The bike good ride posture, on the test rides, I felt it was quite comfortable, can manage city and long rides comfortably.
BHPian girimajiananth recently shred this with other enthusiasts.
I finally booked Suzuki V-Strom SX 250 after much consideration. Awaiting delivery this month on an auspicious day.
V-Strom SX 250 pros:
- Suzuki’s engine is quite refined and reliable. I trust them.
- 250 CC engine packs 26 Bhp, a little less than KTM ADV 250, but its quite sufficient for me. More than what I can use. A friend and Bhpian rented it out for a weekend and gave a very good opinion on this. He said he could do 100 Kmph all day without fuss. Most online reviews and owners on team bhp said the same. This is sufficient for highway rides for a sedate rider like me.
- Comfortable rider and pillion seat. Took a few test drives with wife and kid too, it was quite comfortable. Although I never do triple riding on a bike like this (or any other two wheeler). Wife approved the seats.
- Has dual channel ABS – basic safety tech included.
- Initial cost of ownership is lesser. Costs 2.58L OTR, its 60K lesser than KTM adv. Service bills may be lesser than KTM too.
- Slightly higher FE. Users mention that FE hits ~ 40KMPL which is decent for a bike this size and power.
- Good looking bike. The yellow color looks catchy and looks like a baby V – Strom. I still have soft corner for KTM ADV on the looks. ( Sigh, I will get over this). Throw in a full size crash guard and a couple of fog lamps and it will make heads turn on the road. For some reason wife says not to bring this to her college, not sure why.
- Good ride posture, on the test rides, I felt it was quite comfortable, can manage city and long rides comfortably.
- Feels like a useable bike in the city. Can use this for office commutes (if the wfh is completely revoked).
Suzuki V-Strom cons:
- Suzuki service and product management. Anyone remembers the Suzuki Inazuma ? It was a damn good bike with parallel cylinder engine. Due to poor pricing and sales Suzuki pulled the plug on it. I just hope Suzuki keeps this one alive for the foreseeable future. I would hate to own a model that’s not in production. I have never owned a Suzuki bike before, I am praying they have decent mechanics to service the V- Strom. I wish Suzuki had used this chance to use a twin cylinder 250cc engine on the V-Strom. Probably it would have been a better bike.
- No Slipper clutch or cornering , switchable ABS. Not a show stopper for me. I can pull the clutch to change gears. I will go slow around the corners, I don’t see the need to switch off ABS (I have no plans of going full off road). For the extra 60K INR, you get these in KTM adv.
- Bike big in the city traffic. I am used to smaller 150cc commuter bikes and scooters. I might take time to get used to ride this in city traffic.
- Ride height: I am around 5.7 ft, I cannot flat foot with both legs. Although I can manage, I wish I was a wee bit taller. I did check out the scooped out seat, its not for me. It was too hard and uncomfortable.
- No color instrument cluster. I felt the backlit monochrome instrument cluster a bit boring compared to the KTM. I do not see the use for a Bluetooth feature. I have this on my wife’s Ntorq which I used once just to check it out. I never used it again. If I need to use GPS, I will probably get a decent mount.
Keyword: Booked a Suzuki V-Strom SX 250: Pros & cons I evaluated before deciding