I agree. I own one bought new in 98. My wife and I have been all over NZ on it including a number of "Adventure rides" (multiday on/off road events). I have reworked the suspension both ends to make it work better dirt/off-road (standard suspension is too-soft), and also use a 21" front wheel when doing a lot of dirt/off road. The DR650 wheel fits straight on. It has never let us down which can´t be said of some of the more expensive competition that have been at some of our rides (e.g. BMW 650, Aprilia 650).
The only drawbacks are that it needs more power for highway work (especially 2-up), but I have a GSX 1200 for that, and it can´t handle serious off-road, but I have a KTM 300 for that.