convince me to buy a wee-strom

Well, you´re sure right about the can of worms thing... But look, they´ve had these B-stone Trailwings on the DL at least from 2004 (and I wouldn´t be surprised, if even the original DL1000 from 2002 had the same). Tyre technology in general has advanced a light year during this time, while the DL´s OEM tyres have stayed the same.

I do not agree, that they´re ´Deathwings´, as some call them, for me that´s just people trying to explain that the tyres caused something, that was ultimately a rider error. So they are not dangerous tyres. But the Trailwings are just old in every way – not very grippy, and a little bit vague feedback more or less everywhere. On the other hand, you would expect this kind of rubber to last, but their mileage is mediocre at best. In fact there are a lot of options these days, that have a much better feeling, especially on wet tarmac, and those still outlast the OEM tyres by a considerable margin. That´s a poor performance in my book. But yeah, they´re black, and round shape, and you can legally ride the bike with them, maybe that´s good enough, but personally after 3 sets of them on new bikes, I´ll go for something else every time.

I do not agree, that they´re ´Deathwings´, as some call them, for me that´s just people trying to explain that the tyres caused something, that was ultimately a rider error. So they are not dangerous tyres. But the Trailwings are just old in every way – not very grippy, and a little bit vague feedback more or less everywhere. On the other hand, you would expect this kind of rubber to last, but their mileage is mediocre at best. In fact there are a lot of options these days, that have a much better feeling, especially on wet tarmac, and those still outlast the OEM tyres by a considerable margin. That´s a poor performance in my book. But yeah, they´re black, and round shape, and you can legally ride the bike with them, maybe that´s good enough, but personally after 3 sets of them on new bikes, I´ll go for something else every time.[/QUOTE]

Good post. I have crashed on tarmac riding a chicane with racing slicks because I didn't allow enough time to heat the tires up (rider error). I think riding the bike with stock tires for a few months, getting a feeling for how the bike responds to your inputs, is a place to start. This way when you re-shoe you will have a better appreciation for what has changed. You may find new set limits in riding capability, but be careful, exceeding those limits can be costly.

Congrats from a fellow Duluthian on your new DL650, I haven't seen too many 2012's running around here yet. I bought mine last March and have put about 5k miles on it so far, did a few 1k trips last summer fully loaded with camping gear and it handled it just fine.
I went with the standard model also and put my own racks and panniers on. Its still wide but not as much so as with the factory set up.
I can't complain too much about the "Deathwings" I have put a lot of gravel road miles on and had it off road a bit, mostly dry stuff though and the only time I've noticed any handling problems was on loose gravel fully loaded. I think when the OE's wear out I'll try something else, Shinko 705's or Heidi K60's

I had the tyres changed before I picked her up, didnt cost that much more but then I already had tried a few different types and knew what I wanted on the dl (tkc front with scout rear) works great on and off road and get 14k from both.

I put Michelin Pilot Road 3's on my new -12 last year. Did a test ride on a -12 demo bike before, enough to know the Bstones hadn't changed anywhere. Couldn't be happier, for tarmac the difference is night and day, and I can still do a bit of unpaved roads just fine.

Did I mention I dislike its OEM tyres

Thanks gstt500. Probably see you around this summer, bike night at Sir Ben's? Was working with a fellow motor bike enthusiast last night and we were trying to find front pictures of an example of the SW motech nerf bars on the 2012. I was comparing them against the Happy Trails bars and the Happy Trails appeared to stick out from the bike several more inches. Not sure what to make of them, other than they are considerably cheaper. I'm with you on the OE tires. Probably break the bike in and spend money on farkling before tires. I would imagine re-shoeing would be around $400-500 American.

