Suzuki DL1000 — Recalls, Reliability, Specs & VIN Decoder

The motorcycle will stall at odd intervals. It will also backfire thru the airbox. At low speed, it is difficult to control the throttle. It is especially bad when the engine hasn't warmed up fully and its cold outside. I have come very close to dropping the bike when it stalls unexpectedly. It has stalled several times after accelerating from a stop. It has also stalled several times when hot and slowing down on the highway.

Engine would cut off randomly, approximately once every 300 or 400 miles of riding. Always would start right back up. Only happened to me while not moving, but probably wouldn't notice problem if moving, unless under low power or slipping the clutch, ie, low speed maneuvering. Sometimes cold engine, sometimes fully warmed up. Suzuki replaced ecu (with part # ending in ...j12) under warranty to correct the problem. Have not had that problem since, but now when engine is warming up and driving away, engine will "puff" with a brief loss of power, usually while turning out onto the street. Does not happen if fully warmed up. *tr

Ever since this vehicle was purchased and then after the first oil change the motor developed a knock. The fueling is erratic at times meaning it hiccups or surges and has stalled while in motion. I brought this up to the dealer and to suzuki in november of 2015. I also found on a suzuki forum dedicated to this particular model that others were experiencing the same issues. I took the bike to the dealer and nothing was remedied. I spoke with suzuki corporate and they acknowledged that some models were experiencing a knock due to an intolerance but that it wouldn't affect reliability. When asked to put it in writing they actually said yes but then never followed through and wouldn't return any further calls from me. I found out in europe suzuki was replacing the ecu on all bikes that were experiencing this. They have done nothing to fix this vehicle. I got to a point where i hired a lawyer to try to get the dealer to replace bike and their response was suzuki says there is nothing wrong. Now because of that i have been blacklisted from other dealers and they won't work on unit. I have lots of correspondence over the last 14 months trying to get this righted and now i am left to try to fix this myself. There are a plethora of others experiencing these same issues and getting the same response from suzuki, which is to not do anything to help. Www.stromtrooper.com is full of folks talking about this ecu issue and the knocking issue. When suzuki did have the bike and said they did an upgrade fix the bike was worse. They have also deleted the ecu replacement part twice since 2014. It has only stalled on me three times in 15 months but it only takes once at the wrong time and someone might be injured or worse. I am going to try to fix this on my own but i shouldn't have to. I think they have the bike set too lean to meet us requirements and it is a safety issue.

Motorcycle stalls when engaging throttle. The motorcycle can be in neutral and it still stalls engaging throttle. Happened ~ 5 time withint 2000 miles. Its a safety concern because cars behind me have to wait until i restart the motorcycle. It is not a clutch problem because it happens in neutral also.

Vehicle has been in the shop multiple times. From 9/4/14 thru 9/13/14 then again from 9/19/14 thru 10/2/14. Vehicle is hard to start when it sits in the sun. The vehicle will crank and crank and will not stay running unless you raise the rpm's to around 2000 for a few minutes. At times it will take 3 to 5 tries to get the vehicle started. The dealer returned bike to me yesterday and said it was fixed. (this is a brand new bike, a left over model) upon my inspection i noticed that they disconnected the emission system. This is not a legal or safe fix. Dealer also made some damage to radiator, scratched some paint and forgot to put on a screw. I have pictures and videos if needed. *tr

Vehicle has issues starting when it sits in the sun. Engine will crank and crank strongly but will not start easily. Vehicle will eventually start after 3 to 4 tries, but exhaust will smell like gas. The throttle needs to be held open to keep running and to get vehicle started. Vehicle is rough idling for the first few minutes. Vehicle will stall from time to time at down shifting at a stop. *tr

