Long-term report: The Suzuki V-Strom 800RE makes Goodwood Festival of Speed a breeze
Festival of Speed traffic is no joke, but fortunately, the 800RE is here to make light work of it. Jack Evans explains.
The Goodwood Festival of Speed is one of the biggest motoring events on the calendar. Attracting thousands of car- and motorcycle-mad attendees to the West Sussex Hill Climb, it has morphed into a true spectacle.
It’s also a spectacle which, conveniently, happens about 15 minutes away from my house. But whereas a quarter of an hour is enough to get up to Goodwood on a usual day, you could factor in as many as two extra hours to crack it when the Festival of Speed is on due to immense volumes of traffic.
It’s why you’ll quite often see leagues of bicycles abandoned close to the Festival’s entrance as people weave their ways through the last few miles of traffic but for me, it’s always been best to go on a motorcycle.
It means that the Suzuki V-Strom 800RE has been quickly rushed into action. The only thing with taking a motorcycle is that you need to carefully consider what you take with you, what you’ll need for the day and – most importantly – how you’ll bring it all with you.
I had two overnight stops for pre-event interviews and dinners, which meant that I needed to bring a change of clothes, shoes and my usual collection of notepads and laptops along for the ride. The V-Strom 800RE that I’ve got comes with the optional set of hard side boxes and without these, I might’ve been in a bit of trouble. Both lock securely, too, so I didn’t have to worry too much about leaving my gear with the bike as I headed into the festival.
The weekend’s weather was brutally hot, too, so I was quite happy to ditch my motorcycle kit and leave it within the V-Strom’s boxes. The good news is that they had more than enough space to take my armoured trousers and jacket, as well as my boots. The only issue is that I had to lug my helmet around with me, but Suzuki does offer a solution to this with a top box – it’s just not fitted on this V-Strom.
As I’ve mentioned earlier, these side boxes don’t protrude too much, so you don’t worry about scything through traffic, which was the whole reason for taking the bike to the Festival. In truth, a number of bad estimations about how long it might take to get from one side of the festival to the other on foot meant that the bike’s agility saved my bacon on a number of occasions, ensuring that I got to my next meeting on time despite the heavy traffic crawling its way around the area.
It also meant that I could find a parking space pretty much anywhere I went. Bikes don’t occupy a big footprint, so most parts of the Goodwood Estate provide the ideal parking opportunity and meant I didn’t have to walk so far into the Festival itself.
The good thing about the V-Strom is how reliable and user-friendly it is. While I’ve mentioned previously that I’d like cruise control for longer journeys, the bike’s easy-going throttle and solid brakes mean that you’ve always got confidence in it. I like that the screen isn’t too cluttered, too, and that the upright screen takes away much of the wind blast, though, in truth, during the weekend I wanted as much breeze as I could due to the heat. The exhaust at the side of the Suzuki does give off quite a lot of heat, too, so I was keen to get going whenever I could.
When the moment did arise, the V-Strom’s 800 engine has all the torque and responsiveness you could need and it even sounds pretty good, though I reckon an aftermarket exhaust could definitely help things.
I’m really starting to bond with the V-Strom and while it might not have the flashy looks of some of its rivals, it does appear to deliver in all of the areas that count.
