Hello all! I pick up my new 2012 DL100 today in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and will be touring around the Rocky Mountains and the western US for the next few weeks before returning to central Mexico where I live. I originally came up to the US to pick up a new Kawasaki Versys, and sell my old Versys as I can only have one foreign plated vehicle in Mexico at a time. After picking up the Versys, working through the excruciatingly slow-moving break-in period I took off with a friend on his BMW 1150RT for a 4 day loop from Santa Fe through Colorado and back. I was through the break-in period by this point, and had a fun time, but was also becoming aware of the marginal power of the Versys. That, coupled with some annoying problems with the way the dealer set up the bike had me thinking about exploring the option of trading the 1 week old Versys for a new bike.

I had ridden a friends DL1000 a year or so ago, and had liked the way it handled, and the extra punch of power over my Versys, and quickly focused on the VStrom as a possible replacement. I hit the ground running yesterday when the dealer's opened up, made a deal with the local dealer for a trade of the Versys, (now with 1500 miles on it), and some cash. I will hopefully be in possession of the new bike within a few hours, and begin yet another excruciatingly slow break-in period.

I'm psyched to get the bike and start traveling around the Rockies again, as well as SoCal. Now for the "questions" part of my title to this thread. I've been reading here about the PzCIII/throttle body synch issues. Is this something you people would recommend I do before I return to Mexico in July? Should I just ride it, and see how it does? Are there any other issues you would recommend I address before crossing the border? The main issue for me is that it while labor is pretty inexpensive in Mexico, the parts can be expensive, and difficult to find down there. I mostly imported the parts I needed for the Versys, which is time consuming and frustrating, so if there are parts I will likely need or want, I would just as soon get them while I'm here in the US. Cheers and thanks for your input!

I'll be traveling a lot over the next week, and will check back here as often as I can.

Well, I've put 470 miles on the bike in 2 days on the twisty roads of northern New Mexico, and will be taking it in for its 600 mile oil change/warranty check tomorrow. Even keeping the tach at 4-5k, the bike has been a blast to ride.

I had been wondering before I bought the bike how Suzuki could offer the handguards and luggage/rack option for so little more than the base price. As the bags weren't actually on the bike in the showroom, I never really got a chance to inspect them. Now that I've been using them for a couple of days, I know the mark-up for the "adventure" model is so low because the bags and handguards are so poorly designed. The bags are made of thin walled plastic that distorts and distends if you pack just a bit more thahan the shape of the box can accomodate, leaving the seals liable to leak water in the first rainstorm. Aaah, the "adventure" of wet clothes and ruined electronic devices! The hand guards have no metal backbone, so I envision that should I ever drop the bike they would shatter. I suppose if they protect the levers, that might be better than the alternative, but replacing the guards after a drop doesn't seem quite right to me either.

Few Suzuki badged accessories are good choices. The hand guards are basically wind, bug and thrown gravel guards. The good part is there are many good choices from after market manufacturers to allow creating the bike that will do what you want to do with 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

I'd just ride it & not worry. The bike has been around for a while now, the motor, even longer. Mine has taken nothing but basic maintenance to keep it going strong.

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"When you tell somebody something, it depends on what part of the country you're standing in as to just how dumb you are." Bo "The Bandit" Darville

Thanx for the input guys. I'm loving the bike. It has been a little reticent to start a couple of time on some of the hot days we've been having in colorado and new mexico so far, but she has fired up every time with a little throttle assist. Still waiting for the new crash bars and centerstand to arrive, so i can head out further west.

*word* i feel like i spent the $600 premium for the "adventure" model on a rack, which will in turn have to be modified to fit my givi topcase, and whatever side cases i select. As my buddy who joined me for a 900 mile ride last weekend advised: "just keep using the side cases until you drop it the first time". Probably good advice.

Well, I've put about 4k miles on my new bike in the last couple of weeks. Overall, I really like the bike and the way it handles. It has the hiccup at around 2800 rpm, which worried me at first. Less so now that I've figured it's a glitch in the fuel system software. I'm really amazed Suzuki sells the bike without correcting that. I don't think you should ask someone who's ponied up $10k to spend a few hundred more to fix the designer's defective software. They should fix it first, and charge more if they have to. Anyway, it's going into the shop next week. I'll see what the dealer, (not the one I bought it from), says, and I'll report back. And the Suzuki luggage still sucks. Wish I'd added my own now instead of spending the extra $ on the "adventure" model.