Suzuki V-Strom 800DE Build: Project ADV Strom Part 1 - TBT Racing Suspension Revalve

If you've ever ridden the Suzuki V-Strom 800DE in the dirt, you might have immediately noticed that there is a lot of potential there. The soft suspension, 80/20 street tires, and all-around polite road manners mean there is some work to do to uncover its off-road prowess, but that's what we set out to do here in this build. The goal is to see what it would take to extract more dirt-going performance out of the Suzuki 800DE, and while keeping the modifications mild, without any major surgery to the chassis, see if we can even elevate the performance to the ultra-competitive mid-sized ADV category with motorcycles such as the KTM 890 Adventure R, the Ducati DesertX, the Husqvarna Norden 901 Expedition, and the Yamaha Tenere 700. Welcome to Project ADV-Strom part 1! First things first, this is a real world build, meaning we didn't throw the catalog at this 'Zook and transform it into a completely different bike. It was important to me to use the stock components (as much as possible) in order to maintain the responsive chassis feel that I love so much, and to also keep the wonderful road comfort. We're not looking for a monster truck or a race bike here, just something that is more capable in the dirt. We started with a suspension rebuild at TBT Racing where Travis Flateau (AKA "Tuner") worked his magic on the Showa suspension of the Suzuki V-Strom 800DE adventure bike. We were looking for better hold-up, improved bottoming resistance and all-around elevated off-road performance. During this initial part of our build, we also put on a Yoshimura exhaust, the RS-12 slip-on, and dropped in an aftermarket air filter to flow a little more air to the powerplant. These are just the first steps in our build. Still lots to come for this "Project ADV-Strom." PARTS LINKS: TBT Racing: https://tbtracing.com Full revalve, fork spring modification Yoshimura: https://yoshimura-rd.com/ Yoshimura RS-12 ADV Stainless Steel slip-on exhaust Sprint Filter: brocksperformance.com Sprint Filter T12 Suzuki MORE LINKS: 2023 Suzuki V-Strom 800 DE Review - The Best One Yet?    • 2023 Suzuki V-Strom 800 DE Review - The Be...   My original review of the stock 2023 Suzuki V-Strom 800DE. Best ADV Motorcycle Lift Stand? Harbor Freight ATV/Motorcycle Jack Review for Off-Road & MX Converts    • Best ADV Motorcycle Lift Stand? Harbor Fre...   Suzuki-V-Strom 800DE Tail Tidy - How To Install HRT (Hessler Rallye Team) Rear Fender Eliminator Kit    • Suzuki V-Strom 800DE Build: Project ADV St...