www.DRRiders.com

Just after my last post I came across this. A new bike that actually looks a little better than its legendary ancestor te Triumph hurricane X75. I still think this is the exception to the entropy of ugliness in bike design....
OLD

NEW

New V-Strom 650 still has oil filter close to the ground.

Well ,--- if we all had the same taste everybody would want my wife . I guess this applies to bikes as well . Among others I've owned a 05 SV650S (dark blue) and a 06 DL650 V-Strom ("robin-egg-blue") . I think the DL looked better . To really show you how biased I am I'll make the following statement : "The most beautiful bike ever is the naked R1200R BMW (08 and later)" . --- I can almost hear you guys groaning . --- It's an individual thing , --- isn't it ?

The SV650 and and DR650 were to Suzukis that I liked and was willing to spend money on in the mythical "someday." The 0% interest deal came along and--wOOt! I thought I'd have some trouble deciding but, nope, Suzuki didn't feel like troubling me and discontinued the SV leaving me only the DR to ponder. That worked well. Too bad the dealers are so lazy that they can't answer an email as I found a new '11 (I like the white better than gray) after I bought my '12. Oh well.

The V-Strom was "meh" for me in person, though I was digging the ABS brakes for Washington riding. The GSXR 750 was sexy, but the riding position too cramped for my 6'3" self--and honestly, the GSXR told me that it was going to make me lose my license and then kill me while I was sitting on it in the dealership.

I guess I like my bikes a bit on the simple and old school side. I dig that the DR only has a speedo! That's awesome in this day and age! Ya know, I really wish Suzuki would build a OEM cafe racer using the S40 or DR as a basis. It's been done and it looks sweet! However, I don't want to spend $3K on a conversion when it could be sold at S40 prices off the floor if Suzuki did it themselves. Check Ryca out if you're unfamilar with the conversion: http://www.rycamotors.com/bikes/

Here's a Ryca in turn-key for, $6900: http://shop.rycamotors.com/2000-Custom- ... p_129.html
Gallery: http://shop.rycamotors.com/gallery.asp?catalogid=129
And misc pics:

I had a 2008 Vstrom (DL650) a year ago, traded it in, as well as my Honda VTX1300; for my current Victory Vision.





Never had a problem with my VStrom, I just needed something more refined and powerful for my daily 104 mile commutes....

Do miss the "Strom... I had it set up PERFECT!