Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

1_~~;V;~- Suzlkr:-~DL;- -;6- ;: :;:;-V--; -:St-ro-m------------20O4 -; :- u i 50 ;-;o n the porky side . Thus, the DL6S0' s seat is about 820mm high, abou t 20mm less than the DLI ooo 's, and the bike's w eight is som e 40 pounds less , says Suzuki. O h yes, and it rings in at only $6S99, w hich is $2400 less than the DLI 000 . Ifyou've had any expe rie nce w ith the DLlooO, t he lowered seat is something that you 'll notice immediately upon climbing aboard the DL650. Even more vertically challenged riders will find it easier to get both feet on the ground , which makes it easier to shuffle the bike around in parking situations and the like. You'll also appreciate that Suzuki really did its homework with regard to the cockpit layout. The seating pos ition is comfy. The bars and pegs seem to be located in just the right place to prov ide long-distance comfort - a good th ing, since the 5.7-gallon fuel tank gives the VStrom 650 over 200 miles of range By SC OTT RO USSEAU PHOTOS BY K INNEY JONES T he labe l "part s-bin engineered" often holds negative connotations when it Suzuki's baby SUV may be more impressive than its bigger sibling co me s to motorcycles . Sharing common components to build different mode ls has been a standard economic practice since the dawn of mass production , but PBE bikes are, more often than not, market-fil ler models (ano ther negative) that take a backseat to the latest and greatest techno-wizardry that the factories have to offer. This is especially true in the cruiser segment. But every now and then, parts-bin specials can and do receive more accolades than the original models they were spawned from . That should be the case with the 2004 Suzuki DL650 V-Strom. The DL650 V·Strom is the result of a mar riage between Suzuki's adventure-style DLI 000 V-Strcm chassis and its SV650 street sports model. Originally des igned for the European market, the DLI 000 V- 22 that enjoyment was found in the bike itself. Power delivery of the little tw in is abo ut as use r-friendly as it comes. The re are no discernable hitches o r jerks in the EFI mapping. and the engine has a linear feel that begins very low in the powerband. It sports a comfortable, rubbe rband- like pull almost all the way up to the I O,5oo .rpm redline. The wide powerband, combined with th e tighter gearing, means that you can be lazy with the shifter, which delivers smooth action from cog to cog. Wo rking the gears between stoplights is an easy chore. The clutch action, which takes place well away from the handlebar, is well -suited to street duty. When motoring along in sixth gear, 4500 rpm will put you right on 60 mph, with 5000 taking you to a highway-haulin' 67 mph. Even so, the well-muffled motor emits little more than a pleasing aural hum even at 7000 rpm, where you'll see 80 mph while still having more speed to play With. Any more than that Simply isn't necessary unless you're being chased by a herd of semis. In its element, between 60 and 80 mph, the V-Strorn is as pleasing to ride as a lot of long-distance tourers that we have tested, which makes the news that Suzuki will be offering a hardbag option for the bike welcome indeed . The V-Strom 650 is fun to ride at just about any pace this side of knee -dragger mode through the twisty stuff, too. To start with , the bike is quite nimble at low speeds. Quick left-toright transitions are a snap, thanks to the leverage afforded by the handlebar place. ment. At higher velocities , those same Strom also made its way to the USA for the 2002 model year, where it has since sold in decent amounts for an Asian model in a category dominated by European makes most notably those fro m Germany. The SV650, meanwhile, has earned a reputation for having one of the sweetest middisplacement V-twin engines wrap ped in a competent sporting chassis, ma king it extremely popula r in entry-level club road racing circles as well as everyday street use. In the DL650 V-Strom, Suzuki's marketing department saw an opportunity to build a new model that would address some of the knocks against the DLI000 VStrom . There we re only a couple, namely that the big DL was a little tall and a little FEBRUARY 4, 2004 • CYCLE NEWS between fill -ups . Easy-to-read instrumentation includes a large, analog speedometer and tachometer. LCD is used for the digital clock, bar-style fuel and temperature gauges (five bars means full fuel) and odometer/tripmeter. Our particular sampling of the DL650 VStrom took place in the prist ine desert of the Joshua Tree National Park, northeast of Palm Springs, California. The day spent aboard the little 'Strom was one of those that makes being a So Cal-based motojo urnalist so rewar ding. The air temperature was perfect, hove ring in the mid-70s, with a cloudless sky and nary a breath of wind from sunup to sundown. The 220 miles that we trekked aboard the V-Strom seemed to take far too little time . A lot of 4 0th Anniver sary transitions are not a problem - which is no real surprise because they weren't for the DLI 000 V-Strorn, either. And remember, the 650 is 40 pounds lighter than the 1000. The DL650 has a really planted feel in the corners, which matches its straight line stability to a tee. The surprise is that there are no surprises in the package . The same is true for the suspension, which behaves a lot like some of the more street-oriented dual-sports that we have tested over the years . A touch on the soft side, the preload-adjustable-only, 43mm damper-rod fork (geez, talk about oldschoo!!) does a great jo b of soaking up road -surface irregularit ies. Out back, the Showa shock keeps pace with the forks. The DL:s brakes are more than ade quate, as we ll.They have plenty of feel, but

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