Suzuki DL650 V Strom Motorcycle Review
Used Motorcycle Review for the Suzuki DL 650
Adventure bike is the category, buy the V-Strom and drive across Africa is the mantra of the day. Well, how many of us are really going to do that? Not very many would be my guess. However, since I own a 2007 DL 650, I believe the bike could take you more places than you will ever think about going. You will also notice I did not refer to my bike as a V-Strom. Personally, I hate that name. I think it sounds dorky. While I am on the ‘I don’t like bandwagon’…. I don’t like the ugly stickers they put on the tank and I don’t like the way the super long rear fender looks and I wish it had a little more horsepower. But besides those things, I love my DL 650. Sure, I could of got a DL 1000 for more power and weight and money. The DL 650 fit my budget and I actually like the way it looks and it is a great, agile bike for everyday use in the urban jungle.
The 2007 DL 650 V-twin, four stroke has a displacement of 645 ccm or 39.36 cubic inches and rates the horsepower at 64 @ 8500 rpm with 48 ft. Lb. of torque @ 7400 rpm. Top speed is listed at 120 mph but I’m not so sure about that. Although I haven’t pegged it and let it scream to the max, I have been to 110 mph a few times with a few thousand rpms to spare, so I think it might top 120. While I’m on the topic of speed, I have to say that I ride this bike more like a sport bike. I can ride all day cruising at 80 mph without any problems at all. When I’m around where I live, I can usually get about 200 miles out of a full tank of gas but I like to hot rod the bike and use the full span of the tachometer, if ya know what I mean. I drove this bike to the U.P. of Michigan a few years ago (I live in Georgia) and I got around 220 miles on a tank of gas. Just about the time my butt couldn’t take it anymore, I needed gas, so it worked out fine.
The DL 650 is a tall bike and it looks big next to most bikes out there on the road. The seat height is at 32.3 inches. With a 6.5 inch ground clearance, I like the height this bike offers. I don’t think twice about curb hopping if I need to get around something or someone. There is one thing I wish I would of known about when I was researching this bike before I bought it. There is a design flaw with the placement of the windshield, at least at my height of five foot eleven. The buffeting was pretty bad, it felt like I was getting slapped pretty hard on the sides of my helmet by some guy who wasn’t happy I danced with his girl. Fortunately, there is a solution that doesn’t involve buying one of those big, tall, ugly windshields that I see so often on this bike. (Don’t get mad if you have one…. if you like it, that’s all that matters.) Madstad Engineering makes a windshield bracket that will work with the small, stock windshield and it is awesome. I couldn’t be happier with the look and the function of it. No more buffeting.
All in all, this is a good, solid bike for the money and if you decide to purchase this model of used bike from somebody on Ebay or elsewhere, you can’t go wrong with your choice of a Suzuki DL 650. I will own mine for many years to come!
