2005 Suzuki V-Strom 650

Let’s look at a long-term bike that I have it’s a 2005 Suzuki v-strom 650. This Suzuki v-strom 650 is also known as the strum. This particular bike only has 50,000 miles. And the thing that most people don’t know about these dl650 is that these can run for hundreds of thousands of miles. Maintenance for a pretty much this bike is just so solid. This is not to be confused with the 1000th. Look he makes the v-strom 1000 which is a little bit faster. Also heavier and it is also a less desirable bike than the v-strom 650. I am going to tell you exactly why I am keeping this bike for quite some time. This is Suki v-strom 650 started production in 2004. It has got 66 horsepower and makes about 50 horsepower to the wheel. Those numbers don’t sound great but the v-twin makes it a very usable motor in any sort of condition. On the road it has a six-speed transmission good old chain drive. It has got a pretty substantial wheelbase at 60 inches. It weighs about 490 pounds wet. It also has a gallon gas tank which is really good. And average is about 54 miles to the gallon. I have got too much higher riding like in touring mode at about 65 miles. To the gallon you could even change your gearing a little bit so it gets even better a fuel efficiency. It is a v-twins aren’t really known to be fuel-efficient. This is the same engine that’s on the Suzuki sv650 which is a really great reliable bike. And people really beat the hell out of these bikes. And the engines are still really good. It has also fuel injected so basically you can park it outside during the winter. And it will just keep starting. I have never had a problem with this bike. Starting in the five years I have owned it. There are a few changes throughout the model year. This is the first generation of the beast. In 2004 was the first year for the v-strom 650. In this 2005 the only change was the headlight interrupt. It was added in 2007 that’s when they added the ABS. And the wheelbase increased from sixty point six inches to 61 point two inches. They also added dual spark plugs at each cylinder in 2007. And then in 2007 they removed the idle adjustment screw in 2008. The changes were the alternator output increased from 375 to 400 watts that is a great thing for touring. In 2009 the changes were all steel lock nut on the rear axle. And the previous versions including this 2005. They had a cotter pin style they also added clear signal light lenses. In 2011 all US models of the v-strom started having ABS. I don’t think that the out 650 is a great looking bike. It’s kind of bland looking it’s not aggressive but I think that’s the appeal of it.  It has that a stealth bike. It has a bike that you can kind of get away with a lot more things. Then you could if you had a very aggressive bike like a sport bike. This bike can really handle two sport bikes. It has a very fast bike mainly because of how it makes. Its power the v-twin is a very streetable motor so a lot of times you can surprise a lot of people in the twisties. In this bike it’s one of those bikes that can pretty much do it all. It can do the gravel. It can do track, it can do like corners twisties highway touring. It is a very versatile bike. I find that the headlights are adequate. They are not great they liked the road sufficiently but they could definitely be much better. If they were LEDs or xenon lights. It would be a much better system for lighting. I do have denial external lights and they kind of just help the visibility of cars. Seeing you, it doesn’t really illuminate the very much but it does help with visibility for cars. I think the auxiliary lights kind of help just a little bit in the looks, but not so much in any performance. A great thing about this bike are the front brakes even though they’re old tech and they just have dual front disc brakes. They stop the bike really well and it’s got feel good stopping distance. And you don’t really need anymore for this bike now. My front forks there are thinking quite a bit of the beating. I am just riding on the road, this might be a little bit of a design flaw. This little radiator at the bottom of the engine could get hit by rocks. And does he got hit by rocks. It has a little bit of a bash guard but it doesn’t really help it too much. The bottom of the engine is also unprotected which is a bad thing. If you ride off road, it’s a really great engine. And this is the same engine that in the SB 650, so there’s tons of these bikes out there with hundreds of thousands of miles. And it has a v-twin. It sounds really really good. I did start to get a lot of wear on the frame, just wear my boots are while riding. I kind of wish that maybe Suzuki put something a little bit more substantial. There so it wouldn’t wear out as much but that’s it just a very small con. This big knob here adjusts the pre load on the v-strom 650. It helps to have it, so easily accessible without any tools because if you have a passenger you can pretty much just turn it. And stiffen up the suspension for the added weight. The exhaust note with the stock exhaust is pretty quiet. And it’s something that I like because it becomes a little stealthier. This one also has some Givi racks the exhaust is really nice. And quiet now it is possible to make this exhaust a little bit louder what people do is they take out these screws. And they remove the baffle but if you’re going to do that. Just get it enough to market exhaust.

