The Suzuki V-Strom 800RE was launched last year as a road-biased touring spin on the more off-road-focused, adventurous Suzuki V-Strom 800DE. The newest variant of the RE, the Tour, leans even more into that ‘touring’ identity.
The V-Strom 800RE Tour does not have the catchiest name on the market, but it does have enough space to catch all the stuff you might want to take with you on an international two-wheeled tour. That’s thanks to 112 litres of hard storage mounted to the rear of the bike in the form of two side cases (37 litres each) and one top box (38 litres).
Strictly speaking, these are not new cases: both the side cases and the top box are available as separate accessories on the standard Suzuki V-Strom 800RE for £938 and £515, respectively. The new 800RE Tour simply makes the cases more affordable.
Suzuki says the Tour version, which is priced at £11,199 compared to the standard bike’s £9,699, cuts the cost of adding the storage by £706.94 compared to adding them as separate accessories to the standard bike. The cases are available in either silver or black, while the bike itself is available in the same selection of Pearl Vigour Blue, Metallic Matt Steel Green, and Glass Sparkle Black as the regular RE.
Other than the storage, which implements a 130kph (81mph) speed limit on the bike, the specifications of the V-Strom 800RE Tour are identical to those of the standard bike. The 776cc parallel-twin still produces 82bhp and 58lb ft of torque, the Showa suspension is the same at both ends, the 19-inch cast front wheel is still paired with a 17-inch rear, and the same Nissin brakes are used, too. The ergonomic changes over the DE are the same on the Tour as the regular RE, meaning the footpegs are 14mm further back and 7mm higher than on the adventurer, while the aluminium tapered handlebars are 13mm lower, positioned 23mm further forward, and are 15mm narrower.
You also get a two-way quickshifter as standard, and have the option to choose between three different power mode settings, three different traction control modes, and a colour TFT display.
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