Our Suzuki DL650 V-Strom remains a firm favourite in the ZA Bikers stable with its wide array of talents. Suzuki seems to have a knack for building relevant real-world bikes. The New V-Strom 800 launched at EICMA looks to be exactly such a bike, with specifications which hint at excellent all-around ability.
To equip our DL650 with even more usability we fitted a Givi alloy top box. Top boxes add massively to the convenience of bikes that are used for daily duty, allowing you to stash the odds and sods you need to carry with you and give you lockability.
GIVI is a quality product that never disappoints. They re-invest a huge amount of their profits into developing relevant market-leading products. The clever design and durability are apparent even at first glance. Everything is accurately manufactured and superbly finished, inspiring confidence. The Alloy top box also really looks the part on an Adventure bike, enhancing the looks of our handsome ‘Strom.
The other mod which has also enhanced the all-around ability of our DL650 entailed spooning on a set of Dunlop Trailmax Mission tyres. They are rated as 50/50 tyres. That can be interpreted in two ways. The first is that they are half as good as road tyres on tar and half as good as knobblies on the dirt, or that they will give you enhanced off-road ability without compromising your tar road performance by too much.
The second interpretation certainly holds true. So in reality they are more 80/20 tyres in that they give you 80% of the performance that dedicated tyres would give you in each area. You need to be a real hard charger on the tar to feel in any way compromised. Similarly, they will give you vastly better dirt road performance than the really road-biased original rubber. In other words, they will satisfy 90% of users who will find them great for all-around use.
When a company like Dunlop decide to do something you can be sure it will be proper. The Dunlop Fort tyres that we fitted back in the ’70s if we were planning a rough trip were arguably one of the first Adventure tyres on the market. They never really played much in that space for years, so the Trailmax Missions were received with wide interest and acclaim. A vast amount of research and development went into these tyres. The front and rear tyres are subjected to different forces and as such a set of ‘Missions’ sport different tread patterns fore-and-aft.
Wraparound sidewall lugs are claimed to increase durability and help the tyre track straight through mud and sand as well as enhance their ability to climb out of ruts. The front tyre has “hollowed out” blocks for a more excellent grip as well as “staggered step” technology. As one block wears away it exposes another sharp-edged block for decent traction. 30 prototype patterns were assessed and tested over an intense 12-month period before the final patterns emerged.
The feedback is tyres that exhibit no “groove wobble” and are stable at speed. The grip is decent in wet and dry when used sensibly. Firm, thicker side walls make them more puncture resistant and also enhance high-speed stability. Dirt performance is surprisingly good, hooking up well and providing front-end feedback. Oh yes, they look frikken’ cool too! All of this is achieved without being noisy on pavement, something that can make 50/50 tyres almost impossible to live with.
So there you have it. Our trusty ‘Strom powers on with even more all-around ability and simply continue to satisfy on all fronts. What more could you ask of any bike?
