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DR650SE vs DL650 Wee-Strom for RTW DR650SE vs DL650 Wee-Strom for RTW
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Photo by Andy Miller, UK, Taking a rest, Jokulsarlon, Iceland

I haven't been everywhere...
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Photo by Andy Miller, UK,
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Jokulsarlon, Iceland



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  #46  
Old 28 Aug 2010
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Quote:
Originally Posted by srileo View Post
My choice for future trips is the DR. I have been learning its internals slowly and am loving the bike now. With a few cheap mods, you have a very reliable and capable bike that any mechanic anywhere in the world can fix if you can't. Plus it is loads lighter and goes places where you wont take the Wee.
Good choice. But I loved both my Vstroms, no issues. Perhaps one of the most significant advantages of the DR is its crash survivability compared to the Strom.

Regards your Fuel pump filter issues. This is not very common, at least not on the Vstrom forums. I read of one or two clogging up on the 2600 member Vstrom group. That back in 2003 when the fix was figured out.

My memory is a bit dim on this as it never happened to me despite about 20,000 miles of Mexico and Baja Gas. But IIRC, the pump has TWO filters.
One is removable and cleanable. The other, I believe does not come out but can be cleaned with a tooth brush to clear it out. Or perhaps you have to disassemble the pump to get to it .... can't remember.

In any case, my solution was to regularly run Chevron Techron through the system or Sea Foam. No pump/filter problems in 70K miles on my '02.

When you hang out with these guys you tend to learn every Vstrom trick in the book! That's my bike parked backwards and dirty ... of course.


120 Vstromer's can't be wrong!


Quick spin on the Playa, Black Rock Desert, Nv.
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  #47  
Old 28 Aug 2010
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Firstly, just go. Any bike will do.
Hey a danish dude rode a Nimbus bike RTW, possible he is still on the road. The Nimbus factory closed in the fifties (i think). He on the Forum somewhere.

My choice would largely be dependant on what type of riding you are going to do.

If your choice is mainly tar seal then any bike will make it with a bit of loving tender care.

I have been from India thru to Europe on a BMW and it rode nicely, but we were 99% on the tar seal. My wife rode a XT600 which I bought for 300USD on the same trip and it never missed a beat. The BMW has a flat front tyre.

This time around I'm on a DR650 kitted for serious off-road, because that's what we are going to do in South America, avoid tar seal where we can.

Some days we will be lucky to make 100km, but that's fine.
Even when get to the "states" we will try to avoid tar seal.

And when on tar seal, we will be happy to accept a lot less miles/day than a "proper" road bike, simply because we not in any hurry.

Just do it !
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  #48  
Old 30 Jul 2015
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my 2 cents:
I've owned both, and hauling a bunch of kit on an RTW would make me take the 'strom........secondly, I'm lazy and old. I'll plug a tire any day before patching a tube.
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  #49  
Old 1 Aug 2015
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and hopefully as this post is 7 years old Remy made the correct decision
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  #50  
Old 24 Sep 2015
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unleaded fuel
and how about the question if the vstrom is suited for leaded (African) fuel?
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  #51  
Old 25 Sep 2015
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the engine will be OK, but if you are going to be running on leaded for an extended period then remove the catalytic converter from exhaust system.
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