Hi everyone, well I'm looking to buy a second hand DL650 in the next few weeks and although I am really looking forward to getting my RTW I'm also a little worried about being ripped off. I am quite mechanically minded with cars but haven't been around bikes enough to know exactly what to look for. Has anyone got any hints on what sort of things to look out for when buying a second hand DL650?

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The Wonderful Wander To Oz

If it doesn't smoke and it doesn't rattle the rest is fixable. Buy one that is in really good shape but is a few years old and for sale by someone that really wants/needs to sell it. Perhaps if you let people know what part of the world you live in you could get more info as to where the deals are. Stop by if you come thru Montana USA.

loads of people have done it and written about;
A. Buying a bike
B. The DL650, Weestrom

So, your best bet is, perhaps, read into the threads in here and then ask any questions that are still on your mind. The generic advice in here goes for any bike of course.

The DL650 is not expensive, in fact = good value, so look for a good second hand one, low mileage, because you will be adding huge mileage compared with the average Joe Public. Here in the UK they come up on ebay quite regularly.

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Dave

The things I look for when buying motorcycle are:
How long owned, Service history, tyres,brake pads,chain & sprockets.
General appearance - if any scrapes or scratches ask the owner.
Things to ask: does it use oil (mine does not).
Get a test ride, Why are they selling?
The dl650 is a good reliable bike - I should know I've got one.
Hope you get a good one.

One thing i would change if you get a dl650 is the original suzuki screen bracket it causes a lot of buffeting.
I replaced mine with support@madstad.com no more buffeting. It also gives you the option to put GPS on with a little bit work.
Ride safe & enjoy.

You've made a good choice with the DL. I put over 50,000 miles on my first DL1000 and ride regularly with three other DL650 riders. No problems. One is at 45,000, the other about 30K, don't recall the 3rd guys. There are hundreds here in the San Fran Bay Area.

In 50K on my bike I did not have one problem. I beat the crap out of mine riding it HARD on dirt, in Baja and worse.

What to look for:
Try to buy from someone who was easy on the bike and did not screw anything up trying to "tune it" mess with it too much. Stock is best.

As a general rule...buy low mileage...just as you would with a car.

Look at the wheels. Look for dents. Means off road use. Move on.

Look at the under carriage....oil pan area, shock linkage Dog bones and such.
Any serious dings, scrapes?

Look under the seat. See lots of dust every where? Dirt ridden.

As a RTW bike the DL650 should perform well. Read reports on HU about those who've already done it. Keep in mind the stock DID O ring chain is not the best chain out there. It will go to about 12K to 16K miles typically. So a new
DID X-ring version is what you want. You want stock, OEM sprockets and
the 525 X-ring VM-2 chain. Always: new Chain, new sprockets. For RTW buy an extra counter shaft sprocket to take along. (the small one). I suggest
changing ONLY the small sprocket at 15K miles. Overall, you new chain will go to 30,000 miles wth only moderate care. (WD40, a wipe down, and very very light coating of 90 wt. gear oil every few days of riding.

The front Nissan brake pads wear quite well...expect roughly 20,000 miles.
The rear Tokico, much less, maybe 10 to 15K miles.

Two of my three DL650 friends have NEVER checked their valves. No need they say. On my DL1000 I checked them 3 times in 50K and never touched them...always in spec.

Be sure to buy Acerbis type handguards (or TUSK) or other brand. Lever will break off...carry spares. If you plan off roard riding, get a SW Motec bash guard or the better one. (forgot)

Go to : V-Strom Forum - powered by Tex Arts

Read Read Read. More than you will ever want to know about the 650 and
1000.

For RTW I would reccomend a Wilbur's shock and heavier springs up front.
Also, the 1000 seat is much better than stock DL650 seat.

Keep wheel bearings greased, and if riding rain alot, grease cushion link
bearings every 20K miles. (takes just a few minutes..very easy)

Watch the air filter....one of very few weak areas on the Vstrom. In dusty conditions it gets clogged in under 8000 miles. There are alternatives, see above site.

Other than that....there are simply no issues with these bikes. Even a fairly high mileage used example should be OK if it's not been hammered.
But for RTW get as "young" of a bike as possible...just for luck.

Your only worries in terms of the bike will be tires. The bike is perfectly happy to go 10,000 between oil changes but I do mine at about 4000. None use or burn oil...and if they do ...move on. They don't leak either...unless the shaft seal has been damaged....more common on the 1000.

Look for nicks in the shield and paint on the front for indication of running in
sandstorms or runnning at 120 mph for extended periods. OK on the 1000, not so great on the 650.

After a few sessions reading the Rapid Forum site you'll have a good feel for the bike.

Patrick

Thanks to everyone for replying and thanks for the on the road tips Mollydog. I managed to get myself a Blue DL 650 (I head the colour makes it go faster ) over the weekend! A three year old one being sold through a really good dealer over here (Cupar motorcycles), only 6000 miles on it and it looks like it had been really looked after.

Now all I have to do is get it kitted out for the trip

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The Wonderful Wander To Oz

Welcome to the V-Strom family, hobospy!

They are great bikes. I took my Wee-strom to the end of the earth and back and loved every minute of it. They are tough bikes and are very easy on tires, chains and sprockets. This equals a great RTW bike. I rode on some really tough roads in Bolivia with a guy on an African Twin and had no troubles keeping up with him.

Tires in the right size are hard to come by in the developing world. Atleast ones that are not 3-4x's the normal price as home and take 3 weeks for the shop to order them. I opted to go for some Pirelli MT60's, one size smaller both front and back and they did really well and much cheaper and easier to find atleast in South America. I actually liked them better on the gravel than the stock sizes. They don't do so well in high speed turns on pavement, but when will you really be able to do that while in the developing world. NOT OFTEN!

Again, Welcome to the gang!

Ryan