Quick Ride

Quick Ride

SUZUKI DL650 V-STROM

Dumb luck strikes again

SOMETIMES, YOU JUST get lucky. No sooner had we returned our likable long-term DL 1000 VStrom to Suzuki then we were invited to the press intro duction for the new DL650 at Southern California's Joshua Tree National Park. Exploration seems to be the forte of this new "6-Strom," as we discovered while trekking around the 794,000 acres where the Sonoran and Mojave Deserts merge.

The DL650’s motor was reaped from the SV650, the most recent example of which made 72 horsepower and 46 foot-pounds of torque on the oV CW dyno. Suzuki has added supplemental weight to the DL’s starter clutch, which like the commonly employed flywheel weights on off-road bikes increases crankshaft inertia to smooth transitions between on/off throttle and help resist stalling during starts or on loose terrain. A powerhouse it’s not, but a smoothrunning, quirk-less deliverer of power it is.

Discovering some of Joshua Tree’s natural wonders required negotiating a mix of gravel, dirt and sand-covered roads, where linear power and predictions of grip are essential on a borrowed motorbike. A lower overall gear ratio and cam timing altered to shift more power between 4000 and 6500 rpm further tailor the 645cc, dohc, 90-degree V-Twin for adventure-touring duty. We tried to make the fuel-injected engine hesitate or gulp for air by short-shifting at nearly wide-open throttle, but aided by a secondary valve in its throttle bodies that further tunes incoming air, the 650 worked right through the gobs of gas without so much as a cough. As on the DL1000, fuel capacity is 5.8 gallons, which means you can go more than 200 miles on a tankful.

An aluminum-alloy twinspar frame and swingarm riding on Showa suspenders makes up the same basic skeleton as on the bigger Strom. The difference in middleweight application is a much more solid feel, thanks in part to suspension adjustments that have a more noticeable effect-the fork is adjustable for spring preload, while the shock boasts remote hydraulic spring preload plus rebound damping.

Not only smaller in displacement but also in physical size, the 650 weighs a claimed 417 pounds (39 less than the 1000), and its seat is nearly an inch narrower and shorter, making it more manageable for riders under 6 feet tall. As a result, it feels less like a fat lady hiking in high heels.

New creature-features include a three-position manually adjustable windscreen that works over a 2-inch range, and easy-to-read instrumentation that incorporates digital displays for mileage, water temperature, fuel level and time, plus analog gauges for speed and rpm.

Available in black and blue-make that black or blue-with an MSRP of $6599, the DL650 won’t require an archeological expedition for you to dig up enough money to afford one. Suzuki understandably cut a few corners to reach that price point, and while we’re not bothered by the lack of a chin spoiler or the exhaust being routed through a single can, the absence of handguards is a bummer.

That said, we can’t think of a better bike on which to explore a national park. Words can’t describe it.

Joshua Tree ain’t half-bad, either. -Mark Cernicky