[44510]

Bought the DL

Great article -- but you were off by one. After much research I bought the DL650 and put a Givi 3-bag set up on it two days ago. Only have a couple hundred commuting miles on it, but I'm very pleased. I did consider the other bikes here:

BMW - single cylinder? you're kidding, right?

Harley - too expensive, too heavy, tiny tank

Honda - that god-aweful seam on the tank, carbs, and grossly overpriced

Kaw - not even a contender

Triumph - buzzy, looks like an insect

Yamaha - stupid tach, buzzy

Yeah, I know the DL is bit (ok, a lot) cosmetically challenged, but it's just a plain great bike! Fuel injection, huge tank, good wind protection, nimble, blah, blah, blah. And I LIKE the height of this bike -- I have no problem seeing thru traffic and the cages can't miss those Givi bags from the rear. Yes, I'm one of the tall guys that adores this bike....

 

[44510]

Re: What Gives

Attempts to resist the allure of the DL are futile! Coming from a KLR, you'd love the DL if you can get over the styling. I also thought that the 599 styling was boring and I sure wasn't going to pay $7,100 for it. I did pay $6,300 + ttl for the DL.

 

[44510]

Re: Bought the DL

From what you're saying, buzziness is subjective. Perhaps I could have lived with the buzziness in the FZ6, but I couldn't live with that stupid video-game-inspired tach. I need to be able to cross-check my instruments in a quick glance and get my eyes back on the road. It's a safety issue when I have to stare at the tach to figure out what the engine is doing -- VERY bad human factors engineering Yamaha!

Considering the 599 and FZ6 have 4-pot designs, it's not surprising there are reports of 599 buzziness, too. Perhaps the oh-so-quaint carbs on the 599 needed synching.

Regarding the 599, I'd like to know:

1) if anyone is actually buying it in the States and,

2) just how much under MSRP these are selling for.