When carb's are outlawed,... only outlaws will have carb's.... ...

I don't have any source of "inside information" unavailable to anyone else. Carburetors will not be outlawed, just as they have not been outlawed in the past. But the next tier of emission controls will be impossible to meet using carburetors, as happened years ago with cars. Almost all larger motorcycles are already fuel-injected. Partly, I think, the larger ones got tighter emission restrictions already. Partly the larger ones are more expensive, so it is easier to "build in" the cost of FI equipment.

Suzuki already introduced the TU250, a 250 cc injected Single. I seem to have read the LS650 is already unavailable in Europe, because of emissions. Kawasaki introduced two models of their 250 Ninja, a fuel injected model for Europe and a carbureted version for the USA. Kawasaki claimed a necessary $500 price increase for FI.

What will change to fuel-inject the LS650? It will need a fuel pump, no doubt tank mounted for cooling. That will decrease the tank volume, already complained about. The vacuum petcock will go away. But so will the Reserve, and it will be replaced by some sort of LOW FUEL warning, either a gauge or a blinking light. The carburetor will vanish, but there will still be a throttle body for air control. A mass airflow sensor, an O2 sensor, a throttle position sensor, a computer, a fuel injector, and at least two temperature sensors (air temp and engine temp) will appear. The new computer will probably call for a new ignition box. The new computer may take over for the decompression controller, too. Frankly, I think Suzuki is more likely to drop the model than put the money into it to make it meet new standards.

I forgot the catalytic converter. Thanks for bringing it up. Even the carbureted Kawasaki 250 Ninja has a catalytic converter.

The presence of the catalytic converter may make engine oil interesting, as the cat calls for low phosphorus (ZDDP) levels and the valve gear seems to require higher ones. Might need roller cam followers, too.

Charon wrote on 08/12/10 at 16:05:13:

Whew!... and a cat!...

Well,... I don't want all that cr@p,... so I'll just have to keep mine running forever... ...

Just think, though. Properly designed fuel injections systems start easily, with no fooling with a choke. The idle speed stays steady, warm or cold. Rejetting is no longer necessary, nor even possible. The backfire goes away, because FI shuts off the fuel during throttle overrun. Were the tank-mounted analog speedo to go away and be replaced by an LCD screen, the computer could display gear selection, RPM, MPH, trip and cumulative odometers,and probably state of the tide.

But I still think Suzuki is more likely to just drop the model.

I usually only see one or two at the local dealer, and that's early in the year.  They say they can't keep 'em around long, there's always someone interested.  Heck, when I traded mine in, they said they already had someone interested in the next one they got in on trade.

The TU250 is a fabulous reincarnation of the venerable GZ250 Marauder ... agree with the points made on how it's F.I. system could be rather easily adapted to the LS650, but personally I think the LS's days are numbered in it's present form ... I would like to fantasize that maybe it'll be ressurected as a TU650!! ... but I am not holding my breath ...
Sadly, Suzuki may decide to abandon the 650cc segment of the Cruiser market altogether, which leaves only Yamaha holding down that fort with it's very nice (but waaaay overweight) V-Star (I guess you could include Kawi's EN500 Vulcan here though) ... even Honda has dropped their VLX600 Shadow ... what I'd like to see from Suzuki is a retro, Bobber-styled F.I. 650cc air-cooled parallel twin (go for same marketing segment as Harley's 883 Iron and Honda's Shadow Phantom, but more attractively priced) ... but I'm sure that's a crack-pipe dream for sure! LOL!