Suzuki DL1000 V-Strom (2002-2008)

Beautiful from some angles,and as ugly as big Hilda from the chippy from other angles, very few people know what to make of the big DL, unless they've owned one. It lacks glamour and focus but once you've had one, they'll always hold a place in your heart. It looks massive but is infact light and agile, weighing less than a Honda 800 Vfr. A big tank, comfy seat, bullet proof punchy engine,and good weather protection are a few of its good points. Aftermarket is easy and I recommend: progressive front springs, hyperpro rear suspension, Renthall fatbars, Oxford heated grips, Leo Vince/two Bros exhausts, Givi crash bars, Givi panniers and backbox. Poor bouncy suspension and poor brakes are its main faults but curable. So if you want a bike that is almost as good as a GS but at a fraction of the price and you can ignore some questionable styling and a few budget parts, this is a fantastic buy. Suzuki describe it as a dual purpose sports tourer and it is. Gravel, highway, commute, tour, racetrack, one up, two up, it does it all and pretty well indeed. If you think that you might get one, then get one, you won't regret it.

Why is the ugly BMW GS the benchmark for big trailies? Don't get me wrong its great to ride, solid, powerful, great handling and mature; but with the boxer that gets in the way or demaged with serious greenlaning, horried looks, stupid switchgear.... what is it about it? And why does nobody even mentions the V-Strom as a competitor? I can only guess - because it worries the competition. It is simply the best of all: Tiger, to heavy unreliable and useless for even gravel, Varadero an expensive softy with no soul, Aprillia not really a serious contender, KTM ugly as pig (which is why most are orange...), less reliable and more expensive than the V-strom. After a few month of Immobilizer related problems that proved a challenge to get right, I finally enjoyed hundreds of miles of mixed british roads: A,B and M. Even some green laning. In the sun, rain and frost. The V-Strom is so easy to live with. It easily keeps up with 'hard working, sport bikers on smoot A-roads, copes brilliantly with the poorer roads of the yorkshire dales and is almost as comfy as a tourer on the motorways. so why does it get so little recognition? shame it's discontinued too. Let's hope a new version, just as good, comes out again. I'll cercainly buy one.

I bought mine new in July '07. I began taking trips the following week, it was broken in within a week and ready for first service. I put a Suzuki gel seat on when I bought it, never have sat on the original. Also bought bar risers to come up and back a couple inches both ways. It's fairly comfortable for 2-3 hours, need to stretch a bit after that. I often ride to Central Oregon, a 4 hour(less at times) trip to where I go. Stop about half way for gas and bathroom, I'm good the rest of the way. Not a pro at all, but love to corner, it does quite well except if it's wet and you corner on cross walk paint or railroad tracks, hops a bit sideways if you don't slow way down. Only real issue I've had, when it was about 10 months or so old, about 8,000 miles, it started running badly at steady speeds unless I revved it quite a bit. Barely got it too the dealer, they changed plugs but couldn't duplicate the problem. Ran good for a while, then did same thing a couple of times, though not as bad as first time. Again, really couldn't find it, though they suspect factory lean settings at lower revs, supposed to be a fix for that, new chip or something. Other than that, really nothing wrong, been a mostly very good bike and a good buy I thought. Love the torque available, and if you kick down a gear to pass on a 2 lane road, pulls very hard to 90-100mph very fast. The test says top speed of 130, I've had mine to 130-135 several times and still more to go, dealer says 150 and I bet it's close. All in all, avery good bike and I've met many people that have 650's and 1000's and they are generall y very pleased with them.

two years now ...total reliability ...strong engine from the start ..the handling has improved no end ..raising links [ebay..up inch at the rear ] hagon rear shock ohlins springs sae 15 oil [fork brace ..murphs 020s fitted instead of swapping the bike i have improved it ..its cost around 1500 pounds but what i have now is a real compliant and competant bike one or two up the engine has a tourque curve betwwen 3500 and 7500 revs that you could play bowls on it dynod at 94.7bhp at rear wheel 97 nm torque at 4800 revs i get miffed when people say ugly bland japanise ect ect this bike has loads of chariter ..as a ex 1150 1200gsand varadero pilot ..in its present form its the best road bike of them all ....for not a lot of money the screen is the best of any bike ive sver ridden google madstat brackets [clever ajustable up down 4inches also the forward/ rear pitch ..and add a givi tall screen absalutly superb protection buffet free all day at a ton no dealers feed it halfors oil and the odd filter air filter gets very dirty when its abroad i paid 4900 quid four months old 900 miles ill get half me money back on improvments on ebay a lot of bike for no money at all

I have an 03 with 80,000 km. During the past five years the only problem has been a leaking slave cylinder --however routine cleaning keeps this under control. The Strom is a great bike, among the very best purchases I have made in my life. The engine has great torque, the clutch on 03 is flawless. I am 5'8" so I do find the bike a bit top heavy, especially when stationary --getting it upright off the kick stand, or in the garage. Over time you get used to it, but with a full tank of gas, you need to be careful at very low speeds.

after 5 years of riding a bandit600, when it came to upgrade, this was the only bike that fit the budget, me (6'4"), my requirements. the engine is stunning, and pulls effortlessly. the looks - although not to everyones taste, are suitable "rugged" i think, its not a panzer wagon, and its 'off road' ability is definately a second priority. if you are looking for an excellant all round fun to use, eurotourer, commuter, workhorse, this is the bike that gets constantly over looked, its like the new tiger, but less, its like the varadero, but less (and less ugly), its way less than the sports tourers, less than the panzer......allround excellant.

My last bike was a Kawasaki kh250 in 1978 so not fair to compare - Bought the V Strom as Im 6'5" and it seemed to be the biggest bike on the market - Its turned out made to measure - love it - Doing high mileage and everything other than the alarm is brilliant

best bike i ever bought

I rode the BMW R1200GS - good, but pricey. I thrashed the KTM990 - great fun, but the riding position wasn't comfortable, and it didn't like pottering through villages at 30mph. I rode the V-Strom and it became welded to my backside. It does the lot for 3k less than the BMW. The dog's....

Having hired BMW enduro bikes I was looking for a cheaper alternative. I tried the Honda Valadero, looked at the Triumph Tiger but once I had once seen the V-strom for the first time I went for it. It only needed a very short test ride to confirm my initial good feeling about it. The V-strom has phantastic, honest, non discript (some may say boring) looks. It's symmetrical, (dials, headlamps, exhausts), non aggressive down to earth and supptle. Mine was fitted with the paniers which I ended up using much more than I thought I would. since bying it in June I covered 2.500 miles, with and without my girl, traveling, urban fun, mountain roads and even a little off road. The latter is the only area it can not match the BMW! Else it is much more comfy, easy to control, powerful enough and great fun. And the sound is again fitting the caracter: relaxed, understated yet powerful, underlining the great character of this bike. Let's hope durabilty on my 2 year old bike will never be an issue (until now I had zero troubles) Highly recommended bike!!