V FOR?

Are you prepared to get your mind blown even before we spill the beans on how the Suzuki V-Strom 800 DE is to ride on Indian terrain?

- ANANT PANDEY

Motorcyclists around the globe have been living in a delusion that the ‘V’ in the ‘V-Strom’ moniker stands for the V-twin layout that some of the most mythical V-Stroms had. If we go by the same logic, the single-cylinder powered V-Strom 250 SX should be renamed ‘S-Strom’ and the new 800 DE with its parallel-twin layout? ‘P-Strom’? Get your ears checked if you think they have a nice ring to them. It’s not the layout that the prefix stands for. It is the ‘v’ersatility that every V-Strom has brought on the table. Mind blown? Mine was, after riding the V-Strom 800 DE.

VEHEMENCE

The vehemence of seeing the V-Strom 800 DE for the first time in flesh goes long back. A dear friend of mine who’s now a cofounder of another automotive publication, has a certain V-Strom 650 named ‘Sherpa’. Rightly so, because that V-Strom took him to the rooftop of the world and when I met him as he was returning from the expedition, he couldn’t help but sing accolades for his Sherpa. A few years later, I found myself on an expedition too - to cover 6000kms across India in 15 days on a trusty V-Strom 250 SX. The same motorcycle took me to the Kingdom of Bhutan and became a part of my ritualistic ride to my hometown that spans 3500kms. Having clocked around 15,000 kilometres on the V-Strom SX, it was bound to be an emotional moment seeing the 800 DE for the first time.