Andy,

I have a 2008 XTR. I've been off bikes for quite a few years & wanted a do-it-all bike that I could use on day, weekend & longer rides. Had decided on a DR650, based on price, but found an XTR with 900km on it for the same price as a new DR650.

I've made a few mods, the most significant was getting rid of those (in my opinion) stupid underslung twin pipes and replacing them with a much lighter 2-1 Akrapovic pipe.

At group rides, no-one knows what the bike is, but they like the look of it & it always attracts attention (despite my mates riding 70' Huskies, KTMs, GSes etc.) and can more than hold it's own on the road, on ADV type rides & open Enduro type riding. I find it a handful in the tighter enduro type of riding, and have trouble keeping up with my mate's 690s, 510s.

In order to exploit the true dual sport nature of the bike, I run 2 sets of rims (Tourances on one set, D606s on the other) on road rides, it has no trouble keeping up with "proper" road bikes but offers almost no wind protection for long distance high speed riding.

There is an issue with surging, I think that this maybe because of the Supermoto derivation of the powerplant. Keeping the throttle pinned eliminates any surging!

On a recent trip to the beach, it had a tendency to sink in (compared to my mates DR650s) & spray a LOT of sand.

As an all-rounder this is a great bike. It's compromised on the road & off, but it's not greatly compromised & that's where it's strength lies. Some pics: