TESTIMONY TO THE DL 650

I've had three DL 650's over the past 20 years. The first one was a "beater" that I bought around 2009 to see if liked the bike. I usually buy a cheap bike to check it out before spending bucks on a newer version. Liked it so I bought a 2007 and rode it all over the western USA. I moved on to a Triumph Tiger in 2015 but always liked the V Strom. In 2019 I decided to buy a bike to take to Europe and leave it with a friend so I could fly in and ride without hassle. I found a 2014 on CL which had all the gear and bought it. I shipped the bike via Air Canada's "Fly Your Bike" plan and flew from Vancouver, BC to Frankfurt, Germany. I did about 6000 miles on that trip and left the bike with my friend in Germany planning to return in 2020. So, 2020 becomes the year that didn't happen and I didn't get back to the bike until 2021. The bike had been stored in a barn for two years and I feared that I would have to do a lot of work to get the bike running again. Got to Germany and to my friends place and recovered the bike from the barn. Cleaned it up, checked for rodent damage, put fresh gas in the tank, and installed a new battery. A few cranks and the bike started and ran fine. I proceeded to put another 8000 miles on the bike with only a new sprocket/chain required. I brought the bike back to the US this year and just did a 2300 mile trip from Santa Fe to my home in WA state. The bike is a truly bullet proof reliable mule. I'm sticking with my Tiger for riding in the US so I'm selling the V Strom but would buy another one for foreign travel if i ever decide to ride in another country. Here's a pic of the battle scarred mule and a link to the CL ad.