For one-up touring with gear on sealed and good gravel roads, you can not go past the DL650 for comfort, performance and value.

For reliability, the DL650 is based on the DL100 that has proven itself (except the motor/gearbox) for a few years now. The motor/gearbox in the DL650 is taken from the SV650 that has also proven itself over the past few years.

The DL650 runs happily on low octane fuel; important in some less developed countries. With the 22 litre tank (same as the DL1000), you should have no problem getting 400km before refuelling.

The only down side to the DL650 is that the OEM tyres do not like mud. This can be solved with the fitting of more mud-orientated tyres.

After-market accessories are coming onto the market. Currently available are a centre stand, crash bars, rear carrier and hard luggage. Skid plate and others should be avaialble within the next couple of months.

I have had my DL650 for 3 months now with 6,000km of one-up with gear touring on 80% sealed roads and 20% "development" roads in outback Queensland. I still can't get the smile off my face when riding it.

Form the initial production run, most dealers have now sold out of DL650's. New shipments are expected in Jluy/August 2004.

Before purchasing my DL650, I did a lot of research into what bike would be best for me. This included the DL1000, F650GS (& Dakar), XL650V Transalp and R1150GS Adventure.

My recommendations are; for sealed & formed gravel roads-

One-up touring with gear or two-up day touring, the Suzuki DL650

Two-up touring with gear, the Suzuki DL1000

For touring that includes unformed roads and scrub bashing-

One-up touring with gear or two-up day touring, the BMW F650GS Dakar (not the F650GS)

Two-up touring with gear, the BMW R1150GS Adventure

BTW, my other two bikes are BMW and my car is BMW.

If the DL650 (or DL1000) is for you, I would recommend the "must haves" as-

SW Motech centre stand
Scottoiler with lube tube
Crash bars (SW Motech preferred)
Rear carry rack (large)
Skid plate (when available).

For further information, on the DL650, try joining the Yahoo groups "DL650" and "VStrom2", the latter catering for both DL1000's & DL650's although more DL1000 orientated.

Richard
Cairns, Australia

[This message has been edited by RBSK100RT (edited 02 June 2004).]