Back in July we were able to confirm that Suzuki is bringing a less expensive, street-biased version of the V-Strom 800 to its 2024 lineup after US emissions filings and European type-approval information were published. Now similar approvals have been filed in Australia—but with images of the bike.
The original images are extremely low-resolution but they confirm all the details we’d expect from a base V-Strom 800 model, including the use of cast-alloy wheels instead of spoked, with a 19-inch front rather than the V-Strom 800DE’s 21-incher, along with a simpler spec that removes some of the off-road features of the DE.
As expected, the bike has a new fork, losing the gold finish of the DE in favor of a more subdued silver, and they appear to have less travel, contributing to a small decrease in wheelbase from 61.8 inches to 59.6 inches. What the original type approvals didn’t show, though, was that the V-Strom 800 also gets dual, radial-mount, four-piston front brake calipers in place of the DE’s axial-mount design. There’s also a new front fender to suit the 110/80-19 tire, and the V-Strom 800 has a touring windshield that accounts for an overall height that’s 2.5 inches taller than the V-Strom 800DE, despite the smaller front wheel.
There’s no change to the engine spec, with 83 hp at 8,500 rpm and 57.5 lb.-ft. of torque at 6,800 rpm from the 776cc parallel twin. However, the V-Strom 800 is 15.5 pounds lighter than the DE, some of which is due to the smaller front wheel, but other parts have also been removed. The hand guards, for instance, are gone, as is the under-engine protection and the steel frame that it attaches to. If you’re only riding on the street, the stickier tires, steeper rake, and reduced weight could make the base V-Strom 800 more fun than the 800DE, even though it’s sure to be the cheaper machine.
It’s a fraction faster, too, with a rated top speed of 119.3 mph, up from 118 mph, probably thanks to slightly better aerodynamics.
We’ve enhanced the images to get a better look at the bike and it’s clear that most of the main elements of the V-Strom 800DE, including the TFT instruments, are carried over to the base model. Its entry-level status is reflected in the simple, single-color paintwork and lack of graphics. We’ll have to wait a little longer to find out precisely how much less expensive the base V-Strom 800 is, but the approval documents filed with CARB and the EPA leave no doubt it’s heading for the US market in 2024 where we’d expect it to undercut the DE’s $11,349 MSRP by several hundred dollars. For an indication, the larger V-Strom 1050 is 5.5 percent less expensive than the V-Strom 1050DE. A similar percentage reduction on the V-Strom 800DE would give the V-Strom 800 a tag of about $10,700.