convince me to buy a wee-strom

[bleedgrn]

Originally Posted by Chef Gareth

I am on my second one now, just traded up to the new model. They are great bikes for touring and can handle more off road than you would expect in the right hands. For the money you cant go past the wee. I have always owned 1200's and even though it would be nice to have some more power somtimes, I have never felt it to be under powered.

Chef

That is good to know. The power factor I was having trouble with, but I realize this is no sport bike and I racked up enough tickets on my last one to make 6 months of payments. The temptation to give a one wheel salute was too much. My riding style has changed and I am also a little older now. It is funny how purchasing a bike feels a bit like meeting a new girl. Your a little nervous about her until you take her for a few rides, then the pressures off and you relax and just enjoy the company.

[Pecha72]

Originally Posted by bleedgrn

That is good to know. The power factor I was having trouble with, but I realize this is no sport bike and I racked up enough tickets on my last one to make 6 months of payments. The temptation to give a one wheel salute was too much. My riding style has changed and I am also a little older now. It is funny how purchasing a bike feels a bit like meeting a new girl. Your a little nervous about her until you take her for a few rides, then the pressures off and you relax and just enjoy the company.

Exactly how many other bikes of similar cubic capacity out there, that can do solo fun riding *AND* two-up touring really well? Not so many at the moment, I think. Most similarly priced alternatives fall a bit short on the two-up bit at least.

For fun riding, I´d get rid of the crappy Bridgestone OEM tyres, though, handling improves a lot, when you get some better rubber on its wheels. Beats me, why they still fit those at the factory, as most test rides are taken on them, and they actually make the bike feel worse than it is. Suzuki shoots themselves in the leg by using them.

I fully agree with the girl part....

[Captn Spock]

nothing wrong with oem bridgestone tyres. goes everywhere on the dirt where a strom can and should go.

sporty enough to keep up with super sports bikes in the twisties.

of course tyre selection and perception is so subjective and personal. oh wait what can of worms did i just open...

[betitou]

Originally Posted by Captn Spock

of course tyre selection and perception is so subjective and personal. oh wait what can of worms did i just open...

For sport twisties my selection goes for Pirelli Scorpion!

[goodcat8]

Just recently bought a kitted out 06 for $5100 bucks. Its my 23rd bike and I still couldn't be happier.

Trip I did this past week on her here:
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=854897

[Pecha72]

Originally Posted by Captn Spock

nothing wrong with oem bridgestone tyres. goes everywhere on the dirt where a strom can and should go.

sporty enough to keep up with super sports bikes in the twisties.

of course tyre selection and perception is so subjective and personal. oh wait what can of worms did i just open...

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.

[bleedgrn]

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.

[gstt500]

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

[Chef Gareth]

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.

[Pecha72]

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

[bleedgrn]

Originally Posted by gstt500

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

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.

[gstt500]

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.

[newhoco]

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

[Motomarathon]

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.

[deputygene]

Originally Posted by shadowtrekkor

My wife calls this my mid-life crisis, I told her the crisis is over referring to the last 22 years of raising 3 children--teenagers I am presently riding my Honda XL 600r, she got me back into riding, and looked enough like a dirtbike that my cautious wife was ok with it. Now she thinks a bigger bike would be more fun on our trips I like the looks of the GS's but I can only afford one with 60,000 on the dial. I looked at a vstrom 650, and was impressed. I could have a brand new one for a hundred bucks a month Is this a bike that can handle an adventure? I want a bike that is light enough to be nimble, but big enough to bolt on some jesse boxes and disappear for a month. Looking to hear the good, the bad , the ugly about it.

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