Test fleet: Suzuki V-Strom 800RE

I've only had it a few days, but I've liked it since mile one. Hopefully my affection for the Suzuki will continue well into the future

The business of bike ownership shouldn't be as emotional as it is really. After all, motorcycles are just collections of components, not actual living things. As we all know though, they have the ability to prompt passions well above and beyond that.

That mind-shifting ability was certainly on my mind when I rode up to Suzuki to collect my new V-Strom 800RE. I should have been excited at the prospect of getting hold of a new bike, a model I've been looking forward to riding ever since I'd sampled it for the first time at its press launch last year. And while that positivity was definitely in place, it was tainted by the fact the bike I was making my way to the firm's HQ in Milton Keynes on was something I wasn't too keen on giving up.

Out with the old in with the new

Yes, the happiness of the 75-mile run up north was a little restricted because I was effectively in the latter stages of saying goodbye to an old friend. The ride would be the last I'd make on my V-Strom 800DE, the model with the more off-road biased design that I was about to swap for the new RE (Road Explorer) version. The DE's a bike I've clocked just short of 12,000 miles on, a distance that's evoked a multitude of fond memories, and around 90 minutes after I'd pressed its starter button for the final time, my memorable relationship would be coming to an end. Right then, the old V-Strom felt far more valuable than just a 'collection of components. Mind you, as you'll soon discover, I did end up retaining some parts from my old friend.

Detailed changes make for a very different feel