Motorcycles have come a long way from the mobile boilers that purportedly had people’s pants on fire while riding them when they first came out. Sure, in essence, they have remained the same (two wheels, an engine, and a great power-to-weight ratio). But they now do everything themselves, including sometimes shifting their own gears.
Everything is becoming more and more digital. It has been a slow creep for a long time, and digitization has genuinely improved the lives of motorcyclists. Features like digital ignition, fuel injection, by-wire throttles, and six-axis IMUs have made motorcycles far easier to live with and have broadened their appeal. However, if you want a machine to last decades, simplicity is the way to go. And one Suzuki bike proves exactly that.
When Does Technology Become Too Much Of A Good Thing?
Today, the specific power output of motorcycle engines has increased to such levels that it would have been cause for celebration on a few performance cars a decade ago. However, with the added electronics to keep things manageable, reliability has gone down. As per the J.D. Power 2026 Vehicle Dependability Study, the industry average has increased to 204 problems per 100 vehicles.
Features like over-the-air updates make the product better in the background, but they tend to bring problems to the foreground. Owners report a 14 percent increase in problems related to OTA updates, but only 27 percent of owners can feel the difference in their user experience with these updates. At some point, there will be fatigue, and owners will want a bike that simply works.
More Tech = More Potential Problems
Consider the KTM 690 Enduro R. This is one of the engineering marvels of the two-wheeled world. It has the most powerful single-cylinder engine in production right now, topping out at 78 horsepower and nearly 54 pound-feet from 693 cc. It has a by-wire throttle, six-axis IMU, and even a digital TFT instrument cluster with Bluetooth and navigation. With this much power from that little displacement, it is bound to be a high-strung engine. And with the electronics it has, something will eventually give if you ride it the way one would ride a powerful dual-sport bike. It feels like the opposite of what a dual-sport bike should be, which is a go-anywhere bike that gives you the full confidence that it will not give up on you.
The Japanese Aren’t Immune, Either
You’d think that a company as pragmatic as Honda would shy away from making something like the 690 Enduro R, but you’d be wrong. Honda also has a dual-sport bike called the CRF450RL; the only dual-sport bike in its portfolio with an ‘R’ after the number. That is because it is marketed as a race bike with lights, and that is exactly what it is. In the real world, the translation is that it requires frequent servicing, including oil changes and top-end inspections. It also behaves like a race bike, which means there is no smooth on-off throttle transition, and there is always the threat of the rear wheel spinning up or the front one going for big air if you’re not careful. It can be a handful in traffic and will tire you out – and not in a good way! – on most days.
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Modern Problems Require Old-School Solutions
Now that you know just why simple bikes matter, here’s our recommendation for one. The Suzuki DR650S is one of those products that has stuck around unchanged for so long that it has fallen out of favor and has come right back into fashion again. Nothing has changed on it — not the carbureted engine, not the low-stress, easy-going nature of the engine, and definitely not the all-analogue instrumentation. This is the kind of motorcycle you ride, fix yourself at home in the shed, and then keep riding again. It is like that old marketing line: there are many vehicles that can get you there, but only something like the DR650S can get you home.
Good Things Don’t Come Cheap
For all its old-timey goodness, Suzuki certainly hasn’t kept the pricing as low as we would expect when compared to some of the more modern competition. It retails for $7,299 and is available in only one variant. If you need a lower seat, a dealer-level lowering kit is available at additional cost. You should know that the pricing is in line with the other old-school Japanese large-displacement dual-sport bikes similar to the DR.
Unstressed, Unbothered: That’s The DR650S Engine
If you are expecting some space-age tech in the DR650S, you are going to be sorely disappointed. This is an extremely simple single-cylinder air-cooled engine that displaces 644 cc. Suzuki leaves the tech fest for its newer dual-sport offerings like the DR-Z4S. The 650 has a very unstressed 9.5:1 compression ratio, too, which is why its power and torque figures are relatively unimpressive at 34.3 horsepower at 6,000 RPM and 33.4 pound-feet at 4,000 RPM.
A five-speed gearbox and chain drive have been on the big DR since launch. There is no assist and slipper clutch, no quickshifter, and there isn’t even fuel injection here. However, top speed is 100 MPH, so it is quite capable of highway travel. You will have to put up with some vibrations, of course, because despite a balancer shaft, this is a large-displacement single-cylinder with the kind of vibrations that come packaged with it, whether you like it or not.
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Old-School Chassis Keeps Up With The Engine
The chassis is as simple as the engine and equally tough. A single downtube, double-cradle steel frame holds everything together. At the front, there are telescopic forks, and the rear has a single shock. Spoke rims made of aluminum are chosen with a 21-inch front, but surprisingly, the rear is a 17-inch rim and not the 18-inch rim that most enduro and dual-sport bikes prefer. The brakes consist of a single 290 mm front disc and 240 mm rear disc. Both have a two-piston floating caliper.
This Is A Large But Light Bike
The DR is a dual-sport bike, which means it is tall but light, and that is corroborated by the dimensions. It is 88.8 inches long and 34.1 inches wide with a 58.7-inch wheelbase. That means it is not going to be as agile as you would expect it to be, considering its weight. The seat height is a really tall 34.8 inches, but you can get it down to 33.2 inches with the dealer-level lowering kit. Ground clearance with the standard seat height is 10.4 inches, and it weighs 366 pounds. A 3.4-gallon fuel tank is enough for regular use, but a larger tank will be required for long-distance riding.
‘Reliability’ Is Its Best Feature
Understandably, the DR650S does not have features that match up to modern bikes today. Pretty much the only digital thing on it is the ignition system. The instrument cluster is all-analog, and there’s no ABS or slipper clutch. If you want to spruce things up, the aftermarket will have anything and everything you desire to put on it.
As for official bits, Suzuki offers a dealer-level suspension lowering kit. This lower seat height is approximately the same as a regular naked bike, and since the DR is narrow, it will be even more effective. However, you do lose suspension travel and ground clearance in the process.
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A Few Other Japanese Bikes Can Contend With Its Reliability
The less-is-more attitude is one that has been prevalent with the Japanese for a long time. So it is no surprise that the other motorcycles that can do justice to the title are also from the land of the rising sun. One is a tiny 200 cc motorcycle, but it has been to the North Pole! The Yamaha TW200 might not seem like much (and it isn’t much, quite literally), but it will last forever and a day. If you want fun for the whole family through multiple generations, this is the motorcycle we’d recommend.
The other option is very similar to the Suzuki, but it comes from Honda. The XR650L is, on the surface, pretty much the same as the DR, with near-identical displacement, power, and torque outputs. However, it is a little lighter, has a dry-sump engine, and stores its oil in the spine of the frame. Also, unlike the Suzuki, it does not have a lowering kit from the factory.
Source: Suzuki Cycles USA