I try to make it to bike night at least once a month during the season so I'll look for you there, I usually ride the wee there and once in a while my old KLR.
It'll be kind of tough for you getting a new bike this time of year and not being able to ride much till Spring, I generally spend my winters spending money on maintenance and farkling and dreaming about the rest of the year just riding. Last winter though I made it a point to ride every month and because of our wierd weather I did it without getting any salt on the bike.
I don't know if you have checked out the stromtroopers site yet, theres a lot of good info there. Sounds like the stock crash bars add some vibration to the bike, don't know about the aftermarket brands. Thats one thing I haven't bought yet but will do more research when the time comes.

i love my '09 , I rode it far and wide last year ; group rides set up through Stromtrroper.com to Muskoka , then to the eastern rendezvous in New Hampshire were the highlights for me . I hope to ride it far over the horizon next year , too.
The people I've met and the places I've seen since buying the Vstrom are the reason I'm becoming addicted to long-distance motorcycle touring .
On the flipside , it cannot be denied that many of us Vstrom owners subsequently plunk a pile of cash into our bikes in upgrades and farkles . My list includes the Altrider crashbars , skidplate and sliders , madstad bracket and windshield , tires , Russell Day Long seat in production now , Holan Panniers ( group buy through this site ) , bar risers ( required longer brake lines ) , heated grips , gps , , peg lowering kit... and it's only through extreme willpower that I haven't told Blair at SV Racing to " go ahead " , and ship the recommended suspension upgrades , front and rear . I probably could have just bought the ( fill in the blank- Tiger 800 ? ) instead .
Some may argue that the bike was designed in Japan for the average Asian male : 5' 4" , 120 lbs , size 6 shoes , etc , who lives on a relatively small island..... so for the average North American , 6' , 200 lbs , size 12 feet , who wants to load it with 100 lbs of gear and travel 3000 kms to the coast , well - that's gonna take some farkelling !
I love mine - and it's only ugly when I'm on it .
Alex

Bought myself a VStrom DL 1000 for my 50th birthday in '09. Powerful curve carver, great for two-up riding and goes great on dirt as well as pavement. And a helluva lot cheaper than a Beemer or a Ducati with just as much capability. I highly recommend this bike.

About the same here. Was riding a XRL650, wife thought it looked like a dirtbike. Couple years later she is riding too and we were looking for something we could ride comfortably for longer periods. I test rode a Triumph Tiger 800, loved it. It was a 2011 model, I asked them of they would try to call Triumph finance and get the bike approved for 0% financing, since by then it was almost a 2 year old bike. Nope, wouldn't even try, wouldn't even come down much in price. Then I test rode a 2012 V Strom Adventure. Read all the reports on extreme reliability, they were on 0% financing and the dealer matched what I thought was a very good internet price.

Really liking this bike.
BTW, you can find used ones cheap. When I sold The Honda XR650L I had enough to buy a Strom for the wife. Found her this low mileage 04.
Funny story, was riding the other day, cruising around doing errands, riding. Stopped in at a local bike shop to bs, guy come pulling in on a lowrider. Said he had seen me in town earlier. Bike shop owner comes out, thinks the saddle bags are ugly, but starts talking about the engine. Great motor blah blah. Then the Harley guy chimes in "I thought it was a BMW". I thought that was pretty freakin funny

Just did a 16 hour turn and burn down to Illinois to Nielson Enterprises. Huge selection. Two DL650 in stock with one on the showroom floor. They sold me the one they just un-crated. So my wee's birthday was yesterday. A friend of mine went with me since I just worked a 12 hour night shift and took off for the border. Long story short, papers signed, bike loaded within half hour. This white on black is very flattering although it looks more like a sport bike with long legs. Very happy with it. Took it for a short ride around the parking lot since it was 20 F. Now tucked in the garage. Rolled out of bed to fresh blanket of snow so no ride in the near future.
Thanks for the advise of Stromtroopers. I have lurked in their site but did not become a member yet. I have been searching through this site to get a less biased opinion of the wee. BTW I park right above the bike night hangout, so when I leave work on Wednesdays I have to admire all the two wheel eye candy. Will be fun to participate. Here is a couple first pics of my bike. The one I'm seating on is still in the showroom. Trying to figure out how to upload images from my computer or phone. Will need to read first. Images will follow.