Bike shutoff or misfires at lower rpm or when started from a stop

Serious safety issues with my 2009 suzuki dl1000 vstrom. Intermittent stalling at low speeds typically coming to a stop from 30 mph and below. It has happened many times some of which were close calls. The bike stales under the following conditions: coming to a stop down shifting from 3rd to 2nd and or 2nd to 1st. One of my close calls was coming to a stop down shifting from 3rd to 2nd and bike stalled as the stop light turned from red to green and a vehicle behind me accelerated and nearly rear ended me. I had to push the bike to the side of the road until it was ready to start again. This has happened a couple of time. Another instance was when i was downshifting from 2nd to 1st and in a right turning lane going below 20 mph when the bike stalled as i was letting the clutch out. The bike did a slight skid and rear wheel shifted to the left and almost threw me off. Although this was at a slow speed it still could have sent me to the hospital especially if an automobile was following closely. The fix as stated from suzuki is to replace the ecm and upgrade spark plugs at a huge cost to me(approx. $1200+). Please see link. Http://www.stromtrooper.com/dl1000a-2014/186930-stall-down-shift.html. Suzuki is well aware of this issue and told me that because i was a second owner it's my responsibly to pay and fix it. This was the district technical service manager for suzuki and he was very rude and arrogant. I do not care how old the bike is suzuki knows about the defect and will fix it only if your within your one year warranty. I also know of a fellow rider that had suzuki repair his 2012 just before the warranty expired (same bike). I can provide names, emails and phone numbers of all associated with the vstrom stalling problems. This experience has cured me of buying any suzuki product, 4ever! I have 40+ years of riding experience. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2007 suzuki dl1000 motorcycle. The contact stated while riding approximately 10 mph the motorcycle suddenly stalled causing the contact to lose control of the motorcycle and crash. The contact sustained an injury to his lower right leg. The failure was not diagnosed nor was the vehicle repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 14,000. .... Updated 08/05/14 *bf updated 08/11/2014*lj the consumer stated the recalled voltage regulator failure took out the stator and rotor. Burning one and destroying the other. The battery overcharged and failed. The injection mapper may have been taken out by a voltage spike.. Updated 08/19/2014 *js

Vehicle is a nos 2014 leftover purchased in november 2016. Vehicle now has 2,500 miles on it and has intermittently stalled upon takeoff in 1st gear at least 7 times. Each time the motorcycle engine is warm. Upon engaging 1st gear from a stop, when the clutch is released and throttle applied, the motorcycle will cough and stall. This happens at critical transition times; at an intersection, in stop-and-go traffic and once in a crowded parking lot causing me to drop the bike on its side. I called suzuki and filed a case/complaint and the vehicle is now at a dealership. I spoke to the dealership after 1 week and they stated that they were unable to "re-create the problem" and were unable to do anything corrective. The manufacturer appears unwilling to acknowledge documented history of electrical problems from this model year's ecu (2014 was first year for traction control on this model) despite the fact that the ecu has been re-engineered since then. Some customers have had these ecus replaced with new version under warranty, which solved the issue. This is a documented and dangerous problem placing riders and bystanders at risk of being involved in a accident.

Ever since this vehicle was purchased and then after the first oil change the motor developed a knock. The fueling is erratic at times meaning it hiccups or surges and has stalled while in motion. I brought this up to the dealer and to suzuki in november of 2015. I also found on a suzuki forum dedicated to this particular model that others were experiencing the same issues. I took the bike to the dealer and nothing was remedied. I spoke with suzuki corporate and they acknowledged that some models were experiencing a knock due to an intolerance but that it wouldn't affect reliability. When asked to put it in writing they actually said yes but then never followed through and wouldn't return any further calls from me. I found out in europe suzuki was replacing the ecu on all bikes that were experiencing this. They have done nothing to fix this vehicle. I got to a point where i hired a lawyer to try to get the dealer to replace bike and their response was suzuki says there is nothing wrong. Now because of that i have been blacklisted from other dealers and they won't work on unit. I have lots of correspondence over the last 14 months trying to get this righted and now i am left to try to fix this myself. There are a plethora of others experiencing these same issues and getting the same response from suzuki, which is to not do anything to help. Www.stromtrooper.com is full of folks talking about this ecu issue and the knocking issue. When suzuki did have the bike and said they did an upgrade fix the bike was worse. They have also deleted the ecu replacement part twice since 2014. It has only stalled on me three times in 15 months but it only takes once at the wrong time and someone might be injured or worse. I am going to try to fix this on my own but i shouldn't have to. I think they have the bike set too lean to meet us requirements and it is a safety issue.