The license plate light has fallen off on this bike. And I have reattached it but I find that this is a very weak spot on the Suzuki v-strom 650. I kind of wish that they made it a little bit more substantial because you need that for the license plate to remove the seat. It is kind of odd. It is in the back like this and then you just pull up the seat. And you can remove it but a lot of people tend to forget their keys here, so if you ever forget your key on a dl650 most likely it’s just in the back here. And people just leave the key there. You don’t have massive space underneath the seat like a scooter but it’s got way more space than a sport bike would have. Usually, I keep my manual in here some tools. I have a tire inflator pump and you could fit a couple more things, if you are a little bit more clever than I am. You also have a little bit of an additional space that you can use for gloves. I use it to put co2 cartridges in case I have a breakdown and of course you have the space for your battery for me as a commuter. It is always important to have easy access to the battery in case the battery dies. I don’t like it when I have to pull a lot of plastic to get access to the battery. And a lot of scooters that I have had and some sport bikes. I did need to pull plastic off. This is just a PVC pipe here that I’ve added to carry tools that I don’t want to carry on my giddy bags. It’s basically tire levers you know wrenches and things like that in case. I have a breakdown but it’s a PVC pipe that’s attached with zip ties to the Givi rock in the 50 thousand miles. I have had it, I probably have gone through four chain sets and sprockets. I do wish that this bike had a shaft drive that’s kind of like one of the things I would look for in a bike in the future. This one is equipped with a very useful Center stand. And I really if you intend on keeping this bike for a long time. I definitely recommend getting a center stone, also it’s got a 19-inch front wheel which makes it a lot better. And more stable going over like rough terrain and mostly like potholes. If you’re a commuter, this bike is so good for it because it’s got a good blend of stability and utility that big rush over there. I bought it like that but I did drop it on that same side when I was riding from school. The seat is surprisingly good. This is the stock seat. There are aftermarket seats you could get but it’s a perforated leather ed style. And I have had passengers on here. And there’s not a lot of complaining. The complaint is mostly due from riding for long periods and not having enough space with the back. If there is a give you rock on it one of the things, I do admire about bikes is the accessibility – like the oil filter and the oil drain plug because I want to be able to like do these things fast. So I can keep riding. I really hate bikes that are very difficult to maintain. The v-strom 650 is very easy to maintain because everything is right at your fingertips. It doesn’t have a lot of plastic to remove so everything is very accessible. The controls are very easy to reach and ergonomically. It makes a lot of sense this particular bike. I have equipped it with warm grips which are really good for our commuters on the right side. You have your kill switch and the run and then you have your start button on the left. You have your clutch of course and it’s got a good feel. It is not hard to pull. You have your hazard button right there. Good thing about the Suzuki dl650, you really don’t ever break down. So you never have to use them but if you had a BMW you might be using this quite often. Headlight button is very accessible use your thumb signals you push in to cancel they always go to the middle. Very good style and of course you have your horn underneath of there. Very simple, very usual setup for Japanese bikes. This is a nice feature that not a lot of Japanese bikes in the United States have. It is the high beam passing button and you just use your index finger to push in. And you can flash a car that you’re about to pass now. Most of the time there’s not much use for this in the United States because we have so many highways. And of course the clutch lever feels pretty good. It’s a cable base lever. I do kind of wish. It was a hydraulic level mirrors. On this bike are really great. You can see everything behind you. Even on one man you can see the entire space. Behind you next a twin screen is one of the things I really enjoy about this bike because I can change the floor there. That’s hitting me with just two knobs and I can even do it while right there the handlebars are pretty nice. They have a little bit of a rice to them and I feel very comfortable riding with these handlebars again. I’m 5’9 about 165 pounds. I think some people get higher bars and they do make them for this bike. There is quite a bit of enough to market for this bike. That is why it makes it so flexible when you start the key. And you turn it on, it does do a little bit of an animation. You can say rails to hang on to. These are pretty substantial. It helps to put the bike on the center stand using this and of course your passenger could use this to grab off onto. Also this is good for strapping luggage so this is a really good thing that I look for in bikes. I like the system of opening the gas tank. it is pretty smut standard on a lot of Japanese bikes but I’ve had some Honda’s that you actually have to remove. This lid and put it somewhere. It also has a US gallon tank. And I get about 50 to 60 miles of the gallon depending on how hard I ride. Alright, let’s go for a ride and see how she behaves. This pretty much what I like about motorcycle. This is just the aspect of riding. I hate it that I have to put bikes in the garage and do maintenance. And I think that’s the reason I was drawn to dl650 because it’s such a reliable bike. I really don’t have to do much in order to just keep riding this bike. I have had this bike for five years and I have 50,000 miles on it pretty much maintenance-free. And the bike rides as if it’s new, I can’t possibly say that for the BMW’s. I have had not to be a BMW hater but BMWs are just terrible motorcycles. This bike is happy revving pretty high. It makes a lot of power. Like it 