bought the non-SE model and then got givi bags for it because I read that the suzuki bags were too small.

I wasn't thrilled about it requiring premium either, but I figure if I'm stuck someplace without premium I'll put regular in it and hope it doesn't blow up.
 
I have a hard time understanding this whole move to premium fuel.

The V-strom (along with the KLR) come off as the cheap man's adventure bikes, when compared to Beemers, KTMs, etc..

So to go along that line, people who buy adventure bikes go on adventures. Just take the ride to The James Bay for example, there is likely no premium fuel past Rouyn-Noranda. For the Labrador run, premium is rare, likely only found in Lab City and Happy Valley Goose Bay. If you run up to Alaska, Yukon, and N.W.T, it is probably equally as rare. There are probably countless small town gas pumps through Canada and USA that also do not carry premium.

I buy shell premium (occasionally) for my wee-strom simply to avoid ethanol, but if it required premium fuel I would not have bought this bike. That to me is a deal killer.

Speaking of premium fuel... why is it that here in Ontario premium can be upwards of $0.20/l more than regular? In Newfoundland and other places in the Maritimes I noticed premium is only a $0.05/l surcharge... which is much more tolerable. Is there more demand for premium here causing us to get the shaft once again? What is it?
 
Speaking of premium fuel... why is it that here in Ontario premium can be upwards of $0.20/l more than regular? In Newfoundland and other places in the Maritimes I noticed premium is only a $0.05/l surcharge... which is much more tolerable. Is there more demand for premium here causing us to get the shaft once again? What is it?

They have government mandated price fixing out east, the price of fuel only changes something like once a month and normal gas is normally $0. 10 more than here. I guess as part of the game, they take more profit on normal gas, less on premium.

In ON, I suspect nobody makes any money on regular as they all want the lowest price on their sign and they have to make it up by jacking up premium. Since they sell a lot less premium, $0.01 per litre won't do much so is suspect premium profit here is more like $0.20 per litre. Costco runs much tighter margins and that's why there regular is not much different than normal stations, but their premium is substantially cheaper. All this is just a guess but it makes sense to me.
 
They have government mandated price fixing out east, the price of fuel only changes something like once a month and normal gas is normally $0. 10 more than here. I guess as part of the game, they take more profit on normal gas, less on premium.

In ON, I suspect nobody makes any money on regular as they all want the lowest price on their sign and they have to make it up by jacking up premium. Since they sell a lot less premium, $0.01 per litre won't do much so is suspect premium profit here is more like $0.20 per litre. Costco runs much tighter margins and that's why there regular is not much different than normal stations, but their premium is substantially cheaper. All this is just a guess but it makes sense to me.

What surprised me the most once I got as far East as I could go, was that back in August the price of gas here and in St.Johns were identical -- both were $1.25/l in early August. Apparently all premium brands in NWFL are ethanol free, and at only $0.05 more I filled up premium everytime.

In fact, gas prices in St. John's are still the same or cheaper than here: http://www.newfoundlandgasprices.com/
 
I have a hard time understanding this whole move to premium fuel.

The V-strom (along with the KLR) come off as the cheap man's adventure bikes, when compared to Beemers, KTMs, etc..

So to go along that line, people who buy adventure bikes go on adventures. Just take the ride to The James Bay for example, there is likely no premium fuel past Rouyn-Noranda. For the Labrador run, premium is rare, likely only found in Lab City and Happy Valley Goose Bay. If you run up to Alaska, Yukon, and N.W.T, it is probably equally as rare. There are probably countless small town gas pumps through Canada and USA that also do not carry premium.

I buy shell premium (occasionally) for my wee-strom simply to avoid ethanol, but if it required premium fuel I would not have bought this bike. That to me is a deal killer.

Speaking of premium fuel... why is it that here in Ontario premium can be upwards of $0.20/l more than regular? In Newfoundland and other places in the Maritimes I noticed premium is only a $0.05/l surcharge... which is much more tolerable. Is there more demand for premium here causing us to get the shaft once again? What is it?

On the KTM 690 there is a map selector that allows you to lower the quality of fuel needed. Don't the F800GS and F1200GS beemers auto detect poor fuel and adjust?

Maybe on the next V-Strom... *shrug*
 
I've experienced this first hand on my bike & car. My bike requires 91 oct, if I put 89 it will stall while accelerating.
I have a BMW car, the computer will compensate for 89 oct, but anything under that and you can't even drive properly.

Get a tuneup. I disagree that running 89 instead of 91 for a tankful will be such a headache (bike or car). I've been stuck and had to run 87 in my "91 Only" bike and wasn't even close to stalling even just past tickover and it makes a hell of a lot less torque than a 1000 Strom. Same for my "91 Only" car, no issues for the turbo-4 moving a 4000lb+ SUV running 87. If your car can't be driven properly if it's fed -3 octane it's got issues.
 
On the KTM 690 there is a map selector that allows you to lower the quality of fuel needed. Don't the F800GS and F1200GS beemers auto detect poor fuel and adjust?

Maybe on the next V-Strom... *shrug*
Not sure if the r1200gs auto detect or not, but I have put in low octane fuel in my r1200gsa with a full load with no noticeble difference. I do always fill up with high octane when I can though.
 

Back
Top Bottom