Suzuki V-Strom 800DE Maintenance Schedule and Service Intervals

This is the maintenance schedule for the Suzuki V-Strom 800DE, sourced from the owner’s manual and cross-referenced with other parts sources from the web. You can see screenshots from the owner’s manual at the end of this document for reference.

The Suzuki V-Strom 800DE is a new model for Suzuki, co-existing with the third-gen Suzuki V-Strom 650XT for now. Unlike past V-Stroms (but similar to occasional small-displacement models), the V-Strom 800DE is powered by a parallel twin motor and has a 21-inch front wheel, giving it more off-road performance potential.

The core of the V-Strom 800DE is a liquid-cooled 776cc DOHC parallel twin motor with four valves per cylinder. It makes 62 kW / 84 hp at 8500 rpm under EURO 5 trim.

The Suzuki V-Strom 800DE is co-released with the Suzuki GSX-8S, which has the same engine at its core, but in a naked sportbike package.

From 2024, Suzuki also released the Suzuki V-Strom 800RE, a road-going alternative with shorter-travel suspension and cast rims.

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Suzuki V-Strom 800DE Service Intervals

Overall, the Suzuki V-Strom 800DE has 3750 mile / 6000 km or annual service intervals. At every service, change the oil, inspect or replace the spark plugs, inspect / replace the air filter, and do a host of other checks (listed below).

The major valve service interval for the V-Strom 800DE is every 15000 miles / 24000 km.

The V-Strom 800DE has a cable clutch, so keep the cable lubed and check that it’s in good condition. Periodically change the brake fluid.

And of course, make sure you change the coolant periodically too — more often if you use anything other than Suzuki super long-life coolant (blue).

Suzuki V-Strom 800DE Maintenance Schedule

Below is the maintenance schedule for the V-Strom 800DE.

mi x 10000.63.757.511.2515
km x 100016121824Every
Standard annual inspection checklist (see below) – PerformYear
Engine oil – Change (Recommended 10W-40 engine oil of JASO MA / API SJ or better equivalent)
Tighten drain plug to 23 Nm / 17 lb-ft
Year
Engine oil filter – Change
Tighten filter to 20 Nm / 15 lb-ft
Air filter (polyester foam type) – Clean
Air filter (non-woven type) – Inspect
Air filter (non-woven type) – Replace
Spark plugs – Inspect
Steering – Check for smooth operation, and adjust as necessary
Steering – Check for smooth operation, adjust as necessary
Front fork – Check for smooth operation, no leaks
Rear suspension – Check for smooth operation, no leaks
Coolant (Suzuki super long-life coolant, or an alternative)4 years
Brake fluid – Replace (Castrol DOT 4)2 years
Brake hoses – Replace4 years
Throttle valve sync – Inspect / Adjust
PAIR (air supply system) – Inspect
Evap emission control system – Inspect
Suzuki V-Strom 800DE Maintenance Schedule

V-Strom 800DE Annual Inspection Checklist

Below is the annual inspection checklist for the V-Strom 800DE.

V-Strom 800 DE Annual Inspection Checklist
Fuel hoses – Inspect condition and routing
Radiator hoses – Inspect condition and routing
Clutch – Check function, adjust play. Lubricate cable as necessary
Brake fluid – Inspect level
Brake hoses – Inspect condition
Drive chain – Inspect
Drive chain – Clean / lubricate
Perform every 1000 km / 600 mi
Lights and electrical equipment – Check function
Tires – Inspect condition and pressure
Wheel spokes – Inspect condition / Tighten spokes
Chassis bolts and nuts – Inspect / Tighten
General lubrication – Perform
Perform every 1000 km / 600 mi
V-Strom 800 DE Annual Inspection Checklist

Maintaining your Chain on your Suzuki V-Strom 800DE

Maintain your V-Strom’s chain regularly. This is especially important if you ride your V-Strom off-road or on dirt roads, where the chain can get a bit more abuse.

Either use a good-quality (and affordable) chain lube like Motul Chain Paste, or use a full on Motul Chain Care Kit to clean and restore a chain.

Suzuki recommends that you maintain your chain according to the following schedule.

Chain maintenance itemEvery
Check chain
* Correct tension / slack (30-40mm / 1.2-1.6 in at loosest point)
* Adequate lubrication
* No excessive wear / damage
Ride (pre-ride check)
Clean and lubricate chain1000 km / 600 miles
Suzuki V-Strom 800DE chain maintenance

Damage includes loose pins, damaged rollers, dry or rusted links, kinked or binding links, excessive wear, and improper adjustment.

Measuring and adjusting Chain Slack

Note that for Suzuki, chain slack is defined as the free play of the chain (the bottom segment) at its loosest point.

To measure chain slack:

  1. Put your bike in neutral and on its kickstand on a level surface with no load on it (no luggage / heavy accessories)
  2. Use a steel ruler and optionally gloves or a rag to move the chain up and down at the middle part of the bottom chain segment. Measure the deflection.
  3. Check chain slack at multiple points, moving the bike forwards or backwards.

If the chain slack is out of spec, you need to adjust it.

Suzuki V-strom 800DE Chain slack adjustment
Suzuki V-Strom 800DE Chain slack adjustment

Adjusting chain slack

This is the procedure to adjust chain slack on the V-Strom 800DE.

