I've ridden both with and without ABS.

I would not buy another bike that didn't have ABS. It's really a "no-brainer" for me for real world riding on the street. Off road and on the track you might not want it, but on the road it can save your life (or at least your skin and the bike).

Lots have people have ridden lots of miles without it and never had an accident. That doesn't mean they won't have one tomorrow that ABS could have prevented. I could have driven my last 500,000 miles in cars without wearing my seat belt. That doesn't mean I'd feel (or be) safe driving tomorrow without putting it on. Up to this point I could have ridden all my life without a helmet and protective gear and still been safe. Doesn't mean I'm going to stop wearing them.

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Bob A.
Current bikes:
1990 Kawasaki Ninja 250 (Rebuilt)
2011 Suzuki DL650A

I understand peoples attitude about not letting the presence of ABS dictate their decision on whether to buy a motorcycle. And based on the posts many, many riders have felt no need for it or have had no situation where the lack of ABS has changed anything or contributed to an accident.

And fortunately I have never needed ABS on my DL650. I HAVE however had ABS save my bacon twice on my FJR. I'll never know how bad my injuries may have been had I crashed due to not having ABS. But I do know that I had no injuries (or motorcycle damage) because I had ABS.

For that reason any future m/c purchases will be ABS equipped.

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Banks C
2006 DL650 Current Engine 15,625 Prior engine 67,426 when chain came off and bent valves
2005 Yamaha FJR1300A 68,000 miles and counting

I bought an '07 Vee with 16K miles on it last March after reading all the forums comments about clutches, fuel issues, etc. The PO wouldn't allow me to ride the bike before purchase, I did hear it run, this is typical in the DFW area.

It did have a mild "chudder" and promptly had the "werks" done on the clutch basket and it fixed the issue.

I thought the bike ran well, no serious surge or backfire. I synched the TB and checked the TPS and just enjoyed the bike. Two months ago I added a PCIII and it's like an new bike. I modified a custom map downloaded from the forums and haven't noticed any fuel mileage loss.

Bottom line...I would buy the bike again, for me there were no surprises.

Now I'm adding Nanuk cases on OEM racks, more customization.

All my previous bikes had issues, I just consider it part of owning and customizing a motorcycle.

One thing the Vstroms have are knowledgeable folks on the forums that have worked through the issues and are willing to help new owners make the upgrades and mod's. KLR's also do as well as the great guys at concours.org, but not all models can say the same.

I am impressed with my 04. Rode out to the Salton Sea to see some friends camping and offroading. Rode on the hard pack and some sandy areas. Was not as bad as I thought it would be. Could be if you are not careful.

Put on a new rear Battle Wing before I went. Good tire. The DL performed flawlessly in the mountains, desert and freeway.

Great bike for the money imho.

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2004 Suzuki Vstrom 1000 - Silver
2004 Yamaha FJR - Cerulean Blue
2007 F150 Lariat SuperCrew - Dark Blue
1981 Porsche 928 5 speed - Prussian Blue

Ive got 24K on my 2006 DL1K and no chudder to speak of. Anyone report high mileages without running into this famous issue?

I talk to a LOT of owners with clutch questions. YES, there are a few bikes that have 20-30K miles that have not shown definitive signs of chudder. One owner has owned 4 1000's ( 2 SV's and 2 DL's ) that said two of the bikes were very bad yet the other two never showed symptoms. I also have worked on bikes for owners that said they didn't think the chudder was bad but wanted to get rid of the noise. Upon installing the new basket they realized just how bad the chudder had become. It doesn't start overnight, but comes on gradually as the components wear.

The parts responsible for chudder are not precisely manufactured. The casting process for the basket is production oriented instead of precision because of costs. The inner plate is punched on a huge press with dies that wear. If you happen to get a really good aluminum basket casting and it happens to get an inner plate that is from a fresh set of dies and they fit together just right....you will get one of the baskets that last a LOT better than average.

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'12 DL 650- '04 DL 650- '03 DL 1000- '04 R 1150 RT

WERKS modified clutch baskets for DL and SV 1000's.
The BEST in chudder control, noise control, and lasting durability! AVAILABLE HERE: www.werksparts.com
Want straightforward easy to understand answers to clutch basket questions or concerns? E-mail Terry info@werksparts.com

Is 40k high mileage? I have that on my 07 and the clutch has never been any issue at all.

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New Crispy Snack Cracker To Ease Crushing Pain Of Modern Life

A poll at VSRI tells the story. DL1000 Clutch Chudder annoyance poll
52% report having chudder. 77% of those with chudder are bothered enough to want to do something about it.

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Pat- 2007 DL650A was ridden to all 48 contiguous states. 2012 DL650A is just getting started.
Nicknames for posting ease on my part, Vee = all DL1000s. Wee = 2004-2011 DL650s. Glee = 2012+ DL650s

They don't all get the chudder for certain. Owner survey on VSRI indicated this. Depends what you class as high mileage? Later edit - See greywolf linked to the poll. Thank you.

The plate the damper springs push against inside the casting of the basket is loose. Showed this back in 2010 with the two movies below.

Plates have been exactly as loose as in this first movie in well over twenty brand new baskets stripped to fix. Must stress these were new baskets that had never run in an engine. This over the last three years showing year of manufacture ranging from 2003 right up to the latest batch I've seen which were cast in 2010 (mix of DL and SV). Every one cast in a different die but the exact same dimensions when checked over.
IMGP7206 - YouTube

Second movie is my own SV basket at 12,000 miles. Looking from opposite side to above. Stripped for experiment into what caused the chudder (uploaded by VSRI admin so not my account).
Inner Keeper Plate Rattle - YouTube

All baskets clearly don't start to chudder as a result of this loose plate. Would be so frequently reported that Suzuki themselves would surely have had to sort it out by now if that was the case? Anyone know how many bikes will have been built with this clutch basket since 2002?

The plate always moves about but there is a "trigger" which sets off this movement in a certain pattern through that infamous engine rpm range. A resonance is set off in the damper. Some hit it after just 5,000 miles, a few even less. Some by 40,000 miles and plenty not til after a good many more. Plenty may never experience it at all. There is some knock on damage inside the basket over time once that resonance takes hold which can be fixed. Thats the nature of the chudder. Creeps in so slowly and worsening over the miles. Like I say, depends what you class as high mileage.

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yeah i was just wondering. Ive done the chudder test multiple times and havnt felt any close to what's been reported.