Sounds quite dumb unless it had real off-road capacities as long-travel fork and rear suspension. As Spec mentions, a sub 30HP engine to power a loaded bike is a little light. British constructor CCM has a 450 that is a good starting point for a RTW bike. Suzuki seems to go the wrong way of the motorscale. A 800 Wee would be a treat, not a 250...
This makes absolutely no sense. Why in gods name would anyone in the U.S. want this when you could get a DRZ or DR which would outperform it by a long shot.
This makes absolutely no sense. Why in gods name would anyone in the U.S. want this when you could get a DRZ or DR which would outperform it by a long shot.
For me it would be seat height... the DRZ-250 is 35.0" and the DR650 is 34.1", while this new Vstrom 250 is only 31.1", making it also a good beginner adventure bike.
This is last year's sales chart for Honda Motorcycles, but assume it's similar for any Asian manufacturer. For fiscal and product management purposes, North America and the EU are practically irrelevant.
There are probably hundreds of thousands of riders in developing markets that aspire to a big ADV bike but cannot afford or justify the practicality of one. This is for them.
Not sure it makes any sense, except for really small people who want a Wee...and want to go slow.
The cool part of a lighter/smaller adventure bike is better capabilities offroad, but this is cast road-biased wheels, low belly, lots of plastic. It's a neutered Wee.
Uh, ok.
I love the idea of a small displacement adventure bike, but when I think of one I'd imagine a CRFL250 kitted up for travel, not a street bike with some adventury-appointments.
Underwhelmed. Oh, and the exhaust suitcase again? Jesus.
Ya know I thought the exact same thing, but you know that the japs really do their homework when it comes to who wants to buy what. So I have decided that it is aimed at an entirely different group of folks, and that is a good thing, at least as far as profit margins go. And some young folks will have a nice little bike that they can afford and handle.
Keeping the lineage naming consistent it should be Vee@1000cc, Wee@650cc, Xee@250cc but this new bike is a miss. I like the idea of a beginner Strom, get those new riders hooked early, as the Vee and Wee are just not good beginner bikes. No one is going load up a 250cc with bags and luggage to go adventuring on- or off-road or take it to Alaska. This won't sell in the USA so I doubt they'll bring it here.
Suzuki should have (over time) bumped the whole line; Vee@1200, Wee@800cc and Xee@300cc. My Wee is at 60HP and an extra 20 horses would make it ideal. If I was into serious touring, pillion, luggage, etc. I'd just get me a Vee. The Xee should have been 300cc and +30HP and be geared toward true off-roading not Adv Poseur (this should be an official moto classification). Beginning riders could get a Xee and really learn how to ride, trash it off-road and when done with it, sell it to the next beginner in the used market and move up the line to Vee or Wee. At 250cc/25HP it is not really safe on the freeways and even a beginner bike should be able to handle short or medium freeway runs to get to the good stuff.
I dont know what to say!!! maybe its a solution looking for a problem?
O.k here goes, maybe in the Asian markets such a bike might suffice. For a Western market its "unusual" , weight will be a big factor (imo) ,
maybe its an adventure commuter? it certainly isnt comparable to a CCM450 (which costs as much as a V2 strom btw - or 2 DR650se/DRZ400) or SWMs etc etc.This bike is small and cheap. (swm is cheap too but 900mm+seat height!)
Plenty of folk have done many miles on small capacity bikes...I think the hint is that Suzuki CHINA have built the concept bike.
I cant see too many Western KLR/DR/KTM riders replacing their 650s' with 250s' I do see ride reports from Asian countries and all the folk are on local bikes around 150ccs AND saying they are adequate for the local conditions Asia is a HUUUUUGH market, both for local consumption and increasingly tourism. maybe the Pee Strom ("P" for Parallel) - pee wee is a Yamaha term already- could become the new big capacity bike for Asia. I dont think its target market is the US/EU/AU.
Also, maybe we ought to ditch all of the vee wee glee pee see nonsense and go for quarter (250) Storm, 2/3 (650) Strom and Strom. If Suzuki wises up and bumps the 650 to 750, we get a 3/4 Strom and bumps the 1000 to 1200 or whatever we get 1.2 Strom. They're a little late, but 375lb 55 hp, 500cc 1/2 Strom might attract some folks, especially if it came like a Rally-Raided CB500F.
Or we could just call them by year and model - hey, there's a novel idea.
It looks like Suzuki thinks enough about the V Strom to add another variation to it's lineup. Now if Suzuki would only reference the needs of north americans, Australians and the like to properly set up (shocks& springs) the bikes (650 & 1000) for our weight and height range.
The Honda Nighthawk only had 20 HP and the CB300F is only 30 ...it's just not that big a deal ...but the low weight and low seat height is.
You naysayers need to go Europe - 250 twin is a treat.
Depends on the price ....this might be a defence against the TT250 and CSC250 adventure. They are in the slot for a reason.
Still - it may never see North America - Australia for instance you have to buy a detuned Wee to meet licencing regs.
-> If ever the DL250 arrives here in the US, it would break another new segment to the marketplace just like when the Grom did for Honda!
-> If Suzuki mans up and bring the DL250, its curtains for the Zhongshen/CSC RX3...even if the Mee is USD$1,500-2,000 more. The V-Strom name carries its weight a lot!
As one who maintains a home in rural Southeast Asia (Thailand) this bike makes perfect sense for the Asian market, not to mention Asian roads. I have a CRF 250 over there (the Wee here in the US) and I would jump at a Vstrom 250 to get up and around the local mountain roads. This bike would provide far more comfort and the ability to more easily carry goods and luggage. It is a real pain in the derriere to tie a 20lb propane tank to a CRF250. You have to understand that for many in Asia the motorcycle is their pickup truck.
As a competitor for smaller city bikes and some scooters, it makes sense. I just wish it had a v-twin. Not my cup of tea, but I think it might sell well if they price it right.
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