2004 Suzuki V-Strom 650

I bought my DL650K4 brand new March 6, 2004. I used it to commute 90 miles each way to work. I added the OEM Heated grips, Knuckleguards and eventually a Givi E52 trunk. This is a tall bike and top heavy. I fell over in my driveway less than 2 weeks after purchasing it because the kickstand folded ... up when I thought it was all the way down. My criteria for purchase was a medium sized bike with a long range. The Vstrom has a 5.8 gallon fuel tank and with stock gearing and obeying the speed limits it will get at least 55 mpg. I've gotten 60+ on a few occaissions. Second, I was looking for a narrow bike as I lane split a lot. It is very good for this. The stock tires are not good for the pavement, I switched to Metzler Marrathons at my first tire change. At 6000 miles I changed the front sprocket from the stock 15 tooth to a 17 tooth and found the change to be good. I cruise about 80 indicated (73 real speed as best I can tell), 6000 rpm before the change, 5200 after. I finally got around to lowering the bike 1" front and rear and I've added a 7/8" bar riser and it's much more comfortable. I also added a Madstadt bracket so my windshield is much more adjustable. This is a very good farkle. About 50K miles the speedo drive sending unit went bad and I replaced it and haven't had any other problems with anything on the bike. After nearly 5 years I'm still on the original battery. About 2 years ago I changed the muffler out for a Staintune and I love the sound. I can hear my bike when I'm riding now. Even with the taller gearing the clutch has not been a problem. It is easy to stall though, if you don't use enough revs off the line. This has been one of my best ever motorcycles and I wouldn't hesitate to ride it anywhere I needed to go right now, just let me go to the bank and get some traveling cash. The Vstrom is still just as smooth as ever, you can read license plates in the rear view mirrors. It has the best headlights of any bike I've ever owned. Brakes are adequate, I've changed the front pads twice and the rear pads once. I flat spotted the original front tire 3 times on dry pavement and managed to get off the brakes and recover control and get back on the brakes and stop or slow down enough to avoid the object in the way. The bike has been trouble free, never stranded me, it's smooth, comfortable and it will get you there. I've had the valves checked 3 times in the 80K I've ridden. This is a great bike and I expect to get many more miles out of it.

Having ridden small and large standards and sportbikes, the DL 650 is really so competent, fun and practical that for 75 percent of all my riding, it's all I need. With the right tires (Pirelli Scorpion Syncs), and some practical and/or stylish accessories the WeeStrom can be made into a fairly attractive ... mount and it's a great adventure tour bike, so long as you stay off the super rugged trails or sand -- handles gravel and dirt just fine though. By far my favorite all-purpose bike to date.

I've owned my V-Strom forever.

It's been used for transportation to work, for weekend rides (with and without my dear wife) and for touring around Europe in the summertime.

It's a wonderful allround machine and it'll fullfill my needs for a long time.

See you on the road!

Flemming ... Rendbo

6710 Esbjerg, Denmark, Europe

I have been a fan of the Suzuki SV650 motor for a long time and found that the 650 V-Strom, in my opinion, is a better bike than its big brother, the 1000 V-Strom.

This is a great bike for everything you want to do, in moderation. For daily riding, road trips, two-up, an occasional ... track day and some off road stuff, you really can't beat it!

I regularly give 2-up rides at the track on this bike and pass A LOT of people while doing it. It handles well, but in a sport riders mind, tires can be tough to find. However, the new Conti Road Attacks hold up well, even for a 19" front!

Accessories are abundant for this bike, and it is versatile.

I recommend this bike for anyone who is looking for a great bike! Don't get fooled into thinking it is a hard-core sport bike, or a cruiser, or a dirt bike. It has the blodd of all of those, and is not shy to stand out in a crowd. I havce to admit, it is not the prettiest bike in the school yard by a long shot.

I have well over 50,000 miles on mine so far and I have been light on the riding the past couple years as I have been working a lot and not riding nearly as much as I should be.

Looking for a great bike that can do everything you want to do with it? This is your bike! And, since you can get out of the showroom for nearly $6,000, or $7,500 with some goodies or ABS, this is a bike you want to make sure does not get off your short list too quickly.