Spinning through Joshua Tree National Park at a leisurely pace allowed me time to observe the interesting terrain. A group of Joshua trees to my right, a clump of weird cacti to my left, and a pile of remarkably smooth boulders ahead on the horizon. The sun, for the most part, had the sky to itself, and the air temperature was close to 20°C.

Beneath me, the all-new Suzuki 650 V-Strom was feeling like an old friend as it handled the rough, twisting road with ease. Light and comfortable, I was completely relaxed and thoroughly enjoying my ride.

This new 650 is simply not intimidating and doesn’t demand to be ridden hard. Instead, it encourages you to sit back on the comfortable perch and take some time to sniff the proverbial roses.

It carries you back to a simpler time in life, a time before voice mail, e-mail, cell phones, and call forwarding began invading our every wakening moment. Its inherent simplicity, and ease of operation, had me breathing out, as I felt myself unwinding with each passing mile.

That is not to say the new Suzuki V-Strom 650 is out of date, far from it. Boasting a spiffy 650cc fuel-injected engine, borrowed from the highly successful middleweight SV 650, the V-Strom bristles with modern technology.

There is no kick-start or choke lever needed here, just a light touch on the starter button as the electronic ignition fires the two cylinders eagerly to life. Suzuki’s Auto Fast Idle System (AFIS) eliminates the need for a fast-idle control (the equivalent of the old choke lever).

Managing this system is the engine control module (ECM) that reads the coolant temperature to get the correct information. With a 16-bit central processing unit (CPU) doing its stuff, the ECM sends electrical signals to a DC motor. Its job is to open the second of the two throttle valves to the desired position, which in turn opens the primary as they are joined by a linkage.

Once on the move, the dual throttle bodies are responsible for the strong, steady pull of acceleration that is available from just off idle until the rev limiter shuts things down at 10,000 rpm. When you twist the throttle, the primary throttle valve is opened. This alerts a throttle position sensor that tells the ECM to activate the DC motor so the secondary throttle valve can get to work. Before it gives its orders, the ECM also takes information from a crankshaft position sensor and a gear position sensor. The system also increases the engine’s torque for a noticeable bulge in the mid-range. Things taper off in the upper rpm reaches, but the engine will pull redline in all but top gear if you need it to.