No problems to report. 
Lost the screw that holds the middle of the chain guard to the frame and that is pretty much it
as far as problems are concerned.  Still waiting for an indicator bulb to burn out or something.
Have not checked the valves yet.  Never seem to get around to them but will check next week if time
permits.
My riding buddy has about 43,000 on his and checked twice and they were within spec.
Many others have had similar experiences.  Valve interval is 14,500 miles.
Chains seem to last around 13,000 miles.  OEM and DID X ring lasted about the same.
Front and rear sprockets were changed with the first chain but only the front sprocket
was changed with the second chain.  Did the same on my GS.  Rear should last twice as long
as the front if not more.
OEM Trailwing tires lasted almost 13,000 but were totally shot.  Second set was Dunlop 607.
The rear lasted a little over 10,000 and again had no thread left.
High rates of speed probably account for the short life on the tires.
I left the front tire on.   Still looks good with 17,000 miles on it.
Put in Iridium plugs in at 11,500 miles,  OEM plugs still looked good.
Put in OEM plugs in at 27,000, Iridium plugs looked good as new. 
Will leave these in for 20,000 miles.  Will not bother to check until I pull them.
Plug interval is 7,500 and air filter is 11,000 miles.
Air filter should last 20,000 miles also. 
Put in second one in at 27,000.  Won't bother checking until I pull it unless I ride more in dirt.
My riding buddy changed his at 28,000 miles and it was still pretty good.
Using Castrol GTX oil and changing at 3,500 miles.  Oil filter gets changed every second oil change.
Suzuki says every third is ok.
Although a good rider can make anything work, the bike is not a dual sport.
It's a serious long distance tourer.
It eats up the miles.  I don't take it out unless I'm doing something in the hundreds of miles.
The fuel injection is great.  No flat spots.  No matter how cold or hot it is just hit that button and
it purrs at a rock steady idle. 
Plenty of power.  Just twist the throttle and you are doing 100 mph in an instant.
Passing is a no brainer just twist the throttle and it's done.
Engine is very smooth.  The smooth engine and the windshield make you forget how fast you are going.
I hit very high speeds when I pass someone because you don't get any feedback from the engine
or the wind hitting your body.
Windshield is not perfect.  It's pretty small and far forward so you get some wind noise and some
buffeting.  Does not bother me much but others really get hung up on it.
Upright sitting position is great.  Stock seat is pretty good for me.
Had lots of 700+ mile days and there is not much of a fatigue factor.
Had a winter trip to Florida 3,287 miles in 6 days.
Took another trip to James Bay in Canada 2,700 miles in 4 days.
Some of those days were at moderate speeds and 15 hour days with just stops for lunch and gas.
Range on the bike is great.  Can go around 250 miles before you have to fill up.
On the Florida run we would go non stop between tankfuls.
It was winter so the butt does not sweat so you can really go long distances.
James Bay road is awsome area.  You can go as fast as you want for as long as you want.
There is no enforcement.  The only problem is that there is one stretch where it's 240 miles
between gas stations so you can't go too fast or you will run out of fuel.
Handles very well in the rain.  Have ridden thousands of miles in the rain.
Had one day where we rode 8 hours in the rain.  About 4 hours were in
pretty heavy rain.  Got removeable heated grips and they help in the winter.
Shape of the gas tank helps keep the wind away from the knees to some extent.
Put on handguards and that really helps with keeping the hands warm.
Did lots of winter riding and can ride for hours in the mid 20's without a problem.
MPG are anywhere from 46-54.
You go towards 46 mpg when you ride above 85 mph and play tag with 100 mph.
You go towards 54 mpg when you stay close to the speed limit.
You can get more if you stay at the speed limit and keep a steady hand on the throttle.

how long did it take to rack up 30,000 miles?

2 1/2 years.  Would have done more miles but not much time to ride this year.
Also have a 2002 GS500 that I put on 23,000 miles in 4 1/2 years.
There is a woman that has over 50,000 miles on her 650 V-Strom and a guy that
has over 60,000 miles.   The 650 only came out in 2004.   
The bike has no know issues, engine is a de-tuned SV650 engine which is a proven
design.  My riding partner had one problem with his bike.
His fuel pump filter got packed.  The filter is pretty small and he always rides on fumes.
He ran dry at least three times.  Pump was not putting out enough fuel.  He did not want to take
a chance and just put in the whole pump which comes with a new filter.
He started developing problems at 28,000 miles and we finally figured what the problem was
about 5,000 miles later.   One other guy had the same problem after 56,000 miles but on the 1000 V-Strom and he just pulled the filter and reverse flowed some chemical cleaner through it and that cleared it.
Seems to be working at the moment but he is keeping an eye on the situation to make sure
that this will work.   If it does he will post his results.

