Hi guys,
I have been reading back and forth quite a few posts specific to both the DR650SE and V-Strom 650, but wanted some direct input from people who have experience with both (Molly Dog, it seems you have both bikes for instance). I am planning an RTW trip leaving in ~9 months and have settled down to one of these two bikes (the initial cost of purchase and set-up is negligible considering its relativity to the overall cost of the RTW trip):

DL650 V-Strom: I currently have a 2006 SV650 that I love, so obviously the Wee-Strom gains favor there. Also, I assume (admitted ignorance associated with the following statement) that 80-90% of my riding will be on roads (tarmac, gravel) where the difference in ground clerance is negligible. It has a sixth gear which I love, and fuel injection so altitude changes require no adjusting. Plus, great power, smooth ride, tubeless tires, etc. Excellent reliability, but if something does go wrong on a more complex bike (water cooled, fuel injected) I'm hesitant to believe I can guarantee knowledge as to what has failed and how to repair it.

DR650SE: On the otherhand, I can set up a DR650 with Safari tank (30 liters!), Aftermarket seat, new suspension, and windshield (Spitfire S-06 or the like). Also, as an admittedly hesitant mechanic, I feel confident working on the simple DR650 versus the much more complex Wee (simple valve adjustment, air cooled). It's light weight, so my small 5'8", 150 lb. self can lift it easy in case of a drop. Plus, as I research more the peripheral expenses (carnet for instance) a less valuable bike requires less expenses as one travels over time. But, I assume it will be a lot more vibe-y with a single cylinder, and even with the windshield I can't imagine it as comfortable as the Wee.

Given my ignorance, and desire to be a smart overlander versus ego-driven overlander, where does one put the value? Ultimately I feel confident that the simplicity of the DR650 will guarantee me peace of mind throughout the trip (in case of mechanical problems or bad road conditions). Yet, given my experience with my SV (superb in all facets), I feel 90% as confident with the Wee-Strom (and I believe my day to day riding will be much more comfortable). It's just the 10% unknown that makes me hesitant. So is it comfort with 10% fear, or less comfort with peace of mind. For those with experience, I'd love to hear your take. Thanks in advance for putting up with my naivety.
Cheers,
Remy

You need to take the bike that you feel best suits the trip you are taking, if your RTW trip is going to be all tarmac then go for the DL650 a good handling bike that sits well on the road, is comftable and can eat up a few miles If you are doing a mixture of tarmac and dirt then take the DR650 its light easy to handle and when you drop it in the dirt there is not to much to get broken or damaged. Both bikes are good but both have disadvantage's so its up to you to decide. Look at were you will ride and may be if you can get to ride both bikes, in the end its your choice. Skip

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Do the best you can with what you have,
A stranger in a strange land now heading North South East West to.....

I had the same dilemma when deciding on the choice of bike, I settled for the DR650. It is a great bike, but you really need to choose the bike that is right for you.

Cheers

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Peter

http://peter-onamission.blogspot.com

Both are great in their own way, I think there´s no one definite answer, it depends totally on your preferences, and regarding the trip, the routes / roads you´ll be taking. The DL will carry more stuff, and offers more comfort for basically anything that has asphalt. You can tour most of this planet on tarmac, although it will sometimes be far from perfect.

But if you´re inclined to explore the side roads a lot, and have time to do so (because covering the distance will be much slower) then the DR could be better for you. I think the DR will suffer more from the weight that you´re likely to have on board, so it might lose some of its advantage it might have, when the going gets tough.

DL is more like a streetbike, the DR a ´proper´ enduro, and both will have good and bad sides, you just need to decide what you value most. I dont think the maintenance of the DR is really a plus, because the DL is also very trouble-free, even if it is technically more complicated.

Hi I will give an opnion as its what you have asked for. I would go with the DL650(wee strom), Last year I rode to Cape Town from Europe I was on a TTR600 dirt bike. My friend rode a V-strom 1000cc I was amazed, The old saying anybike will do it is very true. We went to lake turkana, which is a pretty hard core route. Certainly the hardest part of my 36'000km trip. I remember feeling anoyed that having his 'street bike' in the picture along with my 'hard core dirt bike' made it look too easy. With a pair of knobbies, (he had TKC 80's) he took it through soft sand, rocks, and ate up the miles so much better than I did on my dirt bike. Even with a wind screen on my bike I was never that comfortable with the long road distances mainly with the noise, where he just cruised protected by the extra fairing. I would take a dirt bike to africa again. But never around the world.- I am actually leaving in about 9months time as well around the world on a africa twin, the wee strom was a real contender, I just loved it when I rode the africa twin, so at a barging price I chose it instead.
Another thing is the power, I always wanted more power with my single cyl. When you are riding in 3rd world countrys, they can drive very fast, normaly with bad brakes-hence all the crashes! So having the power to get out the way is a consideration. I was run off the roads 3 times by sucicidal bus drivers around iringa in Tanzania because they were comming down hills behind me at up to 150kph when I could only get 140. when ever I saw one in my mirors I just left the road into the verge before I was ran over.

I would defently take the twin clinder DL
Hope this helps George

everyone
thought I was crazy for doing so .... funny how things change!

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Patrick passed Dec 2018. RIP Patrick!

it is nice to read good reports about v-stroms.

when i was planning my trip to morocco my bike options are dr650 and dl650. at the end i choose dl650 v-strom. after my morocco trip i'll take it to iran and then middle east (syria-jordan-lebanon may be israel)

my only concern is the fuel. can the dl650 v-storm can run with leaded petrol? or what mods shell i do to run it with leaded petrol?

i know a lot of people have taken it to iran, pakistan, india and further (ref: petcha72) and some others to africa and south amerika. and i did not read any problems regarding to fuel.

thanks

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ozhan u.
website under construction

Remy,

Where are you? I may have a deal for you.

Cheers

I have been doing some research into maintaining and repairing the DL650 on the road. For K6 and earlier models all you need to display diagnostics is a switch, any faults will be displayed. If your dealer wont sell one check out the forums for details of where to put a link. Also allows adjustment of the Throttle Position Sensor.

Details are in service manual Chapter 4.

Remy, you seem to have disappeared from your own thread entirely...
Just wondering what bike you picked in the end, and how it faired on the journey. I did a circle route of South America on an XT600, and was quiet happy with how it held up. I'm now doing a North down to Central America on a Wee. Still in the states now, and the bike has held up well for me, up to Prudhoe Bay in Alaska, and plenty other dirt roads, but I'm curious about what it will be like in Central America (if their speed-bumps are anything like the ones in South...).

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We're here for a good time, not a long time...
Mini-on-Tour

I have both the Wee and the DR.
The first 48,000 miles on the Wee strom was stone cold reliable with all my touring and travelling to CA and back. However, it developed a fuel pump/filter problem that i'm still diagnosing (too cheap to replace both )
That led me to wondering if at 50k miles i want to take the Wee on any more adventures around the world. The answer is no. If the fuel pump/filter were to fail, i dont have the mechanical chops to deal with it on the road.

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.

Travelingstrom had a pickup screen get clogged on his DL--caused all sorts of issues until it was properly diagnosed and fixed. I don't know the details, but I've been told that's a common problem and an easy fix. You might try contacting him.

Hope that helps.

Mark

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.

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 !

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.