Earlier this year (AMCN Vol 72 No 25) Suzuki applied for approval certification for a new entry-level version of the V-Strom 800. Now the application has been made in Australia and, for the first time, is accompanied by images showing what the new model looks like.

It’s not a huge surprise, of course. The V-Strom 800DE’s wire wheels and 21-inch front rim are gone, replaced with cast alloys and a 19-inch front. It sits at the bottom of a different fork which looks to have slightly shorter travel.

The Australian approval also shows that the street-oriented V-Strom 800 has radial four-pot front brake calipers instead of the axial-mounted ones of the DE.

Other changes include the loss of the DE’s bash plate and handguards, something that’s reflected in the new V-Strom 800’s weight, which drops 7kg to 207kg including fuel.

The wheelbase is also shorter at 1515mm instead of 1570mm. That’s a result of the smaller front wheel and shorter fork, which drop the nose of the bike and give a steeper rake, shortening the wheelbase in the process and promising sharper steering to accompany the stickier, asphalt-friendly tyre choice – 110/80-19 at the front instead of the DE’s 90/90-21, and 150/70-17 at the rear. There’s no change to the 776cc parallel-twin engine.

Ben Purvis