In reading your comments as to tires being "light years " ahead these days,are you talking about carcass construction,sidewall rubber or tread rubber compounding or tread designs? Don't take this the wrong way at all, but my having worked in tire factory a long time ago vs. now I see lots of hype & not really large changes. I read bike mag article r.e., tires & it's always superficial info. I'd like to see something besides artistic cross-sections of tires in ads, such as real information. The bike mag articles on tires are simply enlarged advertisements.Tire companies have been "playing with" tread rubber compounds for many years & while that may equal improvement I honestly wonder if it is a "like years"/quantum leap? The beads and general basic components,construction seem to be the same as my 1960's & 70's industry experience.
As a long time rider, former SCCA racer,former wrench,etc., I do understand well that some tires are better than others & improved in certain ways. I keep hoping a true tire expert will appear here or my other haunts. I will say that the 2012 Wee OEM tires have a tread that cannot possibly be near optimum for pavement riding, what with the blocky pattern. I test road the bike this summer and while I didn't push it hard it was a fun ride compared to my BMW R1150R bike. Lighter more tossable but a bit less refined in terms of long distance roadability/comfiness at speed. Don't feel reproached , it's just a tire conversation...

Short answer is yes.

Tires are still round and black, but there have been many advances in tread, in the rubber compounds, carcas construction etc. At least there definately have been in the car world.

One little example: I sell Porsche's for a living. Ten years ago if you took one out on a dry day below the 40's with stock (summer) tires you would find the Z-rated tires have almost no traction at all on dry pavement and would never get traction. Now the same tires have way more traction below freezing. I am not talking about all season tires, but Z-rated performance tires. (I am a strong believer in winter tires on cars so don't for a moment think I am suggesting you drive these tires in cold weather.) It is amazing to feel the difference.

..Tom

On trailbikes, tyre evolution is not as rapid as on sportbikes. But they still go forward. And a decade is a long time to be on the same tyre. And the Bstones that the Wee's always had, weren't top class even back in the day.

I rode on a 2007 Wee from Greece to Australia on 2 sets of Michelin Anakee 1:s, 15000kms on first set, almost 17000 on second. Two-up, and luggage for six-month trip, we even carried that spare set, and kept carrying the used set after switching in Thailand. The whole trip was mostly very high temperatures, that should accelerate wear. OEM tyres, I would've needed at least 3 or maybe 4 sets On top of that, I liked those tyres handling on dry or wet asphalt, or gravel surface. In my book for example this tyre (or Anakee 2) is better than original for the Wee, plain and simple.

I would skip the vstrom, besides the engine (what a great engine, on both flavors) the vstrom don't have much going for them...I had a 1k for 15k miles, no issues, but there are better options out there, at a somewhat higher initial price, but come on, you only live once!

Farkles required!

You try the 12-> Wee? Most people seem to agree it's got something going for it. Not everyone of course, but I'd say at the very least it deserves a test ride, if you're in the market for this type of bike.

The 1k has a few small issues, that the 650 never had, much less the updated model.

I looked at the new wee-Strom 650 last year in my search for the "perfect" adventure bike. (I have since concluded that there is no perfect bike)

If you are a more "value" oriented person, this bike may be a good choice! I ultimately wanted something with a little more "character", so I chose to pay a couple thousand more for a different bike.

If you keep bikes a long time like I typically do, my advice would be to not buy any bike that doesn't "speak to you"

The problem with this forum is.....
You make me want to right out and buy one
Next time we make it to the big town,
I am going to check one out.

Wee on road:

Still on the road:

Road cruising:



REAL off road:



Easy on a real off road bike:

(Stolen without permission from here: http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=29723 )

The bike that fits and makes you grin is the right bike... It's the loose nut between the grips that makes the difference.