[Rickster]

Both are great bikes, and you won't be disappointed with either.

Besides the inherent differences in the motors (V Twin verses In line four), there are some minor differences in riding position, and comfort when up to speed.

The differences in riding position are easy to note by just setting on the two bikes. Both are more upright than your current ride, with the V Strom being a little more so than the Bandit. For me, that's a plus, and my personal favorite is the V Strom.

Comfort at speed is a slightly different animal, and unfortunately in your case, unless you can find a used one to test ride, you will have to buy the bike (V Strom) to find out if it adversely effects you.

There are two issues that keep coming up from V Strom owners. The first one only pertains to the He Strom (DL 1000). For some reason (I suspect fuel economy) the Suzuki engineers have not been able to make the motor on the bigger bike as smooth as the We Strom (DL 650). The problem is a noticeable "chudder" that occurs in the 3000 to 3500 RPM range. It's most noticeable when rolling on throttle in 4th, 5th, or 6th gear, and unfortunately that's something you do a lot in your day-to-day riding. There is a fix, but it involves spending more money, about $250 for a "DynoJet Power Commander". Some dealers will offer to re-map your ECU (electric control unit) for free, and some owners have reported good results with that. It helped on my bike, but not enough, I went with the Power Commander.

The second issue with the Strom's is Wind Buffering. Depending on how/where you sit the bike, will determine how much of a problem this is for you. A few riders say it doesn't bother them at all, most complain at least a little about it, some have sold there bikes because of it. Again there is a fix, and that's to buy an aftermarket windshield. Seems pretty straight forward, till you realize there are about a dozen company's all calming there windshield is the best. Each and every one of these company's have customers that strongly agree, and other customer's that claim no improvement.

The Bandit's don't have the "chudder" or "wind buffeting" problems, but they do have a less comfortable seat, more pressure on your hands, and less travel in there suspension. All this makes them less comfortable (for me), especially when the road surface is less than perfect.