SUZUKI DL1050 V-STROM (2020 - on) Review

The 1050 is comfortable for just about any sort of road riding, from short trips into the local city or all day ‘recreational’ rides. The extra weight over the 650 is noticeable at slow speeds and the bike is quite top heavy, but this isn’t a problem if you remember to take care when manoeuvring at slow speeds. I tend to stop for fuel early, about 120 miles, for my own comfort but have done almost 200 miles between stops on several occasions without feeling too much discomfort.

The engine is probably the bikes best feature. I leave it in the B mode and it is powerful and as fast as I want to go. Overtakes are effortless and the engine is as happy running up and down the rev range riding a twisty B road as sitting on the motorway at a sustained high speed.

Like all Suzukis if you ride all year you have to keep on top of cleaning and protecting the finish. Regular use of Scottoiler 365 sees my bike still with no corrosion and only light ‘use scuffs’ after two years and almost 11k miles of all weather use.

I’ve guessed at an average cost, as so far only had the small service done and the more expensive service will be towards the end of this year. I will change the oil and filter half way between services as I like semi- synthetic oil to be used in my bikes having been told by a Suzuki mechanic, with the 650, that Suzuki clutches prefer it to fully synthetic oil. I have to travel to a main dealer, so am considering going back to the local place where a Suzuki/Honda trained mechanic provides a fantastic service for about 2/3rds the cost.

As said above you have to spec up all standard Suzukis at new, they are very basic otherwise. All official accessories are well made and fit well and I took the centre stand, hand guards, lower engine cowl(plastic), upper accessory bars, 55l Givi top box and adhesive protective stickers. The only things I’m disappointed with are the hand guards, as they are more for show than protection, compared to the comparable 650 ones and the fact that to remove the coloured tank plastics you have to loosen the engine bars to get enough clearance.

For the price it’s very good indeed. Adjustable and brakes are really powerful and modulate well.

It has the perfect horsepower and rideable qualities for an experienced rider who does everything from commute to tearing it up on the backroads. Freeways are ideal territory for this motor.

Too early to call reliability but the only thing is the bike has got stuck in 6 th gear 4 times. Rolling backwards sorts it.

Cheap but not an NC 750x or vstrom 650

The up to date modern cornering abs and traction control and hill control are great and needed like 3x a year but the cruise is essential for long stretches and the potential for quick shifter up and down is great.

Stock suspension very good needs a bit of tweaking but does not need after market suspension upgrade Brakes especially the front really strong

Very different to the DL1000 engine , more like a DL650 on steroids as really likes to rev

Early days but so far seems well put together

7.5k service intervals , 3 year warranty , 60 mpg

ABS ,TC , riding modes , adjustable levers , useful out of the factory , just added a center stand and top box plate

Suspension and brakes are excellent and I’m pretty picky about suspension in particular. I’ve spent a lot of money fitting high end suspension to various bikes so know what Ohlins etc feel like. While the big Strom may not have quite the quality of the very best suspension it is very good and is one of those very rare bikes I can happily live with right out of the box and that says a lot. On rough Highland back roads it soaks up the bumps well and flicks into corners beautifully, job well done by the Suzuki boys.

The engine is very usable and tractable and for a big V twin it pulls smoothly from low revs with good torque but still has a decent top end rush. Not got the top end of a big Ducati or KTM but more than enough go for most. It has various engine modes but I put it A when I got it and have felt no need to change it. Throttle is smooth with now hesitation or snatching when getting back on the throttle.

I’ve not had the bike long so hard to comment. However it looks well screwed together and been faultless so far. I’ve owned a few Suzuki’s in the past and never had a problem so see no reason this one should be any different. Compared to brands like BMW and Ducati it doesn’t have quite the same high end look to the finish and some areas look a bit more basic but it’s nearly half the price so you can’t complain.

I bought the standard model for £8995 on the road and the first service was £70, so have to give the bike five stars for value. Fuel consumption has averaged out in the mid fifties, so good for a big bike and the service intervals are 7.5k or yearly so should be cheap to run.

This is the base model but has most of what you need. ABS, traction control, various engine modes, a luggage rack, sat nav mounting bar, power socket, adjustable levers, a rear brake pedal that’s where it should be and a back brake that works. Also has a full length front mudguard that keeps most of the crap of the engine etc. Not sexy but blooming useful.

Brakes are a big step up from the 650 Vstrom. Excellent. I need to tinker with the suspension adjustment to suit me, but stock I’d say it was on the firm side and maybe a little bouncy? But no complaints to be fair, I’d rather that, as it gives confidence when deciding to push on a bit. Not that different to a R1250GS handling wise, had one of those too. Paid double for that compared to this. Comfort wise, I find the seat good, haven’t yet ridden longer than 1.5 hrs without getting off. But no issues.

Can’t fault the engine really. The spread of torque and power works well, better than the previous Vstrom 1000 as it has good useability throughout the rev range, it can bog down a bit below 3000 rpm in a higher gear though if you’re not too careful.

Haven’t had it that long so can’t comment at the moment, but everything I’ve seen looks well put together.

Fuel economy whilst running in, not above 4500 rpm (65-70 mph on and off) for the first 500 miles for some reason for me was only 68 mpg (imperial). That’s measured from tank to tank. But then I only weigh 75kg (Not including full gear) and the basic bike is 236kg. I expect that to drop as I can use the revs more freely. The economy above was not steady throttle in 6th either, due to break in requirements as per manual recommendations.

Features...well what do you really need you may ask. For me at 6.1” I need that small spoiler lip on top of the screen to deflect the wind which otherwise blasts the top of my helmet, otherwise it gets too tiring on a long journey. I’l put a Monokey rack and small 33 Trekker case on the back. Centre stand handy, Oxford heated grips. I’ll stop there, otherwise I’ll regret not getting the XT!