Situated below the V-Strom 1050 lies Suzuki’s well-balanced middleweight ADV, the V-Strom 650. Its relaxed riding position and amicable V-twin engine character make it a qualified daily commuter and longer-distance rider. Suzuki has given this model three forms that make it increasingly suitable for the adventurer. These forms include the base, XT, and XT Adventure models. The XT takes a step closer to adventure with spoked wheels, skid plate, and hand guards, while the XT Adventure piggybacks on those upgrades and also employs aluminum panniers, crash bars, handlebar cross-brace, and mirror extensions.
The 2019 V-Strom 650 XT spun its Bridgestone Battlax radial on our in-house dyno to find that it produced 65.2 hp at 9,300 rpm and 42.1 pound-feet of torque at 6,500 rpm.
Our previous test rider, Barry Hathaway found that the V-Strom 650′s “on-road manners are impeccable, and the new [for 2017] V-Strom makes a guy want to ride to the horizon and beyond. With the factory offered, street-oriented Bridgestones fitted, though, the adventure of leaving the pavement is more the ‘trying not to crash’ kind than it is the Paris-Dakar ideal.”
We ran the 2019 V-Strom 650 XT on our in-house dyno, where it produced 65.2 hp at 9,300 rpm and 42.1 pound-feet of torque at 6,500 rpm.
The BMW F 700 GS or Kawasaki KLR650 serve as Suzuki’s mid-tier ADV competition.
The 2019 MY lineup had the XT Touring model as the up-spec version, but this year Suzuki has swapped it out for the XT Adventure.