Bike is 6 months old bike has stall on me at least 5 occasions when in motion in traffic the bike has stalled when pulling in the clutch bike is unrideable under 2000 rpms due to poor fuelling cannot ride in city traffic without slipping the clutch the entire time below 2000 rpms my bike has been in the shop twice for this problem and both times suzuki said the bike is sopposed to do that when i ask the service mgr if his bikes wont ride under 2000 roms he says no his are fine as should all bikes service mgr asys suziki said its normal suzuki is replacing computers under warrant for these same problems all over the globe but suzuki america says no there is also a new part# for the updated computer suzuki says there is still no problem when i ask suzuki why uis there an updated computer they tell me there is no recall the bike is unsafe suzuki knows it and suzuki america is denying it and wont fix the bike this is an early model problem and mine was built 02/14

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 suzuki dl1000 motorcycle. The contact stated that while driving approximately 30 mph, the vehicle stalled without warning. The failure occurred three times over a period of ten months. The vehicle was able to be restarted. The vehicle was taken to an dealer. The mechanic had not diagnosed or repaired the problem. The manufacturer was made aware of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 1,772.

Bike shutoff or misfires at lower rpm or when started from a stop

Serious safety issues with my 2009 suzuki dl1000 vstrom. Intermittent stalling at low speeds typically coming to a stop from 30 mph and below. It has happened many times some of which were close calls. The bike stales under the following conditions: coming to a stop down shifting from 3rd to 2nd and or 2nd to 1st. One of my close calls was coming to a stop down shifting from 3rd to 2nd and bike stalled as the stop light turned from red to green and a vehicle behind me accelerated and nearly rear ended me. I had to push the bike to the side of the road until it was ready to start again. This has happened a couple of time. Another instance was when i was downshifting from 2nd to 1st and in a right turning lane going below 20 mph when the bike stalled as i was letting the clutch out. The bike did a slight skid and rear wheel shifted to the left and almost threw me off. Although this was at a slow speed it still could have sent me to the hospital especially if an automobile was following closely. The fix as stated from suzuki is to replace the ecm and upgrade spark plugs at a huge cost to me(approx. $1200+). Please see link. Http://www.stromtrooper.com/dl1000a-2014/186930-stall-down-shift.html. Suzuki is well aware of this issue and told me that because i was a second owner it's my responsibly to pay and fix it. This was the district technical service manager for suzuki and he was very rude and arrogant. I do not care how old the bike is suzuki knows about the defect and will fix it only if your within your one year warranty. I also know of a fellow rider that had suzuki repair his 2012 just before the warranty expired (same bike). I can provide names, emails and phone numbers of all associated with the vstrom stalling problems. This experience has cured me of buying any suzuki product, 4ever! I have 40+ years of riding experience. *tr

The magnets which are supposed to be an integral part of the alternator rotor came loose. They are apparently held in place with glue, which failed. This allowed the magnets to break apart and destroy the alternator stator as well. This was an expensive repair involving new parts (rotor, stator, gasket, oil) labor and much inconvenience. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2007 suzuki dl1000 motorcycle. The contact stated while riding approximately 10 mph the motorcycle suddenly stalled causing the contact to lose control of the motorcycle and crash. The contact sustained an injury to his lower right leg. The failure was not diagnosed nor was the vehicle repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 14,000. .... Updated 08/05/14 *bf updated 08/11/2014*lj the consumer stated the recalled voltage regulator failure took out the stator and rotor. Burning one and destroying the other. The battery overcharged and failed. The injection mapper may have been taken out by a voltage spike.. Updated 08/19/2014 *js

Vehicle is a nos 2014 leftover purchased in november 2016. Vehicle now has 2,500 miles on it and has intermittently stalled upon takeoff in 1st gear at least 7 times. Each time the motorcycle engine is warm. Upon engaging 1st gear from a stop, when the clutch is released and throttle applied, the motorcycle will cough and stall. This happens at critical transition times; at an intersection, in stop-and-go traffic and once in a crowded parking lot causing me to drop the bike on its side. I called suzuki and filed a case/complaint and the vehicle is now at a dealership. I spoke to the dealership after 1 week and they stated that they were unable to "re-create the problem" and were unable to do anything corrective. The manufacturer appears unwilling to acknowledge documented history of electrical problems from this model year's ecu (2014 was first year for traction control on this model) despite the fact that the ecu has been re-engineered since then. Some customers have had these ecus replaced with new version under warranty, which solved the issue. This is a documented and dangerous problem placing riders and bystanders at risk of being involved in a accident.

Tl* the contact owns a 2014 suzuki dl1000. The contact stated that that the motorcycle would stall. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was informed that the parts needed to ordered and no further information was available. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 1,900.

