SCEM Engine on DL650

[ozhanu]

hi all,

while i was do some research on dl650 before i decided to buy, i have seen some interesting articals in wikipedia.org. below you will see the copy/paste from wikipedia

keyword: suzuki dl650 v-strom:
In a significant departure from the SV engine, which uses cast iron cylinder sleeves, the DL650 uses Suzuki's proprietary SCEM (Suzuki Composite Electro-chemical Material) plated cylinders, a race-proven nickel-phosphorus-silicon-carbide coating for reduced weight and improved heat transfer, allowing for tighter and more efficient piston-to-cylinder clearance[3], similar to a Nikasil coating.

keyword: nikasil
Nikasil was very popular in the 1990s. It was used by companies such as BMW, Ferrari and Jaguar Cars in their new engine families. However, the sulfur found in much of the world's low quality gasoline caused the Nikasil cylinders used by BMW to break down over time [1], causing costly engine failures. BMW eventually abandoned its Nikasil coating after replacing a number of M60 V8 engines in the USA and the UK.

Nikasil or similar coatings under other trademarks are also still widely used in racing engines, including those used in Formula One and ChampCar. Suzuki currently uses a race-proven nickel phosphorus-silicon-carbide proprietary coating trademarked SCEM (Suzuki Composite Electro-chemical Material) to minimize cylinder size and improve heat dissipation, e.g., on the engine of the Suzuki DL650 V-Strom and Hayabusa motorcycles [1].

--end of copy/paste.

i am quite suprised. i know there are some travellers who are on their rtw trip with v-strom. but after i read this articles i come to a conclusion that v-strom engines might cause problems on rtw especially where petrol is low quality.

different ideas welcome!