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I have an 03 Triumph Tiger 955i that I very much love for the smooth powerhouse triple and how fabulous it does as a two-up comfy long distance ADV-tourer with decent offroad behavior. Not doing the two-up thing any more since my wife has her own bike, a Versys with 19" front wheel conversion, and my son will be old enough to have his bike this spring. Want to trade for/or buy a lighter, more manageable bike with less horsepower since I am not the biggest guy out there with 5'8" , 190lbs wet.
How would you compare the Triumph Tiger 955i to the Suzuki DL650 Vstrom?
A few people over on the ADV forum, where my bike is for sale, warned me to stick with the Tiger and not to get an under-powered bike with less character.
What do you say? Anybody ridden/owned both?

I have had both, an '06 955i Tiger and two 650 Stroms.
If I only owned one bike and it was a choice between the two I'd rather have the Tiger. Power, triple charisma, somewhat better suspension. Since I own several bikes the Strom fits a niche for me.
Curiously I thought both bikes have somewhat similar flaws, budget suspension, brakes.
It is fair to say that the Strom feels like it has a lower center of gravity, not as top heavy feeling and is thus somewhat more managable.

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Joe S.
'12 Concours
'11 DL650
'10 Tiger1050
'01 HD FXD
'09 HD XR1200
'79 BMW R100

It's one of those "The triumph is better but" cases. (Friends Tiger, not mine)

Spending $ on suspension for the DL made a bigger difference for less money.

The Triumph engine lasted half the distance the DL engine did. It's capable of doing good k's, but it's very vulnerable to mistakes being made. (Bleeding the cooling system being #1). A dealer screw up killed that one.

The DL was nicer to ride if you weren't tall and strong.

Small sample set though - it's one of the bikes I lusted after, but never bought in the end.

Pete

What about going to a Suzuki dealer and going for a test ride on an L2 (2012) DL 650. The current Wee apparently feels like the CoG is lower, and the power is better. Looking at all of the previous to 2012 model Wee's that have a Power Commander fitted -- I'd hazard a guess that the 2012 model has a more even spread of power with no flat spots. Mine certainly gets to 180 klms/hr quickly -- and has no flat spots in the power.
I've fitted an excellent aftermarket exhaust system (not just a slip-on[see sig]), that really has made a noticeable difference in torque spread and given a better quality exhaust note (no more dominant sewing machine noise from the rider's position of hearing). That's added cost, for sure -- but the bike starts off at a relatively low price. Do try a current model before settling on what you want.

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Mod's - KoubaLink lowering links (1 1/8"); Fork brace - Richland Rick; SW-Motech engine bars + belly pan (soon to be changed) + 20 mm handlebar risers + footpegs; Staintune muffler with the exhaust collector req. for the L2 model; BarkBusters + Storm Guards; etc

I'm not sure if you're looking at old vs new Stroms, but I just went through the same debate of which to buy. For me, it came down to which one fit the best. I really wanted a Tiger 955i. The looks, the Triumph 'cachet', the engine all were selling points over the duller, uglier Wee. Found a guy who would let me ride his so I could contemplate a fly-n-ride purchase. Nice bike, but something about it nagged at me. Finally conceded to riding a Wee another guy had for sale. Literally, 2 minutes into the ride I knew the Strom was the better pick for me. Looks, brand, etc matter not once you're holding the handlebars. Pick the one that fits you best; the bikes themselves are so comparable there is no clear winner on paper.