At the DL650's launch, noted motorcycle journalist Kevin Ash said "taking everything into account - price, comfort, fuel range, general ability, you could argue it was the bike of the year," adding, "there's something honest and solid about the V-Strom." Having ridden a DL650 as his daily rider, in 2005 Ash called it the "best bike you can buy." Ash complimented the bike's comfort, fuel range, engine and handling, faulting its brakes and corrosion resistance, and described the bike as "perhaps the ultimate all-round machine." At the launch of the revised 2012 model, Ash noted that the previous generation, which could be very vulnerable to corrosion, had "been left behind, especially by direct rival, the Kawasaki Versys." After the release of the 2012 model, Ash placed the Vstrom ahead of the Versys.