Kawasaki Versys 1000 vs Suzuki V-Strom 1050 XT

WITH the adventure touring segment blossoming across most of the globe, it’s really no surprise how seriously the motorcycle industry is taking the design, development and tech that goes into a modern adventure touring bike.

And with such a large pot of gold sitting at the end of this particular long-distance rainbow, it’s also not surprising to see such variation on the theme of the adventure touring motorcycle.

Kawasaki Versys 1000 vs Suzuki V-Strom 1050 XT

Gone are the days when if a bike in this sector didn’t possess natural off-road ability, it was immediately lambasted as a fake, a fraud, or a phony.

Quite the opposite has in fact happened, with punters wanting a slice of the adventure touring pie, without the side serving of mud and gravel. Bikes like Ducati Multistrada and the Kawasaki Versys 1000 have proven that the long-legged ADV concept can have sporty DNA, high power, and blistering performance on the road.

But there are still adventure bikes in this realm that are trying to blur the lines between sports touring and adventure, like the Suzuki V-Strom 1050 XT featured here. It’s DR Big makeover for 2020 brought budding adventurists dreams of taking off across inhospitable routes and off to the sunset. In truth, the big V-Strom from Suzuki is more aimed at light off-road riding and solid and planted on-road dynamics, actually making it not a total mismatch in a head to head against the latest generation of the Versys 1000 from Kawasaki.

Click here to check out the full review of the Kawasaki, and here for the full review of the Suzuki V-Strom 1050 XT