Suzuki V-Strom 800DE Rally Racer Project

[Hugh Janus]

We turned a Suzuki V-Strom 800DE into a modern DR Big rally racer. (Jeff Allen/)

Suzuki’s V-Strom models have evoked the memory of the Hamamatsu brand’s DR Big adventure and rally racers with a stubby beak, striking color combos, and similar yet modern shape since a redesign of the 2014 V-Strom 1000. That got me thinking after looking at a photo of a particular DR Big raced in the 1990 Paris-Dakar Rally: Could I build a modern, multicylinder Suzuki rally racer worthy of the DR Big legend? A few clicks of the mouse later, I was on the NORRA website, perusing the rules and regulations for the Mexican 1000 Rally. Few weeks later, I had a V-Strom 800DE in the shop, and I was committed to racing the six-day-long rally in Baja, Mexico, in the Amatuer class—racing against production single-cylinder dirt bikes and rally machines.

First on the list, reading the NORRA rule book to make sure we got all the requisite rally equipment we needed and that there was nothing barring the V-Strom 800DE from competition. We would need a rally roadbook holder, tripmeters, compass, and mount for the organization’s tracker and danger warning system called Stella. Other than that, it was pretty much wide open for what we could do with our DR Big. That was a good thing because if we wanted to race competitively, there was much to change and much to do. We had just 60 days to make it happen. Nothing like building a custom rally bike while still performing the duties of executive editor. There’d be lots of work and little sleep.

What Is the NORRA Mexican 1000 Rally?

The NORRA Mexican 1000 Rally runs from Ensenada to San José del Cabo—that’s nearly the entire length of the Baja Peninsula. This rally is much different than the legendary Baja 1000 that runs around 1,000 miles in a single go; instead, the Mexican 1000 is a six-day rally with roadbook navigation. No GPS or prerunning the course is allowed; in fact, only the start and finish locations would be shared until the morning of the rally.

That’s plenty stressful to not know where you are going, but that is nothing compared to trying to custom build a V-Strom 800DE to handle the rigors of desert racing in Baja. This would require fabrication, one-off parts, and help from a host of aftermarket companies. The V-Strom 800DE has one of the greatest parallel-twin engines ever, so not much to worry about there, but Suzuki has built the 800DE to be an all-rounder in the midweight ADV class. That means it’s not the most aggressive model in the segment. It’s a dream on the road and plenty capable in most off-road situations, but a racebike it is not. If I was going to blast through the wilds of Colorado or Utah on a two-week bike camping trip, the V-Strom 800DE would be on my short list. But racing in Baja? Really, no ADV is a logical choice. It was time to make some big changes.

Adventure is out there. This adventure is a six-day rally race. (Jeff Allen/)

Big Chassis Changes

Suspension travel on the V-Strom 800DE is 220mm or 8.7 inches, front and rear. Both ends are fully adjustable, but the bikes we’d be racing against would have 12 inches of suspension and would weigh half as much as this new-school DR Big. How to get more travel? At the front the pair of RM-Z250 Kayaba fork legs would do the trick, increasing travel to 310mm or 12.2 inches. Easy, right? Oh no, not at all. First the lower triple clamps needed machining by JD Moto Service in Long Beach, California, to accept the larger fork tubes. Then we machined a new axle to fit a RM-Z front hub, as we had big plans for new wheels.

With some machining and a spare RM-Z250 laying around you too can have a KYB motocross fork on your V-Strom. (Jeff Allen/)

The RM-Z front hub only has one disc and the brake hanger on the fork wouldn’t work with the V-Strom’s stock calipers. GBrakes supplied a Galfer Tsunami oversize front rotor kit that we paired with Brembo’s MX-2GPR motocross caliper and AMC-MX motocross master cylinder. This meant that the ABS system could be removed for weight savings. If this was an ADV project, there would be no way I’d remove the ABS system, as it’s a well-proven safety feature. The back wheel got a Galfer Wave rotor and Galfer pads for more bite.

A 270mm Galfer Tsunami oversize motocross rotor and Brembo MX-2GPR caliper slow our rally project. (Jeff Allen/)

With the fork and braking system handled, the next big change was the rear suspension. After some research on the stand and the shock removed, it was discovered that the swingarm contacts the stock exhaust system as it nears full extension at the 250mm (9.8-inch) mark. Not only would we need a new exhaust, but a longer length and longer stroke high-quality shock with more compression and rebound damping would be needed. Cogent Dynamics stepped up with a fully built custom remote-reservoir shock, giving our DR Big 250mm of rear wheel travel. Cogent equipped the shock with CNC-machined internals, a DLC-coated shaft, and a 700-pound/inch Eibach spring.

