Suzuki V-Strom SX – Suzuki’s quarter litre ADV player has arrived
Suzuki currently makes 2 250CC bikes which are the Gixxer twins i.e. the standard naked version and the fully faired SF. These are extremely capable bikes in the price bracket they sit in which is around the Rs. 2 lakh mark. The technology on offer is pretty good, the bikes are dynamically very capable as well and most importantly the 250CC powerplant in them is powerful, smooth and feels great to ride.
Science 13-Apr-2022
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Suzuki launched their Gixxer 250 based V-Strom SX adventure tourer a few days ago and it’s safe to say this is not a bike launch we were expecting and it did therefore come as quite a pleasant surprise.
Suzuki currently makes 2 250CC bikes which are the Gixxer twins i.e. the standard naked version and the fully faired SF. These are extremely capable bikes in the price bracket they sit in which is around the Rs. 2 lakh mark. The technology on offer is pretty good, the bikes are dynamically very capable as well and most importantly the 250CC powerplant in them is powerful, smooth and feels great to ride.
The V-Strom SX is the newest Suzuki bike to house this same engine and this time round is wrapped in an adventure tourer form factor. Suzuki’s V-Strom series of ADVs is hugely capable and well known in the 650CC and above space and they’ve made a bold move and decided to bring that legacy to the affordable 250CC space as well. This small 250 then has a lot to live up to.
The 249CC engine in the SX makes 26BHP and 22.2NM which are respectable and quite standard figures in this space and are identical to the Gixxers with no tuning changes having been done to the engine itself. Oddly enough the V-Strom also has the same headlight unit as the Gixxer which does look a bit of a misfit / cost cutting job on this brand new ADV. What’s even weirder is that the tail light of the V-Strom is exactly the same as the previous generation Gixxer which is an extremely questionable design choice indeed.
Well leaving aside these rather funny light placement choices, what’s the SX all about? It’s basically a low capacity adventure tourer for those who want a bike priced reasonably which can do the city run, sit happily on highways and not go belly up when it’s shown some trails or mild off-roading. This bike isn’t however a full blown off-roader since its suspension travel is actually the same as the Gixxer road bike. However it does get increased ground clearance at 205mm as well as a rather off-roady 19 inch front and 17 inch rear wheel combination as well as more knobbly tyres on the wheels themselves.
Suzukis are always built very well and this bike promises to live up to that in addition to being equipped with a very promising suite of features as well. The SX comes with Suzuki Easy Start System, Bluetooth connectivity via the Suzuki Ride Connect app, which offers features such as turn-by-turn navigation, incoming call, SMS alert, WhatsApp Alert display and missed call, speed exceeding warning, phone battery level display and the estimated time of arrival. A USB outlet on the left side of the instrument cluster can charge a device. It glows blue making it easy to spot and use even in low light situations. The missed call alert and caller ID feature are available only on Android systems. Overall in terms of features the V-Strom fares very well against its competitors, matching their levels of kit if not beating them in some cases.
The SX goes up against the likes of the KTM Adventure 250 and Benelli TRK 251 which are both also slightly road biased quarter litre adventure tourers. The Jap bike brings some freshness to this category and is also priced incredibly well at 2.12 lakh rupees ex-showroom which undercuts both the KTM and the Benelli. How it fares against these rivals on the road is a different story altogether though and is a story for another day.
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Devashish Puranik
Devashish Puranik is a student who is currently pursuing his bachelor's degree in Transportation Design at MIT Institute of Design. He is extremely passionate about automobiles and enjoys sketching, digital art, 3D modelling and ocassionally even animating his automotive creations. He enjoys exploring a wide variety of art forms besides automobiles and likes to experiment with different media and surfaces too. Besides this he has a love for content creation in the form of video as well as text. He creates automotive reviews and videos on his two YouTube channels Ignite Motorrad and Devashish Puranik and intends to grow them further alongside his educational course. Delivering content and hosting videos in front of the camera is one of his strongest points. He is a motorcycle enthusiast himself and goes on long tours on his bike and is part of a few motorcycling groups in addition to having started one himself. He keeps himself in the loop regarding all things automotive and is always seeking to expand his horizons in these fields.