Suzuki DL1000 V-Strom

wrinklyjoe
Reviewed: 23 September 2012

does what it says on the tin. ugly but you don't see it

v twin grunt brilliant, good torque plenty of shove after 5k revs. super comfy even after 560 mile days. genuine 200+ mile tank range 42-45mpg around town, 50-58 cruising @85mph. battle wing rear done 11000 miles just starting to square off. will see off many sport bike riders when ridden to limits

heavy old girl when fully fuelled and luggaged up. overdrive top gear only good after 60 mph,have to remove top box to take seat off,it's a pain if you are fully loaded. some complaints of slight weave at speed, easy fix, drop front forks through yolks by 10mm,change to vario screen and add givi engine bars. suzuki luggage rubbish, rip it off and buy aluminium panniers from G+G panniers in Germany expensive but worth every penny

had transalp before and liked "sit up and beg" posture but needed more shove, well this is like an alp on steriods. battlewings give enough grip to drag pegs both sides with no feelings of "oh S**T" tank range excellent. you'll have a numb bum after about 100 mile or so but stand on pegs for a few minutes sit down, job done, good to go again. good presence on road traffice seems to give you a wide berth. best of all it'll still be running when germanys best is being loaded onto AA wagon.

Greggusrex
Reviewed: 17 July 2012

Looks a bit like a preying mantis, but goes like stink and is all day comfy.

Engine - a beautiful V-twin, that rides like a twin should. Can be a bit lumpy lower down the rev range, and won't pull from low revs in a high gear, but will lift the from on the throttle alone!
Ergonomics - the seat and riding position allowed me to frequently ride 500 miles in a day in comfort.
GT had heated grips, panniers, top box and centre stand, which helped when cleaning the chain.
I ran it through 3 winters, and I found the build quality to be ok as long as it was cleaned almost daily.
Gearbox is slick. Handled well. Headlight like turning on the sun!

Tank range poor - needed filling every 130 miles or so, even when trying to ride economically.
Panniers rubbish - cheap plastic and very leaky. Top box better though.

I had one of these for nearly 4 years and put a fair few miles on it. It didn't once let me down, and proved to be as quick in the real world as many on their sports 600s. So comfortable it made a great tourer, only hampered by poor tank range. It did everything competently, but could have benefitted from more expensive components - adjustable forks would have been nice. I put BT-020s on it and it handled brilliant in all weathers. The original dual-purpose tires were rubbish - slightest bit of grease and they'd slide and destroy my confidence.
The heated grips and hand guards meant I wore summer gloves all year round, only feeling the cold in the tips of my fingers on the very coldest of days (minus 8 was my worst).
I loved this bike, and even started to like the way it looked. My only wishes would have been for shaft drive and better economy.

SCI-MCC
Reviewed: 20 February 2012

You can sit on the bike all day long, with cans there's an awesome sound, build quality is very poor

Sit there all day, sound,

Panniers on GT model are crap, poor quality paint on brakes discs fork legs etc..
wont turn heads
Heavy feeling, handling's not the best

Buy a GS,tiger or multistrada

Stromrider
Reviewed: 13 November 2011

2005 DL 1000..it does well all it is supposed to do but

Ive had mine for 2 years, and its been ridden hard, does well all I ask it to do.
Comfortable seat, easy to handle, high and gives plenty of visabilility.Long runs are no problem,
Big grunty twin is not too vibey with plenty of low down torgue.
Overall a great bike for not a lot of money.
It offers effortless riding , I see no reason to change it. Yet

Butt Ugly..it aint no beauty.
Prone to a bit of rust if not cared for, but suppose that applies to any bike really
Lacks a bit of aggession, I had a TDM 850 before this and that seemed to offer a bit of a grin factor....

mutorcs
Reviewed: 02 February 2009

EXCELLENT VALUE FOR MONEY.

best of both worlds,puts a smile on my face just as much as my other suzuki a gixer and less vibes than a 1200 gs when cruising,although if money was no option it would have to be the beamer.

can't fnd any.

A fun bike to ride,goes like the clappers even fully loaded,sounds sweet with after market cans and its just like sitting in your nans old rocking chair,any journey your on will not be long enough.