Cogent Dynamics built a one-off-shock for this project, but the company does have an option for the V-Strom 800DE. (Jeff Allen/)

Just as important as the suspension would be the wheels attached to it. Stock weight of the V-Strom 800DE with a full tank of gas is 507 pounds. Add my 230 pounds and you have some serious kinetic energy being thrown into rocks, whoops, and square-edge bumps. Dubya Wheels had a solution: Takasago Excel A60 rims with oversize stainless steel spokes. Up front that 21 x 1.85 rim was laced to a polished Haan hub that came directly off of Suzuki factory Supercross racer Ken Rozcen’s practice bike. Dubya used heavy-duty 8-gauge spokes. At the rear the stock V-Strom hub was attached to an 18 x 2.15-inch rear rim, also with heavy-duty spokes.

In stock configuration the V-Strom rolls on a 17-inch wheel that is 4.5 inches wide. Why the drastic change? One, there are more choices for raceworthy tires, and two, I have found that wide ADV rear tires in the sand tend to wallow and fishtail as that fat tire tries to climb out of the “rut” created by the front tire. Dubya was also kind enough to supply a spare set of identical wheels to speed up nightly maintenance.

Dubya’s wheel builds are impeccable and stunning. (Jeff Allen/)

This will make for a more stable ride and allow us to run 90/90-21-inch with 140/80-18-inch Dunlop Geomax EN91 DOT-approved tires. These tires have the highest speed and load rating of Dunlop’s DOT dual sport tires, but most importantly the knob spacing would be great for loose sand, which I assumed there would be a lot of.

We stuffed our Dunlop Geomax EN91 tires with Mr. Wolf’s Mousse Balls. (Jeff Allen/)

Rather than using pneumatic inner tubes I decided that mousse inserts would help fight pinch flats and aid with eating up rocky terrain. Innteck USA supplied us with several sets of Mr. Wolf Mousse Balls. Rather than a full circle insert, Mousse Balls are in segments. This allows for easier installation, but more importantly you can add or remove balls to adjust the “pressure” feel of the tire. Mr. Wolf also says that its Mousse Balls last longer thanks to the ability ro shed heat easier with a higher surface-to-volume ratio. It was recommended to put 27 balls in the front and 22 in the rear for normal dirt bikes with rally use. Because our bike is much heavier we put as many balls in each tire as possible, for a total of 28 in both the front and rear.

After we got a rolling chassis, we dropped the V-Strom off at Yoshimura R&D. There a new custom exhaust was made to give clearance to the swingarm and its additional arc. In just a few days we had a custom Yoshimura R-12 Stainless exhaust that still used the stock header pipe and catalytic converter. It also got a 304 stainless steel radiator protector.

Yoshimura R&D built a custom R-12 Stainless exhaust for our DR Big tribute racer. (Jeff Allen/)

The Details Matter

While the DR Big was at Yosh, a box arrived from Rally Moto Shop. Inside was an F2R RB850 roadbook holder, two RNS TripMaster GFX v2 Pro tripmeters, an RNS MultiSwitch, and an F2R Rallye Power Box. The owner of RMS, Matthew Glade, was kind enough to mount the roadbook and tripmeters to RMS’ Modular Roadbook Bracket System and set up all the wiring to make it as plug-’n’-play as possible. Setup was made even easier as the GFX v2 Pro tripmeters use GPS rather than a wheel-speed sensor to calculate distance and speed.

Dual RNS TripMaster GFX v2 Pro tripmeters and an F2R RB850 roadbook holder from Rally Moto Shop would be our only means of finding our way during the NORRA Mexican 1000 Rally. (Jeff Allen/)

Mounting the navigation gear from RMS required a custom tower to secure not only the roadbook holder, tripmeters, Power Box, and Stella unit but to house the V-Strom’s 5-inch TFT display. Although we wouldn’t be using the display for speed indication, we would need it to keep an eye on the fuel level and to change the riding modes if needed. A quick call to my fabrication friend David Caren, aka Whiskey, had him at the CW offices in short order ready to chop and weld whatever we needed. Using the stock fairing stay we added material to increase the space for the nav gear above the display. He also moved the display lower on the stay and recessed it back to make sure we had plenty of clearance.

Controlling the navigation equipment is done through the RNS MultiSwitch 6v. (Jeff Allen/)
The 800DE’s Rally Tower was built off of the stock fairing stay. (Jeff Allen/)

No desert racebike is complete without a steering damper. However mounting a Scotts steering damper didn’t seem like a possibility—until I emailed Stefan Hessler of Hessler Rallye Team. Stefan is the absolute king of DR Big, making parts not only for the actual DR Big, but also racing, rally, and performance parts for all of Suzuki’s V-Stroms. His Scotts Steering Stabilizer mount was just what we needed and he shipped one express from his Schleusingen, Germany, offices. From then on Stefan was my go-to for advice on my DR Big, and I recommend that anyone wanting to mod V-Strom of any displacement should contact him.

