I´ve never ridden your current bike, but the V-Strom 650 is a fun bike. I think it´s very comfortable; I´ll ride several hours, and want to just keep going and going....I´ve found that lowering it a bit makes for some improved handling as well. I bought a set of lowering links from www.murphskits.com and raised the forks 3/4 of an inch. Power-wise, it´ll get out of its´ own way with ease....after 90mph or so, it starts to lose a bit of steam though in regards to flat-out acceleration. With some quick shifting up through the gears though....you can get to 90mph rather quickly :).