If there’s one thing that most of the major motorcycle manufacturers have in common, it’s that they want to get as much use out of the latest thing that their R & D folks have developed as possible. That’s why, when a mass-market manufacturer develops an entirely new vehicle from the ground up, it’s very rarely just one vehicle. Instead, it’s a platform—or it will become one over time.
Take, for example, Suzuki’s introduction of the GSX-8S and V-Strom 800DE at EICMA 2022. Both bikes were built around an all-new, 776cc parallel twin engine design from the house of Hamamatsu, and the motorcycle world was happy to see it. Sure, it meant that this new V-Strom was no longer powered by a V-twin engine. If it was good, though—it could probably overcome the doubters.
As journalists and regular riders got their hands on both bikes, the reviews were mostly quite positive. Seemingly having a hit on its hands, Suzuki continued working in the background on its next bikes. One of those, unsurprisingly, is a more road-focused V-Strom 800—and now, we have the vehicle type approval images to prove it.
One notably interesting thing about Australia’s vehicle regulatory system is that it involves images of the vehicles registered in its database. They’re typically not great images, as you can see here.
However, on occasion, they can sometimes give you a glimpse at the front and back of vehicles before they’ve officially been revealed to the public. Like the more road-biased Suzuki V-Strom 800 seen here, as Motorcycle.com’s Dennis Chung first spotted.
While the type approval doesn’t include full details, there are some immediately noticeable differences as we view this database entry. Smaller alloy wheels (likely 17-inch ones) stand in place of the spoked ones found on the V-Strom 800DE. There’s no belly pan or hand guards to be found. The windscreen looks a bit taller as well.
Other details illuminated by the written parts of these vehicle approvals include the following: that the V-Strom 800’s tare weight is 207 kilograms to the V-Strom 800DE’s 214 kg (or 456-ish pounds to the 800DE’s nearly 472 pounds); that the V-Strom 800’s width is 905mm to the V-Strom 800 DE’s 975mm (or 35.6-ish inches to the 800DE’s 38.4-ish inches); and that the V-Strom 800’s wheelbase is 1,515mm to the 800DE’s 1,570mm (or 59.64 inches to the 800DE’s 61.8 inches). Incidentally, tare weight is a dry vehicle weight, not a curb weight.
These changes all seem consistent with a more road-focused version of a dual sport bike. Since these documents were filed in Australia, it’s clear that Suzuki plans to bring the V-Strom 800 to that market. It’s also quite likely that we’ll see it roll out elsewhere in the world as well—but when, with what colors and options, and at what price are all questions that still await answers.