Tl* the contact owns a 2014 (na) suzuki dl 1000al4 (na). The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the speedometer displayed an incorrect reading. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure recurred on numerous occasions. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 3,000.

Serious safety issues with my 2009 suzuki dl1000 vstrom. Intermittent stalling at low speeds typically coming to a stop from 30 mph and below. It has happened many times some of which were close calls. The bike stales under the following conditions: coming to a stop down shifting from 3rd to 2nd and or 2nd to 1st. One of my close calls was coming to a stop down shifting from 3rd to 2nd and bike stalled as the stop light turned from red to green and a vehicle behind me accelerated and nearly rear ended me. I had to push the bike to the side of the road until it was ready to start again. This has happened a couple of time. Another instance was when i was downshifting from 2nd to 1st and in a right turning lane going below 20 mph when the bike stalled as i was letting the clutch out. The bike did a slight skid and rear wheel shifted to the left and almost threw me off. Although this was at a slow speed it still could have sent me to the hospital especially if an automobile was following closely. The fix as stated from suzuki is to replace the ecm and upgrade spark plugs at a huge cost to me(approx. $1200+). Please see link. Http://www.stromtrooper.com/dl1000a-2014/186930-stall-down-shift.html. Suzuki is well aware of this issue and told me that because i was a second owner it's my responsibly to pay and fix it. This was the district technical service manager for suzuki and he was very rude and arrogant. I do not care how old the bike is suzuki knows about the defect and will fix it only if your within your one year warranty. I also know of a fellow rider that had suzuki repair his 2012 just before the warranty expired (same bike). I can provide names, emails and phone numbers of all associated with the vstrom stalling problems. This experience has cured me of buying any suzuki product, 4ever! I have 40+ years of riding experience. *tr

Bike bogs down in 5th or 6th unless you keep it reved up above 5k, cruising around almost shuts down when you get below 2500 rpms. *ak

The magnets which are supposed to be an integral part of the alternator rotor came loose. They are apparently held in place with glue, which failed. This allowed the magnets to break apart and destroy the alternator stator as well. This was an expensive repair involving new parts (rotor, stator, gasket, oil) labor and much inconvenience. *tr

2014 suzuki dl1000. Consumer writes in regards to motorcycle ecu unit which includes fueling issues that causes low rpm throttle controls/ response and stalling vibrations and noises. *m *js

Tl*the contact owns a 2007 suzuki dl1000. When the clutch is disengaged, the engine shuts down. The failure was noticed while riding 25 mph. The contact was able to avoid several near crashes. The dealer stated that there was an after market repair that consisted of exchanging the fuel jet to allow the fuel to distribute evenly. The current mileage was 1,000 and failure mileage was 500.

Liquid/vapor separator bracket inside fuel tank of 2002 suzuki dl1000 motorcycle broke. Unsupported pipe now subject to failure which would allow all fuel to drain rapidly from tank onto engine. Not yet repaired. Requires tank replacement. *nm

2014 suzuki dl1000. Consumer writes in regards to motorcycle ecu unit which includes fueling issues that causes low rpm throttle controls/ response and stalling vibrations and noises. *m *js

Tl*the contact owns a 2007 suzuki dl1000. When the clutch is disengaged, the engine shuts down. The failure was noticed while riding 25 mph. The contact was able to avoid several near crashes. The dealer stated that there was an after market repair that consisted of exchanging the fuel jet to allow the fuel to distribute evenly. The current mileage was 1,000 and failure mileage was 500.

Liquid/vapor separator bracket inside fuel tank of 2002 suzuki dl1000 motorcycle broke. Unsupported pipe now subject to failure which would allow all fuel to drain rapidly from tank onto engine. Not yet repaired. Requires tank replacement. *nm

2014 suzuki dl1000. Consumer writes in regards to motorcycle ecu unit which includes fueling issues that causes low rpm throttle controls/ response and stalling vibrations and noises. *m *js

Bike is 6 months old bike has stall on me at least 5 occasions when in motion in traffic the bike has stalled when pulling in the clutch bike is unrideable under 2000 rpms due to poor fuelling cannot ride in city traffic without slipping the clutch the entire time below 2000 rpms my bike has been in the shop twice for this problem and both times suzuki said the bike is sopposed to do that when i ask the service mgr if his bikes wont ride under 2000 roms he says no his are fine as should all bikes service mgr asys suziki said its normal suzuki is replacing computers under warrant for these same problems all over the globe but suzuki america says no there is also a new part# for the updated computer suzuki says there is still no problem when i ask suzuki why uis there an updated computer they tell me there is no recall the bike is unsafe suzuki knows it and suzuki america is denying it and wont fix the bike this is an early model problem and mine was built 02/14

