Stolen from jeeves on ADV. Didn't include his pics though.
"I was one of five lucky riders from the Croatian V-Strom forum
V-Strom/KLV Adventure Riders Croatia Forum that had the opportunity to ride the new DL650 during the official presentation held in Split, Croatia a few days ago.
I have a Vee (a KLV 1000 to be precise), but have ridden the Wee on several occasions.
There has been a lot of discussion about the looks of the new Wee, but it really does look much better in real life.
So after lunch that we had at the Kamenjak viewpoint above Vransko lake (
http://vransko-jezero.hr/cms/content...5/199/lang,en/) we suited up and went for a 30km ride.
The first thing I noticed is the my legs were bent slightly more in the knees, but keep in mind that the seat on my Vee is 2cm higher than on the Wee. You have a feeling of sitting "on the bike", instead of "in the bike" like on the old model.
The seat is comfortable, and there is absolutely no sliding around on it due to the new seat cover material.
The exhaust note is a bit deeper now, sounds better, especially at higher revs.
The clutch is feather light, the shifter is very, very good, no resistance whatsoever when shifting up or down.
I had a feeling I could shift all day long and not get tired of it.
Handling is as good as on the old model, very neutral.Suspension setup felt OK, but then again, we only went for a short ride.
The brakes were the biggest surprise - they are fantastic.
Two finger braking is absolutely enough in almost every situation, and the ABS gives you that extra dose of confidence when braking hard.
It only kicked in once due to some gravel on the road.
Unfortunately there is no OFF switch for the ABS.
I have four pot calipers from a SV1000 and breaded lines on my Vee, and the braking power is not even close compared to the new Wee.
The calipers and brake rotors look the same, so I presume the brake pump is stronger now.
The new engine is very good, vibrations are minimal, pulls nicely almost through the entire rev range.
The new instruments give a lot of information, including oil level indication at start up. A neat feature is that you can toggle the speedo between km/h and mph.
The gear indicator is a very useful feature, too.
On the other hand the instruments are at a lower position then on the old Wee, and it's kinda hard to see at what revs your at due to the design of the rev gauge that doesn't do a full circle like on the old model, so the rev needle is kinda low.
Didn't like the white background on rev gauge, I'd prefer it was black.
I rode a model with a stock windshield, and it seemed OK,not much difference compared to the old Wee. Unfortunately I didn't try the optional touring windshield.
All bikes had Bridgestone Trailwings (Deathwings ) tires that I really don't like, but some of the journalists scraped the pegs, so it look like the problem in more me than the tires.
Suzuki offers SW Motech TRAX, and Hepco & Becker Junior luggage, but I didn't like the way either setup looked attached on the bike.
They boxes are asymmetrical, and kinda stick too far out. Maybe Givi will offer a better looking solution in the future.
From the optional equipment list that Suzuki offers the skid plate, crash bars ,hand guards, and probably the touring windshield are a must have. The bike looks so much better with this equipment on it.
Since I ride a Vee I did want a bit more power.
I like to tour with my wife with a full set of luggage, and I have a felling the Wee would be struggling to keep up a bit under these conditions.
Don't get me wrong - this bike can go fast, but it doesn't have that hand pulling feeling like on the Vee.
After our little test ride we returned the bikes, got on our own bikes and went with the test group to the official presentation point in Split.
It was a combination of twisty local roads, state roads and freeway driving. Pretty hard driving.
At one point we were up to 180km/h, and it seemed the Wee had no problems driving at those speeds.
Since Suzuki went the 650ccm road, there is hope a new Vee could be in the works, but the rumors we head during the presentation say that won't be until 2013 or 2014.
All in all, during my little test drive, I really liked the new Wee, and if I would use it for mostly solo riding, without a doubt, this would be the bike I would buy,but for two up riding and touring
I would like a bit more HP, I would like a new Vee..
Pictures from the official presentation.
This is Igor, one of the founders and moderators on the Croatian V-Strom forum. He had a special invitation from Suzuki Europe try out the new Wee this last weekend. A real hard core V-Strom enthusiast.
Thanks to him we got to ride the new Wee. Thank you Igor! "
1) His take on the brakes is a big surprise.
2) He didn't notice much difference in the windshield. Hmmm. Of course we have the aftermarket for that.
3) The optional accessories are a nice addition.
