Suzuki leaks new 650 V-Strom by mistake

Suzuki has accidentally leaked full details of the new DL650 V-Strom revealing at last what the finished bike will look like with full technical details.

The details show a bike that has been given a fairly hefty makeover in terms of cosmetics but remains pretty close to the current bike in terms of the underlying mechanicals.

So far Suzuki has been teasing us with a rather annoying campaign of sketches, line drawings and most recently blurred images of the new machine. This latest leak appears to have been done by mistake.

The images show a restyled front fairing, side strakes with a hint of the old Suzuki RF900, cast wheels but much of the rest of the bike appears very familiar.

The suspension and brakes appear unchanged and even the rear of the bike looks largely the same as the outgoing model. The front gets a new look with differently styled front lights and top fairing.

The new bike takes the engine from the SFV650 Gladius but apparently retunes it for more mid and low range torque to suit the middleweight adventure bike market. The fuel tank is now 20 rather than 22 litres as the engine is claimed to be more fuel efficient.

The new V-Strom will aim to snatch sales from new threats like the BMW F650GS, Triumph Tiger 800, Kawasaki Versys and Honda Transalp.

The current V-Strom 650 has been around almost unchanged since it was first launched in 2004 with only minor tweaks and the option of ABS in 2006. The V-Strom Touring appeared as a separate model in 2007 with panniers and a top-box.