The Suzuki V-Strom 650 will be the next adventure tourer to be launched in India, and it's expected to be priced at Rs. 7.5 lakh (ex-showroom). Suzuki dealers have started accepting bookings for the V-Strom 650 for an amount of Rs. 50,000. Sources in Suzuki have confirmed to Carandbike that the V-Strom 650 will indeed be the next motorcycle launch from the Japanese manufacturer. The V-Strom 650 will be assembled in India from completely knocked down (CKD) kits, and is powered by a 645 cc, liquid-cooled, four-stroke, v-twin engine which makes around 70 bhp of power at 8,800 rpm, and 66 Nm of peak torque. The V-Strom 650 has a kerb weight of 213 kg.
(In India, the Suzuki V-Strom 650 will be available in a choice of two colours)
Internationally, the Suzuki V-Strom 650 is available in two variants - a standard V-Strom 650 and a V-Strom 650 XT. The standard version comes with aluminium alloy wheels and Bridgestone Battle Wing tyres, while the XT version has aluminium wheels with stainless-steel wire spokes, along with tubeless Bridgestone Battlax Adventure tyres. The XT also gets plastic protection for the front header pipe and engine cases, as well as standard hand guards and heavier vibration-reducing bar-ends. In India, Suzuki will launch just the standard variant, in two dual-tone colours - black and yellow, and black and white.
The Suzuki V-Strom 650 comes with 19-inch front wheel and a 17-inch rear wheel, and standard dual-channel ABS which cannot be switched off. In terms of electronic rider aids, the V-Strom 650 comes with a two-level traction control system which can be switched off as well. The closest rival to the Suzuki V-Strom 650 is the Kawasaki Versys 650, which is priced at around Rs. 6.6 lakh (ex-showroom). The V-Strom 650 will be the third Suzuki big bike to be assembled in India, after the Suzuki Hayabusa and the Suzuki GSX-S750.
