The designers’ goal of the new Suzuki V-Strom 800DE was to create a compact and lightweight frame that would provide comfort and stability, even when riding with a passenger and luggage. The new engine, with its remarkable longitudinal compactness (especially when compared to the 90° V with which the Suzuki engineers were used to dealing with!) allowed the Japanese engineers maximum design freedom.
The first effect is a forward driving position compared to the V-Strom with the V-Twin engine. Putting the rider further forward in itself improves the balance of the bike and the feeling of the rider. The supporting structure is tubular steel, with a sort of trellis and two thin lower tubes that close the cradle. In this way the engine does not have a load-bearing function, but only under stress, i.e. it helps to give the right stiffness to the frame.
Connected to the main structure, the seatpost frame is bolted and this is an excellent thing, because in the event of problems or an accident, if it is necessary to intervene, perhaps by welding, everything is simpler than with non-removable frames. The structure of this frame is thin, but generous in size and this is because it can be seen that it was created to accommodate passengers and luggage. The braking system uses a dual 310 mm front disc with 4-piston calipers and a 260 mm rear disc with single-piston caliper.
The suspension department is level, which features a Showa fork (stem diameter not declared) with wheel travel of 220 mm and adjustable in both preload and hydraulics in both directions. Also at the rear we find Showa, with the single shock absorber that uses progressive links to ensure 220 mm of travel to the wheel; it is adjustable in the hydraulic extension and in the preload, by means of a knob placed in a not too comfortable position (behind the right passenger footpeg, to which it is fixed). The swingarm is made of aluminum.
