My Suzuki V-Strom 250 SX comes home: 8 observations after 1000 km

Took it out on a 650 km road trip, involving some highway riding, lots of twisties and a bit of off-roading.

BHPian madhukar_n recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Took delivery of the Suzuki V-Strom SX on 4th June. I got it in Sapthagiri Suzuki and they had organised an event in Tribal adventure for the delivery and also for people to test ride the bike. I guess they had invited a few riding clubs too. The event was good I suppose, I just took delivery of the bike and rode it back home.

These last 2 weekends I had taken it for rides. The last weekend was a 650 km ride involving lots of twists, some off-road, highways, and a ride in rain & mud because of the rain. My opinion on the bike so far:

1. The engine is super refined and smooth. till 110 km/h it is effortless. Beyond that, there is the power to go more no doubt but I can feel some vibrations, especially on the gear and back brake levers.
2. This bike is made for twists. Perfect bike for the look, lean and roll. I have a Bonneville T100(Air-cooled) and for some reason, I enjoyed doing the twists on this. Probably the lightness of the bike and also the GC. If I lean a bit more on my bonnie, a little apprehensive about it touching the centre stand.
3. Suspension is good, in fact in some terrains better than bonnie. Off-road, though very light was easy to ride. Probably a 390 adv or Himalayan will be better. There was lots of rain while returning and the handling was good. Also because of traffic jams entering Bangalore, I almost rode on the leftmost side with lots of slush, mud and water - it handled well. I would not have ventured to do it on my other bike for sure.
4. Highly flickable bike. Traffic riding is a breeze.
5. Braking is not bad but can be better.
6. The windshield gives all the wind to the helmet, so riding without earplugs will be difficult. Probably an extender will be a good option.
7. I am about 5.8 and with riding boots, the height is not a problem.
8. A ride of about 350 km on both days was comfortable - the seat is also quite comfortable. But beyond 2-3 days probably an air seat will be better.

Finished 1000 km and given for service.

So far only addition is a Givi top box. During the service, I asked to install the crash guard.

And above all, for some reason, this bike catches the eye more than my Bonnie (probably the yellow).

Update: The total bill was Rs 2180, out of that Rs 750 was for the crash bar and 350 for the tank protection sticker.

Here are some of the photos.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.