Better late than never, right? At least, that’s how Suzuki and Honda feel when it comes to the middleweight adventure category. For years, the twin-powered Yamaha Ténéré 700, KTM 790/890 Adventure, and Aprilia Tuareg 660 contended for segment supremacy. Big Red and the House of Hamamatsu may arrive fashionably late, but both join the brewing battle royale armed with brand-new powerplants.
In the yellow corner, the 2023 Suzuki V-Strom 800DE enters the ring with a DOHC, 779cc parallel twin. The bore measures 84mm while the stroke spans 70mm. With a 12.8:1 compression ratio and a 270-degree crankshaft, the mill musters 84.3 horsepower and 57.7 lb-ft of torque (EU model). Despite its parallel-twin configuration, the 800DE joins the long-running (20 years), V-twin-powered V-Strom family.
