Flexible and comfortable conventional telescopic forks have a forgiving character, allowing stress free long distance rides to an exciting run on twisty roads. The rear suspension is equipped with rebound adjustment and a remote preload adjuster which can be operated by hand allowing the rider to quickly setup the suspension to match the riding style or in a case of two-up riding or with a full load of luggage without any tools needed.

Equipped with 310mm diameter twin discs with twin two piston calipers on the front and a 260mm diameter single disc with a single piston caliper on the rear, the V-Strom 650XT provides controllable and dependable stopping performance.

The redesigned slimmer and smarter tank still holds a capacity of 20L, allowing a long riding range combined with excellent fuel consumption. By eliminating the plastic covers on both sides of the tank from the previous model, the tank has become slimmer and is now able to accommodate magnetically attachable tank bags. The frame covers have been slimmed down as well, allowing the rider to reach straight down to the ground.

Contributing in giving the V-Strom 650XT a totally new image is the head light and tail lamp, a common feature with the V-Strom 1000XT. The high and low beam of the light weight headlight is in a compact vertical configuration and realise brightness equivalent to the previous twin head lights, while when on high beam, both low and high bulbs illuminate providing a broader lit up area. The newly featured LED tail lamp, also in kin with its bigger brother, has a high visibility and contributes to weight savings.

The windscreen has been extended 9mm upwards to reduce the windblast and buffering to the body, while the shape has been changed to control the wind flow rather than to simply create a wind-free zone. By making the boundary between the protective area and the not-protective area a blur, the rider will be able to move more freely due to less turbulence and feel a natural wind flow. The screen can also be adjusted to one of three pre-set positions using four screws.