Picked up a DL650...

[Flesher]

I picked up this bike about a week or so ago, it's a 2010 DL650 (new to me had about 5k on it) so far it's been a great commuter and I love the idea of going (almost) anywhere on it. After I take care of a few nagging items it will be even better. I struggled between choosing the 650 or the 1000 but in the end the 650 won out. I know there's a few other around here with this bike, any regrets?

[sapaul]

Great bike, well done man, these bikes are highly underestimated.

I rode one for 15 hours a day for 5 weeks during the World cup here in South Africa. It was a cold winter here then and the bikes took everything we threw at them. I found them to be light, nimble in traffic and very responsive. The are comfy too, never got the numb bum.

I wish you many safe and enjoyable miles

[indiGO]

I bought mine new in '08 and it's been my daily commuter ever since without even a hint of trouble. I've also taken it on a few tours to California and she ran like a champ, although I did purchase a new saddle after the first trip because I found the stock seat so uncomfortable for extended distances.
They aren't without their shortcomings however, chief among them being somewhat lackluster passing power at freeway speeds. It'll run all day at fairly high revs down I-5, but sometimes it would be nice to have a bit more available when you give the throttle a twist. Beyond that though, it's all good.
I've often considered trading up to a larger sport-touring bike, but I just can't justify the cost because my Strom simply does everything I've ever asked of it. She's simply the all-around best bike I've ever owned.

[jstark47]

They aren't without their shortcomings however, chief among them being somewhat lackluster passing power at freeway speeds. It'll run all day at fairly high revs down I-5, but sometimes it would be nice to have a bit more available when you give the throttle a twist.

That's what DL1000's are for!

[Flesher]

Thanks sapaul, yes I think they are very underestimated as well. This thing is more fun to ride than I thought, it needs revving to make it fun but with a 10,500 rpm redline it can be made to scream (well in a weed wacker kind of way, but still...) lol

@indiGO - yes all my research points to this being a very solid bike. I've had it up to 160km/h on the highway and she had steam left, but 160 indicated is probably high 140's on this bike, that aside I have to say I'm impressed with the motor in this thing, it's no slouch by any means but definitely not SS fast though. The seat kinda pushes you forward and puts pressure on the old "wedding tackle", the wind screen buffets like mad (a couple of washers to angle it have made it tolerable, and the injection mapping is such that the throttle is kinda jerky at lower rpms. But I gotta say these things have served to endear the bike to me, and I love the range on this bike - slightly over 400km on a tank of gas. The other annoyance is that the OEM top box is poorly designed it intrudes on the pillion, which my wife quickly let me know about heh lol guess I'll have to rig something to move it back a couple of inches (or tell her I did and see if she notices - ok maybe not)

[Flesher]

They aren't without their shortcomings however, chief among them being somewhat lackluster passing power at freeway speeds. It'll run all day at fairly high revs down I-5, but sometimes it would be nice to have a bit more available when you give the throttle a twist.

That's what DL1000's are for!

How do you like your 1000? I came within inches of choosing it, I think they're both great bikes, I hope I don't miss the power of the litre bike.

[jstark47]

They aren't without their shortcomings however, chief among them being somewhat lackluster passing power at freeway speeds. It'll run all day at fairly high revs down I-5, but sometimes it would be nice to have a bit more available when you give the throttle a twist.

That's what DL1000's are for!

How do you like your 1000? I came within inches of choosing it, I think they're both great bikes, I hope I don't miss the power of the litre bike.

I've not ridden a 650 - reportedly the 1000 engine is less refined than the 650, which I can see easily as the 1000 has fueling issues in stock form. It also isn't the torque monster at lower RPM's you might think a litre v-twin would be. That said, it totally redeems itself above 5K RPM's- big power hit in midrange.

The bike itself is brilliant, handles like it's on rails and is roomy and very comfortable.

......the wind screen buffets like mad (a couple of washers to angle it have made it tolerable

You need a Madstad bracket and/or a Laminar Lip on that wind screen. I use both together, and the buffeting is totally gone.

[sapaul]

We are at altitude here and we still saw 190kmh on ours running 93 octane petrol. I am short so never had the issue of wind. One of the bikes had an aftermarket pipe fitted and definitely had more mid range than the other 2. Being a 650 though we rode a lot between 5th and 6th in heavy traffic

[storysunfolding]

I love my WeeStrom. I've taken it on the transAmerican trail, ridden from Maine to Alaska to Baja to Florida and back, and loads of other riding from commuting to hitting the track. I'm lucky at 6' that I only ever experience wind buffeting when I have someone on the back. The rest of the time she performs wonderfully.

indiGO- I've never had an issue with passing power. It gets to over 100 mph indicated fairly quickly. Are you trying to gas it in 6th gear (overdrive)? I've taken the wife and all our camping gear for a two week trip on it, through the mountains (granted the Blue Ridge, not the Rockies) and even fully loaded never had an issue when I needed to pass.

Best part about this bike is that my 06 is just passing 110,000 miles (~177,000 km) and I've not had any major issues. I can give you quite a great review on Metzler Tourance tires though!

[Marvin]

the Suzuki DL650 V Strom, and SV650S (same engine) the engines sound like something is loose inside and rattling around, thats why guys install loud exhausts cause they are ashamed the sound the engine makes.
but the DL1000 engine sounds good