Nice review!

What is the construction of the oil filter?

It's a spin on with a fine thread.  They say to turn it 2 1/2 turns but that is hard to do without
a cap wrench.  I just turn it until it's pretty tight.
Ths Suzuki filters are about $9 but you can get some others for less.
One other thing to keep in mind is that it's a water cooled engine and has a oil cooler also.
That makes an engine last.
No oil usage at all.
I don't even check the oil level anymore. 

oil filter is the same as the TL.

Some guy at the gas pump pulled up with a 1k here several weeks back and he had like 30k on it and it was a year old.  That alone makes me want one bacuse I can't even seem to put that kind of mileage on my car lol.

Nice write up!  I agree completely, but at 14k, my valves were just barely out of spec.  Other thatn that, the bike is boring mechanically.  Nothing to fix, little to maintain.  I haven't found anything not to like, except she likes to lie down on soft sand.

Not to say you are not correct, But for me I hate the vstrom.  I rode a dl1000 for 10500 miles for 16 days.  You can lean that bike over and have an 1/8 inch chicken strip with about 250 pounds of gear on the back.  Rock solid in the turns but with all that weight, going straight it wobbles like crazy.  strong cross winds and you cant ride highway speeds.  But it is comfortable and it survived to hard falls in the mud on the James dalton highway.  Give me a steering damper and lower the front half inch and put a stiffer shock in the back and Ill take one.  But unless you have the 250 pounds of gear on the back its no problem.

P78

Quote from: 94suzuki500 on October 05, 2006, 08:04:54 PM
lower the front half inch and put a stiffer shock in the back and Ill take one.  But unless you have the 250 pounds of gear on the back its no problem.

I raised the forks about 5/8".  Makes a big difference.  It just falls into the turns.
As far as wobble,  I never had 250 lbs on the back but had had maybe 60lbs and no wobble even
at an indicated 100+ mph.  We rode with two French Canadians going to James Bay and they had the 1000
and plenty of gear.  We hit some pretty high speeds and no wobble on their bikes. 
They were experienced riders and loved their bikes.
It's not for everybody I guess.  Most people buy bikes on looks and their emotions rule.
I look at them like a tool.  I want the right tool for the right job.
I'm not one of those guys that praises something because he owns it.
However I am very impressed with the 650 as a long distance bike and something that is great
to ride on those back bumpy roads.
Thinking hard as what I would want next and it gets hard.
I don't like big bikes.  The 1000 is overkill and has issues. 
Others are 35 mpg and tires wear every 5,000 miles.
The 650 size is perfect for me.
The right tool for the right job.
While we are on the subject.
Took the 650 to Manhattan the other day and what a disaster compared to the GS500.
Traffic was really bad going toward the Lincoln Tunnel and it was hard to pass between the cars.
Too many trucks, buses and commuter vans.
It was painful sitting in traffic for part of the trip.
The difference is width, height and weight is incredible when it comes to a situation like that.
The GS rocks when it comes to commuting to Manhattan.  It's a real fun bike and is the one
that leaves the garage first unless I'm going real far.

well it had the wobble, always had to be watching yourself.   I really like the bike, even on the looks, looks pretty awesome to me.  Great bike but the issues that I experienced with it can be solved pretty easily.  Did you read the report about that v-strom in that mag, kinda vauge question, he had the fuel cell mounted on the back rack and the sattelite tracking equipment.  Well its my dads friend and he said he had to stiffen the rear and lower the front to make the bike more stable.  Great bike but riding 10500 miles in all weather and over any terrain can be quite nerve racking.

If you put enough weight on the back or if the back is really set on the soft side you will probably get a wobble
probably on anything, its just physics. 
I remember riding 2 up on a 350 and 250 that I had years ago and it was not a comfortable feeling
at higher speeds.  It felt like the front wheel was going to lift off.  I remember leaning froward
to counter this.
The 650 will probably be more affected since it is a lighter bike than most of the bigger bikes.
My riding buddy is always playing with his suspension.
He put on some BT20 tires and they just did not feel right. 
He had set his rear really soft and he was not comfortable going into the turns.
He stiffened the back and lowered the front and you should see that sucker take those turns.