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Suzuki DL650 V-Strom (2006) - Walter Rands-Trevor has his initial doubts, but sees himself won over by Suzuki's dual-purpose middleweight

DL 650 V-Strom - Walter refused to be seen with the bike with his helmet off Lets start this article by pointing out I am a sportsbike rider. So when I was offered the use of the DL650 V-Strom as a "loaner" while my bike was being worked on, my heart sank.

First impressions, from a sports bike perspective, are not good. Very upright seating position, the foot pegs are almost directly under your backside and right in the way for putting your foot down when at rest. The handlebars are high, not ape-hanger high, but higher than a dirt bike, for example. There is a tall, narrow screen in front of you, however you tend to look above it rather than through it.

Looking around at the controls and display, you get a definite feeling of "cheapness". Everything is workable however, the dials for tacho and speed are large and easy to read, and the central LCD display includes bar style temperature and fuel gauges, as well as a clock and the usual suspects like odometer and dual trip meter.

Turning on the ignition invokes a strange, almost strangled noise from the fuel pump, and the needles sweep the across the two dials in synchronisation, before returning to the stops. A quick press on the starter and the engine kicks into life, and after making a noise not altogether unlike a sewing machine, settles back into a steady fupp-fupp-fupp.

Taking a strange bike for it's first ride straight out into rush hour traffic is not for the faint of heart, but the V-Strom has a light clutch and the controls are easy to work. Once you find them, that is. I spent the first few minutes having my boots flailing along in the breeze behind me as they vainly searched for pegs that are a good six inches further forward that I was expecting.

A couple of wobbles later, and all was sorted, but I must confess to hitting the horn several times whilst looking for the indicator switch. It is not that they are awkward to find, I'm just used to an Aprilia that has the horn on top, where as on the Suzuki the indicators are on top.

But once I was moving, I could start to see the appeal of the bike. The upright seating position means you have a great view over car roofs, the easy power delivery and strong engine braking of the v-twin make moving in and out of the traffic a breeze. The large, wide mirrors provide ample view behind you, and remain vibration free due to the silky smooth engine. And it is this smoothness, coupled with the exhaust note that would have you believe that the engine is indeed made by Singer, not Suzuki.

This quietness presents it's own problems, as most drivers seem completely unaware of your presence until you start tapping their window. And physically the V-Strom is quite a large bike, with big bright headlights, so I doubt it is a visibility thing. One can only imagine that an aftermarket exhaust would make the little twin sound fantastic as well.

Other than the lack of driver awareness however, the Suzuki is a great commuter. It's easy to manoeuvre through traffic, although the handlebars and mirrors are at the wrong height for filtering past 4WDs and vans. Cars however, are a breeze to pass, and the bike is easy to throw around, which combined with ample mid-range makes it great for nipping into gaps.

Fuel consumption is not outstanding, but with a 22 litre tank you can go a fair way between fills.

Once you leave the traffic behind however, the V-Strom makes for a barrel of laughs. Being such a tall bike, leaning into corners is an interesting experience for a sports bike rider. For starters, your head is so far away from the wheels that I found myself running close to the outside of a corner until I got the hang of tipping the bike in a bit earlier. Hanging off the bike is something you have to try to appreciate - think of it as absailing from the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

But that's not really the way to have fun on it. I found the off-road technique the best, weight forward, rolling the bike underneath you, man-handling it around by the 'bars and using the power to hook it up. It felt strange for me to ride it that way, but it had me grinning from ear to ear.

And it was even more fun if you got "adventurous" on it. A dead end was dealt with a quick nip up over the curb, across the grass and through the trees. And that was two up. In the rain. Let's see you try that on your sports bike.

And the V-Strom got the thumbs up from the pillion perspective. The rider and pillion seats are a large, comfy, single piece unit. Surprisingly, there isn't any storage under there, which was a disappointment after having to search for the release - below the taillight, by the way.

The screen does a good job of deflecting the wind away from your chest, and you are well protected even in quite heavy rain, except for one small issue. On the standard setting, it seemed to deflect wind (and rain) up under my chin, and inside my helmet. It is adjustable, but requires tools from supplied tool kit. The wind directed at your head along with the quiet engine and lack of vibration makes it hard to gauge speed as well, I had a few moments when I would look down at the speedo to realise I was going faster than expected.

To be honest I found the tyres a little disappointing at first, with a couple of small slides warning me I was approaching their limits. However, after adjusting my riding to suit the bike and the tyres, they are predictable, and do provide a fair amount of grip if you aren't expecting them to act like sports tyres. That you can give them a fair bit of stick across wet grass as well helps highlight the fact that they are dual purpose after all.

Verdict: If you can get past the looks, then the 650 V-Strom is a great bike for commuting, urban adventure and general fun. At 189kg it's not light, but it is a capable bike, easy to ride, and surprisingly fun.

And with a helmet on, no one will know it's you. Go on - give one a go, you won't regret it.

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