Sprocket on rear wheel hub wobbles under load. This causes clunking when shifting and very poor power transmission. In addition this causes premature bearing, chain and sprocket wear. The cause is that the rear sprocket carrier does not fully engage the hub damper. Under load the sprocket bearing has lateral force applied to it. The rear sprocket will actually move with only hand force! This is a design defect affecting all dl1000 vstroms. Many owners (myself included) are fixing this defect themselves as suzuki will not acknowledge the defect even exists. The kawasaki version of this motorcycle likely has the same design defect. *nm

Re: 2007 suzuki dl1000 v-strom 1000 motorcycle fall-over incident while stopped for a red light, i attempted to put my left foot on the pavement. The boot lace on my left boot snagged on the exposed air bleeder valve on the clutch release cylinder next to my boot and just above the gear shift lever, causing the motorcycle to fall to the pavement on its left side. I suffered injuries to my left wrist and upper left back. The motorcycle suffered a broken gear shift lever, a broken left front turn signal, and other minor scrapes and scratches. I notified american suzuki corp. In writing of what i believe to be a serious design defect, with the uncovered and unprotected air bleeder valve next to the rider's boot, and sent photos of the incident; however, bryan malyszek from american suzuki called me on 4/30/07 and disavowed any american suzuki responsibility for the incident. *tr

Broken welds holding the tips of both sides of the swing arm of my 2002 suzuki dl1000 motorcycle. Had i not seen them in time, the entire rear wheel would have fallen off during riding. Dealer and suzuki of america said it was out of warranty and took no action. (if a wheel falls off because of bad welding... Isn't that a very serious event worth looking into?) there was no prior damage. *tr

I own a motorcycle with a well-documented problem of shuddering badly between 3,000 and 3,800 rpm. Last month i was horrified to discover that 4 of the 5 welds holding my swing-arm axle-mounting bracket were completely cracked. The crack is on the chain-drive side, next to the sprocket. Had i not discovered this it would have broke, causing complete loss of control and serious injury or death. The swing-arm is aluminum, and i believe this failed as a result of the long-term shuddering problem. The bike was ridden only on the street, stored indoors, looks like new. This problem is well documented in magazine articles and blogs. Suzuki replaced the broken swing-arm but refused to fix the shuddering problem. After discovering the crack welds the dealer recommended replacing the drive chain. New tires and a new drive chain were installed, neither eliminated or helped reduce the shuddering problem. This bike was redesigned in 2003 to eliminate this problem, so suzuki has a fix. I am convinced this motorcycle is unsafe and will seriously injure or kill me or the next owner. I have many pictures of the cracked swing-arm and copies of the magazine article and blogs. Suzuki claims the shuttering can not cause this problem, however, they have failed to produce any explanation for this failure. I have owned over 100 motorcycles in my life, and this is the only motorcycle that experienced cracked swing-arm welds. *tr

Bike is 6 months old bike has stall on me at least 5 occasions when in motion in traffic the bike has stalled when pulling in the clutch bike is unrideable under 2000 rpms due to poor fuelling cannot ride in city traffic without slipping the clutch the entire time below 2000 rpms my bike has been in the shop twice for this problem and both times suzuki said the bike is sopposed to do that when i ask the service mgr if his bikes wont ride under 2000 roms he says no his are fine as should all bikes service mgr asys suziki said its normal suzuki is replacing computers under warrant for these same problems all over the globe but suzuki america says no there is also a new part# for the updated computer suzuki says there is still no problem when i ask suzuki why uis there an updated computer they tell me there is no recall the bike is unsafe suzuki knows it and suzuki america is denying it and wont fix the bike this is an early model problem and mine was built 02/14

Vehicle has issues starting when it sits in the sun. Engine will crank and crank strongly but will not start easily. Vehicle will eventually start after 3 to 4 tries, but exhaust will smell like gas. The throttle needs to be held open to keep running and to get vehicle started. Vehicle is rough idling for the first few minutes. Vehicle will stall from time to time at down shifting at a stop. *tr