Last two winters i stored my bike without BT. my bike started in first crank in next spring after 3-4 month idle. BTW I am weekend warrior during non-winter days.
apparently i test rode new Dr650. There was suzuki demo truck at dealership near my place. not much power(obvious) but Very fun bike , light weight. Good luck with your tour. post trip report.
Here is video of the ride that I shot from my gopro. fz6-forum group ride - 04/07/2012 - YouTube
I had to reduce movie length from 30 min(3GB) to 12 min(0.9GB). Please excuse my novice skills with gogpro and video editing(using iMovie)!! :)
Thanks
M