Suzuki V-Strom 160 Launched In Latin America; Unlikely For India

Suzuki has launched a new small-capacity ADV with a 160 cc engine for the Colombian market called the V-Strom 160. Although an entry-level adventure bike, the new baby V-Strom’s muscular proportions give the vibe of a large bike. Its rugged design has been inspired by the litre-class V-Strom 1050, but with relatively simpler foundations the new V-Strom 160 promises to be adequate for the task at hand. 

Powering it is a new single-cylinder, air-cooled, 160 cc engine that produces 14.75 bhp at 8,000 rpm and 14 Nm at 6,500 rpm. On the hardware front, the bike equips conventional telescopic fork and a monoshock, and rides on 17--inch alloy wheels at both ends, which further indicates its road-biased nature. Braking duties are taken care of by petalled disc brakes at both ends with ABS available as standard. 

Despite being an adventure tourer, the Suzuki V-Strom 160 has quite the accessible seat height at 795 mm. For context, the V-Strom 250 SX stands at 835 mm tall. On the features front, a circular digital instrument cluster, a USB C-type charger and all-LED lighting are the standouts.

Now sadly, there are no plans for Suzuki India to launch a new entry-level adventure bike in India. It already has the V-Strom 250 SX doing that job. Suzuki India will instead ride high on the EV wave that is currently sweeping the country and launch its first electric scooter soon, with the Access nomenclature. This will make it the second Japanese manufacturer to go electric in India, after Honda debuted two brand new electric scooters for India that will go on sale from 2025 onwards. You can read more about the new electric Honda-duo here.