The little V-Strom continues to impress me.  I recently took it on an 8 day adventure encompassing 2200+ miles.  On the highway when I was running 75-85 I averaged "only" around 47-49 MPG.  Riding through some twisty bits in NC I averaged near 60.  That was after 150 miles or so of mostly 3rd gear, 6-9k RPM, wide open throttle, back on the brakes type riding.  That day I had just the top box on.  When I got the "low" mileage on the highway I had top box plus the super-wide Hepcko Becker bags on.  

i must admit, though, that I'm not in love with the seat.  t is great for 150 miles or so, but then it turns.  It turns ugly, and it turns ugly fast.  Like someone flips a switch fast.  One second its fine, the next I'm thinking about ways to improve the seat.  I did put my Alaskan Leather sheepskin on it, and it dulled the pain, but didn't make it a whole lot better.  I might have to look at the aftermarket offerings next year.

Overall for me the DL650 is still a fantastic ride.  The engine just sings.  It doesn't sing loudly, and doesn't have a very deep voice, but its a hard worker.

Personally, I don't like the word panniers.  It just sounds kind of frou-frou.  Anyhow, My dealer FINALLY (almost two weeks ago) got my luggage racks and cases installed.  The cases are 30L (exhaust side) and 40L by Hepcko and Becker.  The mounting hardware is provided courtesy of SW Motech.  It makes the old girl have a fat butt, that's for sure.

I've also installed a Bestem top case.  Terrible picture, but you get the idea.

Since my much beloved Fulmer helmet turned 5 this year I thought it was time for a new lid.  I bought the Vega V-Tunes Bluetooth enabled helmet.  It paired up no problem with my HTC Rezound, but boy howdy does the sound quality suck.
Clever boy that I am, I came up with a fix for that.  I decided I'd steal the drivers off my Koss KTXPRO1's.  These el-cheapo headphones have a surprisingly nice sound.  I will buy more to replace this set I had to scavenge from.
Anyhow, pull the padding out the helmet, unplug a single plug from the actual bluetooth device and start cutting and splicing.  Easy peasy.
Note how tiny the originals are compared to the Koss drivers.  

The sound is 100% better.  Still don't how it'll sound in motion.  I haven't actually used the helmet yet.  I might hate it, but I hope not.  Now I just need to find some earplugs that will block out the highway wind whistle freqs whilst letting Ramona Falls come through loud and clear. 

Filled up a couple days ago and calculated 55 MPG.  I'm pretty sure that whole tank was with the luggage installed.  So far, the bags don't seem to be hurting mileage.  There is a pretty good chance that will change running 70+ on the highway.  

My new 2012 DL650 V-Strom is a great all-rounder.  The only qualm I had with it, and it was pretty minor, was that it was just a hair taller than I was comfortable in all situations with.  Mainly duck walking it around the garage, driveway, or a parking lot was a challenge.  I had dialed back the rear spring preload and that did help, but it made the rear to squishy.  My goal was to lower the rear enough that I could put the right amount of preload back in.
I bought the 3/4" lowering links from MurphsKits.com.  They arrived quickly, aren't expensive, and look like a quality hunk of metal.  If you need the butt of your DL to squat down just a little, I soundly recommend these.

If you have someone willing to jiggle the tire up and down while you pull the bolts out and then put them back in, this is a 15 minute job.  Tops.  Its just two bolts for crying out loud!
When I was through I raised the forks in the triple tree about 3/8".  just trying to balance out the changes out back.  With front and back lowered, but preload added back to front and back, I think it might be 1/2 to 3/4 lower.  It still leans on the kickstand.  Might be a couple degrees more upright, but not enough to worry about for now.
I don't have too many miles on this mod yet, but it feels pretty good.  Between getting lowered, adding the center stand, and adding side bags, I worry a little about clearance.  I'm not out trying to prove anything with late apex cornering prowess, so I should be ok.