The first event in 2014 was held in the customer parking lot in front of Suzuki headquarters.
The V-Strom series has evolved into five models and eight variations. At the venue, there was an actual vehicle on display that you could ride.
The V-Strom series now has a lineup of five models and eight variations, but it was actually only recently added to the official Japanese lineup in January 2013. The first model was the 650, followed by its sister model, the 1000, in June 2014. The V-Strom first debuted as the 1000 at the Paris Motor Show in 2001. The 650 appeared in 2004 and grew to become Suzuki’s main earner in Europe. For a while it was distributed in Japan as a reverse import, so it was familiar to see at touring destinations, but it was only 10 years ago that it was added to the official lineup.
And for the past 10 years, Suzuki has been hosting the V-Strom Meeting. The venue for the first memorable event was the customer parking lot in front of Suzuki headquarters, where over 300 V-Stroms gathered from all over the country. Considering that the lineup at the time only consisted of the 1000, 650, and 650XT, this was a considerable number. Since then, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the event was limited to merchandise sales in 2020 and online streaming in 2021, but overcoming these difficulties, the event has returned to the real world at Suzuki headquarters in 2022. And it is set to be held again this year without incident.
The author, the owner of a 250SX, set off from Chiba for Hamamatsu early in the morning!
At the Tokyo toll gate on the Tomei Expressway. This photo was taken at 5:27 AM. It started to rain lightly, so I put on my boot covers.
I switched from a Yamaha Touring Serow to a V-Strom 250SX last December, and I was looking forward to participating in this meeting. The event started at 10:00, and the bicycle parking lot opened at 9:00. Since waiting on the side of the road before that was not allowed, I left my home in northwestern Chiba Prefecture so that I would arrive at the venue around 9:30.
As I entered the Shin-Tomei Expressway, the Smart Ride Display showed “Arrival at destination 8:20.” At this rate, I’d arrive before the gates opened, so I entered Suruga Bay Numazu SA to adjust my time. There, I saw five V-Stroms in the motorcycle area! One of them, a 650 owner, asked me, “Are you in Hamamatsu too?” We ended up talking about how, at this rate, we’d arrive early, so maybe we should have breakfast.
There were V-Stroms everywhere! Surprisingly, there were a lot of 250SXs, which had only been on the market for a year.
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The yellow V-Sto SX on the far right is the author’s car. The weather was mild enough that you could get around in just a shirt during the day.
Afterwards, I made good progress on the Shin-Tomei Expressway with my V-Strom SX, heading to Suzuki Headquarters from Hamamatsu Hamakita IC. On the way, excluding the service area, I saw less than 10 V-Stroms, but when I arrived at the site, I was shocked by the sight! The parking lot was filled with V-Stroms on both sides, and it was truly impressive. The distance from my home was 284.4km. It was worth riding all the way here.
The stage was filled with excitement as designers and guests gave talk shows.
Here are some images and captions from the event.
The opening speech was given by Suzuki Motor Corporation President and CEO Toshihiro Suzuki. He was holding a cup commemorating the 10th anniversary of the V-Strom Meeting, which was made by the MC, Noah Sellen (a motorcycle journalist and ceramic artist).
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The first thing to happen after the opening declaration was the group photo. The number of visitors was 1,518, which is 103% of the previous number. Meanwhile, the number of motorcycles in attendance was 1,173, which is a slight decrease of 93% of the previous number. This may have been due to the rain forecast. Some V-Stoker owners who had come from far away left the venue immediately after the photo session.
The V-Strom designer talk show began at 11:10. The speakers were Chief Engineer Yukio Kato, Assistant Chief Engineer Junya Togo, and Designer Kazutaka Ogawa. On the left was MC Noah Seren.
The guest speakers at the talk show were Takashi Kasori and Masaru Kikuchi, the former president of Dosojin. It’s surprising to learn that they have known each other for 50 years.
Takashi Kasori’s current favorite bike is this V-Strom 250SX.
Takuya Tsuda, a racing rider competing in the JSB1000 class of the All Japan Road Race Championship, appeared as a guest on stage. His beloved V-Strom 250 was on display.
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The message snap photo shoot has been held since the first event. The background and message board banner change every year, and this year is the 10th anniversary version.
I also got to take some photos. I’m looking forward to the photos being uploaded to the V-Strom Meeting official website.
A list of original V-Strom Meeting merchandise. In addition to the items that will be sold in advance on the official online store, there will also be items that can only be purchased on the day, and long lines formed as soon as the doors opened.
The original event T-shirt commemorating the 10th anniversary costs 3,500 yen.
The writer tried his hand at the acrylic keychain gacha and spent 2,000 yen to get the long-awaited 250SX!
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V-Strom Meeting exclusive kawara rice crackers were also on sale. They were reasonably priced at 550 yen for a pack of 6 and 800 yen for a pack of 18, and were easy to carry, so they sold out by the afternoon.
Nine companies exhibited at the event, including Kijima (pictured), Tanax, Daytona, Dirt Freak, Dunlop Tires, Nankai Parts, Ellie Power, Suzuki Motorcycles, and Suzuki Business. Every booth was a huge success.
The e-PO, whose release date and price have yet to be decided, was casually on display at a press test ride event held the other day. It’s in a different genre from the V-Strom, but it still attracted a crowd.
Only at events like this can you see such unique customizations. With over 1,000 bikes, the time just flies by when you walk around the parking lot.
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A brave soul has attached a small hard case to a V-Strom SX using a homemade bracket! The great thing about it is that it can be easily removed by loosening the knob on the back. Other modifications include extending the front fork to increase ground clearance, making this a bike that has been heavily modified.
The first visitor this year was this black V-Strom 650. The owner, who switched from an Inazuma 400, has covered over 470,000km (!) since new without ever opening the engine. Three years ago, he was involved in a serious accident that almost put the bike out of production, but he spent 750,000 yen to restore it. “I never get bored of it, and the more I ride it, the more it becomes a bike that suits me,” he said, making an impressive comment.
As I was wandering around the bicycle parking lot, President Suzuki came over. He actively communicated with visitors and readily posed for commemorative photos.
The event concluded with a rock-paper-scissors tournament. The prizes prepared by the exhibitors were quite impressive.
Suzuki Motor Corporation’s General Manager of Motorcycle Business Unit Tsuyoshi Tanaka declared the event was over. He made a remark that implied, “When a new V-Strom comes out, be sure to check that out too,” which excited the audience.
The weather held up well and the event finished as planned.
Guests and Suzuki employees see the visitors off. I’m the one riding the V-Strom SX.
Although it started to rain a little during the event, it didn’t become a downpour, and the event ended at 2pm as scheduled. Although I don’t know any V-Strom owners, I was still able to spend a very meaningful time asking various questions about customizations and even received a homemade sticker while walking through the bike parking lot. Next year, the event is planned to be held in an even larger venue, and we will let you know the location as soon as it is announced. Also, visitors with vehicles other than V-Stroms are welcome, and it is an event that can be enjoyed by non-owners as well, so I hope you will come and visit next time.