Without the help of Stefan at Hessler Rallye Team, we would not have had a way to mount a steering damper on our DR Big racer. (Jeff Allen/)

Installation of the damper post and under-handlebar mount from HRT was straightforward. Above the damper we decided on Fasst Company Flexx handlebars. The bars feature vertical pivoting bar ends that have a bushing to isolate vibrations. Elastomers damp shock to the rider’s hands and arms both up and down. The modular construction of Fasst Company’s Flexx bars allow for many combinations of width, sweep, height, and damping to fit any need. Fasst also supplied us with its first set of its Impact Adventure pegs, giving a larger, wider platform for all-day rally racing.

Fasst Company supplied us with its Flexx handlebar; we used a tall option. (Jeff Allen/)
Fasst Company’s Impact Adventure pegs give the rider more support, crucial for the long days we will have racing. (Jeff Allen/)

Preventative Additions

We were sure to come in contact with big rocks in Baja, so we installed an AXP skid plate. Made of 8mm-thick high-density polyethylene plastic, AXP skid plates are not only thick, they slide over obstacles and won’t deform after big impacts.

We trusted AXP to keep our crankcases and oil pan puncture-free. (Jeff Allen/)

Keeping the V-Strom breathing and healthy is a job we left up to DNA Filters. Manufactured in Greece, these filters use four layers of an oiled cotton medium that DNA calls a hairy hybrid that is sandwiched between two layers of wire mesh to keep clean air flowing to the engine. DNA says its filters flow more air than the stock filter while giving a 99 percent filtering efficiency. The company also provided a Stage 2 airbox lid replacement that removes the stock airbox lid and snorkels. There is no doubt that this V-Strom is going to breathe.

Breathe deep, V-Strom. DNA’s air filter and Stage 2 airbox lid replacement are clearly free of restrictions. (Jeff Allen/)

Finishing off the functional mods, Seat Concepts built a flatter rally seat for our DR Big. This did raise the seat height making it easier to go from sitting to standing, but because the seat is narrow at the front, the reach to the ground only increased slightly. Seat Concepts is known for making high-quality seats and this one is not different. The gripper seat cover with yellow traction ribs over the company’s own seat foam made for a firm yet supportive seat. Seat Concepts says it will have this seat in production soon for the V-Strom 800DE.

Seat Concepts built this seat especially for this project—that is until production ramps up and you can get one for your V-Strom 800DE. (Jeff Allen/)

Last, we had to really get that DR Big racer look. TMBR Moto designed a custom graphic with a riff on the iconic Camel logo seen on the DR Big in 1990 at Paris-Dakar. Of course we added a hump to our camel as it’s a twin.

After two months and around 150 hours of work, my vision of the DR Big was complete. And what a change. This bike is now a racer. When form follows function in motorcycling you often get something that looks amazing—and this thing does.

We left the engine completely stock; why mess with one of the great parallel twins? (Jeff Allen/)

After rolling it off the lift, we gassed up DR Big and weighed it: 473 pounds. That’s a 34-pound loss! Now all that was left to do was load it up and ride it—well, race it. We used up every minute of the clock we had before the NORRA Mexican 1000 Rally, finishing up the build the night before the races. So we were heading into racing 1,600 miles without a single shakedown. I was a little nervous for sure, but I knew all of the mods we made and the products we chose would make this solid ADV tourer into one hell of a racebike. Stay tuned for the race report.

Stay tuned for the race report later this week. (Jeff Allen/)

Cycle World Suzuki V-Strom 800DE DR Big Rally Project Parts List

Kayaba fork legs	$2,568
Cogent Dynamics shock	$1,500 (approx.)
Yoshimura R-12 exhaust	$679
Yoshimura radiator core protector	$247
Dubya wheels	$1,530
Dunlop Geomax EN91 tires	$262
Mr. Wolf Mousse Balls	$380
Galfer Tsunami oversize rotor kit	$356
Galfer Wave rear rotor	$218
Brembo AMC-MX master cylinder	$165
Brembo MX-2GPR caliper	$299
Seat Concepts rally seat	$400 (approx.)
Fasst Company Flexx handlebar	$400
Fasst Company Impact Adventure footpegs	$260
Fasst Company Simple Solution hand guards	$136
DNA air filter	$75
DNA Stage 2 airbox cover replacement	$48
Scotts Steering Stabilizer	$386
Hessler Rallye Team stabilizer mount kit	$400
Rally Moto Shop modular roadbook bracket	$80
F2R FB850 roadbook holder	$370
RNS TripMaster GPX v2 Pro (x2)	$1,280
RNS MultiSwitch	$298
F2R Rallye Power Box	$110
AXP skid plate	$330
TMBR Moto graphics	$225
Fabrication costs	$1,500
TOTAL:	$14,502

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