First Ride: Suzuki’s V-Strom 800RE is a do-it-all motorcycle

With a large fuel tank, the 800RE is equipped for those long-distance journeys, but it shouldn’t shy away from adventures when you kit it out with some chunkier tyres – that’s the theory, anyway. We’ve been trying it out to see what this Suzuki has to offer.

The geometry of the 800RE has been designed in such a way as to favour a more lean-forward riding position, helping to increase control. Suzuki has thought about pillion passengers, too, so the bike’s design helps those sitting at the rear to do so without having to bend their legs all that much.

Suzuki claims that you could get up to 64.12mpg combined and, during our time with the motorcycle, that certainly seems about right. Coupled with the 20-litre fuel tank, it means that you shouldn’t have to be filling up all that often.

The 776cc starts up with a relatively quiet thrum, but it’s an engine which delivers well in all areas of riding. Around town, the throttle feels well-judged and easy to manage, while the clutch isn’t too heavy either. Thankfully, this engine has more than enough grunt to make overtakes or motorway merges a breeze, while the quickshifter makes progress swift and efficient. The large front screen does a great job of making the 800RE more comfortable to ride at high speeds, too, and this makes the Suzuki a great motorway tackler. Only the fitment of cruise control would make the 800RE better for long-distance trips – with this, it would be next-level comfortable.

There is also the option of either low or high seat changes – costing £184.90 and £213.97 respectively – should you need to change things to make the 800RE more comfortable than its standard setting.

You could opt for the 800RE Tour – priced from £10,399 – if you need a little extra functionality. It gets a three-piece luggage set as standard, with a 38-litre top case and two 37-litre side cases as standard, alongside a full locking setup to ensure that it’s all as secure as can be. You could, of course, add these to the standard 800RE later on should you want to, but it’s good to have a model which offers extra versatility as standard without too much of an increase in price.

The Suzuki 800RE is the kind of motorcycle to get the job done without fuss or flamboyance. It doesn’t have the hair-raising performance offered by some rivals – not the over-the-top looks – but if you need a motorcycle that you can rely on to deliver time and time again, the 800RE could be it.

Coupled with an attractive starting price and a good range of standard features, all of these attributes help to make the Suzuki 800RE a very easy motorcycle to recommend.