  1. Loosen the axle nut.
  2. Loosen the lock nuts on the left and right.
  3. Turn the adjuster bolts until you reach the target slack level.
  4. Make sure you keep the chain aligned, using the reference marks on both sides of the axle.
  5. Tighten the axle nut (torque: 74 lb-ft or 100 Nm)
  6. Re-check the slack to make sure it’s still right.
  7. Tighten the adjuster lock nuts (22 Nm / 17 lb-ft)

Wheels and Tires for the V-Strom 800DE

The Suzuki V-Strom 800DE ships with Dunlop Mixtour tube-type tires to suit its spoked rims.

Below are the tire sizes and recommended pressures.

WheelTire sizeTire pressure (cold)
(Solo)
Tire pressure (cold)
(Full load)
Front90/90-21 M/C 54H225 kPa / 2.25 bar / 33 psi225 kPa / 2.25 bar / 33 psi
Rear150/70 R 17 M/C 69H250 kPa / 2.5 bar / 36 psi280 kPa / 2.8 bar / 41 psi
Tire sizes and pressures — V-Strom 800DE

About the Suzuki V-Strom 800DE

Suzuki V-Strom 800DE Action on dirt road

The Suzuki V-Strom 800DE is a long-awaited update to the V-Strom 650XT, affectionately known as the “Wee-Strom”.

For decades, the Suzuki V-Strom 650 has been the underdog of the adventure motorcycle market, the “if you know, you know” secret that is the answer to most adventure riders’ questions. It’s just enough bike for a lot of things, without being too much, which makes it an ideal and economic choice for everything including long-distance travel, commuting, off-road exploring (if you don’t want to do any big jumps or bush bashing), and everything in between.

In the early years, the V-Strom 650 was considered by many to be the better bike than the V-Strom 1000 on many fronts. But in more recent years, the bigger V-Strom caught up with more advanced suspension, generally better spec, and niceties like cornering ABS and cruise control — two things which the new 800 don’t have either, by the way.

But one thing the V-Strom always only pretended to have was off-road ability. It gradually crept towards it, with spoked wheels becoming a thing with the XT model, but still, it couldn’t match other adventure bikes further along the on/off-road continuum, like the Kawasaki KLR650 for example.

The new V-Strom 800DE changes that by introducing the first Wee-Strom with a 21 inch front wheel. Suzuki released it nearly contemporaneously with the bigger Suzuki V-Strom 1050DE, which has a similar front wheel advantage.

But while Suzuki left the engine in the bigger V-Strom essentially untouched, they gave the new Wee an altogether new donk.

The engine in the Suzuki V-Strom 800DE is a 776cc liquid-cooled parallel twin. It has a fairly long-stroke engine and a compression ratio of 12.8:1, which is partly why the 800DE needs premium fuel (Pump octane 90 with the North American (R+M)/2 method, which equates to 95 RON/ROZ).

It’s a new engine for Suzuki, released also on the naked sportbike the Suzuki GSX-8S. The V-Stroms have mostly been V-twins, which is why they’re called V-Stroms.

To release a V-Strom with a parallel twin isn’t new, actually. The Suzuki V-Strom 250 had a parallel twin. And the newer V-Strom 250SX has a single-cylinder engine.

But one difference between the V-Strom 800’s engine and that of the V-Strom 250’s block is that the V-Strom 800DE has a 270-degree crankshaft. This has some advantages, but most notably for many users, it gives the engine a bit of a burble and crackle that you might think of as “character”.

Being a parallel twin has one distinct advantage when it comes to doing service: Access! There’s only one cylinder head to remove. So when it comes to do that major service every 24000 km / 15000 mi, the job is less fiddly.

Aside from the engine, there’s quite a lot that’s different and interesting about the Suzuki V-Strom 800DE.

Firstly, the Suzuki V-Strom 800DE has that 21 inch first wheel. This is quite unusual for Suzuki, who mostly keep to 19-inch front wheels on their big adventure motorcycles.

Secondly, the V-Strom 800DE has quite long-travel suspension, with 220mm of travel front and rear. The suspension is fully adjustable up front and at the rear (both are adjustable for pre-load, rebound damping, and compression damping).

Thirdly, the new Strom comes with ride by wire, which means that the V-Strom 800DE has power modes on top of ABS and TC. Unfortunately, Suzuki opted not to grant the V-Strom 800DE cruise control, which I’m sure will lead to aftermarket options becoming available.

And naturally, along with many other new motorcycles being released, the V-Strom 800DE has a 5-inch colour TFT display.

There’s a lot more that’s special about the Suzuki V-Strom 800DE, but the rest is probably up to individual taste and how you fare on a test ride.

From 2024, Suzuki also released the Suzuki V-Strom 800RE. The 800RE is the road-going Wee-strom, with lower-travel suspension, cast rims, tubeless tires, and no off-road ride modes. It would appeal to riders who spend less time off-road and who would appreciate better cornering and lower ride height, and who would prefer to plug a tire than change an inner tube.

Reference — Screenshots from the Manual for the Suzuki V-Strom 800DE

Below are some reference screenshots from the Suzuki V-Strom 800DE’s owner’s manual.

Below is the maintenance and troubleshooting section of the V-Strom 800DE’s manual for archive purposes.

As usual, you can download the full manual for the Suzuki V-Strom 800DE directly from Suzuki’s website here.

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