A couple of years ago, we drooled over the SR75 World Team Suzuki V-Strom 650XT rally-inspired custom adventure build. Well, SR75 World Team is at it again. This time, they have gone to work on the V-Strom 800DE, with predictably enticing results imbued in the SR75 World Team Suzuki V-Strom 800DE Rally Edition.
“Racing RM-Zs around the world might be our bread and butter, but we’re also always up for a project build like this,” explains SR75 World Team owner Geoff Walker. “We produced the SR75 V-Strom 650XT a couple of years ago, and as soon as the 800DE was launched, we were always keen to get our hands on one.”
“This is really stage one of the build,” Walker continues, “and we will make some more modifications before we go racing. But we think we’ve taken what was already a solid base package for an adventure bike. You could hard ride off-road or into town for a coffee—it’s that versatile and usable—and turned it into a bike that can hold its own in a competitive rally.”
For the first part of a build, the results are impressive. The engine is left standard, though a modified exhaust system with an FMF Factory 4.1 RCT titanium muffler with a carbon fiber endcap certainly helps the parallel twin breathe more freely. Protecting the motor is an AS3 Performance aluminum skid plate. AS3 Performance also contributed handlebar risers.
Good rubber is crucial for off-road performance on an adventure bike, and the bike gets Dunlop D908RR tires with mousses instead of tubes. Wire-spoke Envy wheels are employed, with an off-road-standard 18-inch rear rim replacing the stock 17-incher.
Just to remind you that you’re looking at something special, the SR75 World Team Suzuki V-Strom 800DE Rally Edition has custom GP Grafix stickers. As Walker noted, this is only the first stage of the build, so we are anxious to see what’s next.