6,000 rpms and if I’m ready aggressively I will keep it there but I often I find myself. I don’t need to downshift often because it’s got so much power because it’s a v-twin. It is very torquey so I can let go through a corner if I’m in the wrong gear. It is still fire they’ll still pull you’re right out of the corner of course it doesn’t have that sort of power that a sport bike has. That when you twist the throttle. It just tears out of the corner. No it doesn’t have that you have to kind of build momentum for that the range. On this bike is about 240 miles and then I usually fill up. It really depends of course on your riding but with the gallon tank. I get about 50 something miles of the gallon so that’s about the range of it oftentimes dl650. Guys will do a lot of gravel and I have to admit that this bike is not great for the Raval. It’s better than a sport bike but not a lot. it’s a little bit taller than a sport bike. It’s got a 19-inch wheel in the front which helps you can go on gravel roads. No problem but this bike is really mainly a road only bike. You can take it on gravel but you’re not gonna be doing a lot of crazy off-roading on it. The clutch cable feels pretty good there’s really no complaints with anything with a clutch. These bikes are pretty much maintenance-free and a mechanical aspect of the clutch. It is just another thing that you don’t have to maintain very much. I have never had to change the clutch cable on this bike. It just keeps going so it’s just another thing that’s maintenance-free on this bike having a cable in the clutch. I did want the hydraulic clutch lever but since this is an economy bike. I can see why Suzuki didn’t put it on. I also have in 1995 Africa twin and I have ridden a lot of bikes and this bike does not feel top-heavy at all which is not the case for my Africa twin. And a lot of other bikes I have had that were of the same age feel a whole lot more top-heavy than this one which is very surprising. And that’s the reason that the all 650 is a really good bike for twisty riding because it doesn’t feel heavy at all the v-strom 1000 though. If you go through the same corners, you’re gonna find yourself going a lot slower. Because that bike even though it has a little bit more power, it feels weaker and a whole lot less nimble because of its heaviness. I can’t say that I’m the biggest fan of v-twins but after writing the dl650. I have learned to enjoy v-twins they sound really cool. And they have this interesting power curve that you can never be in the wrong gear in a corner. Even with a 650 which is a small displacement bike. It’s a very like manageable power that’s very easy to ride. And it just feels really good on the road. And I’ve ridden many bikes including inline force and they don’t give you that sort of like power band that makes this dl650 a lot more enjoyable to ride. In the corners, this engine is just fully capable of hitting a hundred to 150,000 miles without a lot of maintenance. It is one of the benefits of a v-twin like it doesn’t make a whole lot of horsepower but it has a little bit more torque than an inline four for example. So, it’s just always in the power band every turn that you go into. You’re always okay another great thing about the dl650 that led me to the dl650 is the prices. The prices of these bikes used are extremely cheap because everybody wants to get the newest and the latest bike. Everybody wants the Africa twins, the BMW G asses and they kind of forget about the dl650. What led me to the dl650 was, I was going to go on a cross-country trip. And at the time they actually had a ex2 50 that I was very pleased with but I wanted a little bit bigger bike to go cross-country. And I started looking around for bike. And I don’t know if you guys noticed but bikes are getting way too expensive. I was looking at the nc700x for example and that bike was four thousand five thousand dollars the dl650. There were quite a few of these for about $2,500 to $3,000 mainly from 2005 to 2006. So this was kind of like a no-brainer for me. I bought this bike and I bought it with 10,000 miles on it. If you can get a bike with 10,000 miles on it. That’s practically nothing, if you can get at dl650 with 50,000 miles. It has practically nothing really these bikes are getting more and more reliable. This is uki dl650 is one of those bikes with a great motor. That’s a gem and you’re never going to find a dl650 that just grenaded. The engine like a Buell or a BMW does for the price of the dl650 for example, you can pretty much buy any gear and have enough money for fuel. So I rode this bike cross-country. I did 20 something thousand miles and the bike never let me down. It was just a super reliable bike and it was just so comfortable the upright seating position makes it a great bike for commuting, for touring, and for riding twisties. The downside of course is that it’s looks are not the most attractive sorts of bikes. So you’re not gonna be a popular guy at the pub at night. And you know it’s a bike that people get for mostly the utility. This bike does pretty much everything. It does the twisties. It can keep up with sport bikes, it can go cross-country, go across the continent do gravel. So it makes it a great bike for keeping in the long run. I used to think that with the KLR 650 but the chaos 650 has got some intense limitations including that one single cylinder engine. That after 50,000 miles seems to be completely done and the KLR 650 is not as good as a highway bike as the dl650 DDL 650. The v-twin, it’s a little bit lazier. It will reach 150,000 miles and there’s other guys on forums that have DL 650 s with over 200,000 miles. Very incredible engine and I’m surprised more people don’t buy dl650 s on my way through Nevada. I was doing 110 miles an hour for a few hours on this bike. And I was so surprised that this bike just nothing happened to it. Like it’s just sustained that speed for hours. I was surprised and it gave me a lot more respect for the bike that I have for any other baby. This is in no way an endorsement of the dl650 but I really recommend this bike if you’re just starting out or you want a bike to go across the world. Alright guys thanks for watching and I’ll see you in the next video.