V-Strom 650, 1000 Differences?

Can anybody summarize the differences between the V-Strom 650 and 1000?
Besides engine displacement, weight, and exhaust pipes?

If you read the Suzuki specs, you'd think that they're otherwise identical,
which I'm assuming isn't true.

I'm particularly interested in a couple of things:

+ General differences in quality of components (where, besides
the engine, did they skimp to save a few $K)

+ Approximate MPG for each (I've seen stats which left it unclear
whether author was talking about the 650 or 1000 in each case).
Potentially larger cruising range makes the 650 interesting to me.

+ Relative availability of luggage

Thanks,
Steve

 

Steve,

I've had an '02 Strom since the beast was first introduced to the
public. Love the bike. I had a chance to ride my buddy's 650 back to
back with my 1000. The 650 was much more nimble than the 40 lbs
difference would suggest. By the same token, I really missed the
"thrust" of the liter bike.

Regarding your questions:

There are a few things missing on the 650 that the 1000 has -
handguards, bellypan, 1 exhaust...nothing that the aftermarket
can't/hasn't made available.

I've averaged mid-40's on the 1000. A friend of mine with the 650 gets
about the same. He needs to rev his 650 more than my 1000, though, so
similar mileage isn't surprising.

Lots of luggage options for the DL. Suzuki aftermarket, Givi,
Hepco-Beckner and many others. For more (much more) info, visit this
site:

http://vstrom.info/cgi-bin/yawps/index.cgi

Good bunch of folks and tons of archival info.

Cheers,

Idaho Bruce
'02 DL1000 '90 VX800 '75 XL100 '74 XL350

 

How is the clutch actuation done? The sv650's use a cable clutch,
but the 1k I saw used a hydraulic clutch....how's the DL set up?

bob prohaska

 

The DL650 uses a cable clutch, but it is reasonbly light and has good
feel. I don't find it significantly heavier than my VFR (Y2K).

 

Exactly that - hydraulic. In both cases, the clutch pull is linear and light.

Idaho Bruce

 

The 2004 DL650 is cable, not hydraulic, but its still linear and
light.

 

Thanks for the useful info. The most decent evaluation/comparision
I found was on Motorcycle Consumer News, so I'll give them a plug.

They are at

http://mcnews.com/mcn/

and their article (May 2004) can be found archived

http://mcnews.com/mcn/model_eval/VStrom05A.pdf
http://mcnews.com/mcn/model_eval/VStrom05B.pdf

I've always wished that someone would put out an annual motorcycle
report like Consumer Reports does for cars. This is probably the
closest thing.

I'll try to summarize what they highlight as differences (I'm rounding
numbers):

+ DL1000 has so much power it's slippery sometimes

+ DL650's seat is 1.35" lower

+ They averaged 48 MPG on the DL650, 43 on the DL1000 [this
adds ~30 miles to the total tank range]

+ DL650 is 52 pounds lighter

+ MSRP is $2300 less on the DL650 (2004)

Steve