Suzuki plans CKD assembly of V-Strom 650 in India

Adventure tourers are slowly becoming an important and prominent segment of the Indian motorcycle market. While Suzuki already sells the V-Strom 1000 in India, it is now considering to bring in the smaller V-Strom 650 to India. A senior Suzuki official has confirmed the same.

Though not decided on the launch timeline yet, Suzuki says it will take at least a year for them to train the technicians and to develop an assembly line for the vehicle. The Gixxer maker is seriously considering to locally assemble the motorcycle in India to keep a check on costs. The V-Strom 650 will be brought in from Japan as completely knocked down units and assembled in India. The company will take at least two years to locally assemble the V-Strom 650 in India.

The global success of the V-Strom 650 has overwhelmed the company and in fact, it is the V-Strom 650 that is more popular than the V-Strom 1000. Internationally, Suzuki sells the motorcycle in two variants – V-Strom 650 standard and V-Strom 650XT. The 650XT is the range-topping model which gets aluminum rims with stainless-steel spokes and off-road oriented tyres. The Suzuki V-Strom 650 is powered by a 645cc liquid-cooled, V-twin motor that produces 70 HP of power and 66 Nm of torque.

The engine is mated to a 6-speed gearbox.
ABS and Traction Control are offered as standard on both the variants. However, Suzuki is yet to confirm whether India will get one of the two variants or both the variants. Expect the V-Strom 650 to be priced in the Rs 6-7 lakh price bracket (ex-showroom).