V STROM 650
 

HELLO NEW MEMBER HERE GOT A QUESTION? WHOULD YOU THINK THIS IS A GOOD ADVENTURE BIKE FOR A NEWBIE. THANKS:CONFUSED:

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LET RIDE TO AN ADVENTURE

Totally depends on what you call "Adventure". The V-strom is a great paved road bike, it is NOT an off-road bike, although it will do dirt and gravel roads much better than a crotch rocket.

So, what are you planning on using the bike for?

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Grant Johnson

Seek, and ye shall find.
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One world, Two wheels.
www.HorizonsUnlimited.com

TIP:

by the way, ALL CAPS is considered SHOUTING on the net, and is hard to read.

Use Proper Case characters, or if your typing is terrible (it's a big club! http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/ubb/smile.gif use lower case characters only instead of all UPPER case characters.

Sorry about the caps, I,m a Tall person and Need a bike that will have good rider comfort on touring. i,m 6.1 200 pound. and travel with Gear and do a Lot of campgrounds it's the only way to travel. no mostly highway travel very Little dirt travel. Thanks Ron http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/ubb/smile.gif

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LET RIDE TO AN ADVENTURE

no worries, we all had to learn...

For what you want the V-Strom should be great. It's a good bike, works well - the reviews have generally been very positive. And the price is great too. Other options include the BMW F650GS, (more money) and the KLR650 (less money I think) both of which are more off-road capable.

Check out the Suzuki Tech Forum for more, and generally browse around - there are hundreds of discussions on what's the best for ...whatever

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Grant Johnson

Seek, and ye shall find.
------------------------

One world, Two wheels.
www.HorizonsUnlimited.com

Took a 650 V-Strom for a test-drive earlier this spring and boy was it like "tailor made" for my needs! Been thinking replacing my 600 Ténéré with something that has 2-up comfort, a bit more punch and ability to house touring gear. Here we go; 650 V-Strom - Suits You Sir!

In fact liked the Baby-Strom so much I ordered one this week - this could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship... ;-) At least Icelandic and Tunisian trips over planning-board. 165mm ground clearance means no off-roading but gravel roads should be OK and 19" front tyre accepts also a bit rougher-patterned sets. Cast-alloy wheels (no wire-wheel options) mean no rock-crushing!

I'm shorter than Tourdog (1.75m) but ergonomics are just fine; specially liked the adjustable screen and rear shock.

Engine power is of course a bit weaker compared to 1000 V-Strom but 18kg lower weight and 650's overall qualities make things more even in everyday-life.

1000 and 650 share the basic frame and lots of components (wheels, brakes etc.) making also 650 a big bike that can accomodate bags with ease (side racks & 2 x 40l Kappa on their way).

Suzuki does offer a few options (chose center stand, heated grips and hand protectors) but unfortunately no (yet) skid plate. However, V-Strom seems to be a "hit-bike" so within a few months aftermarket companies will offer a full range of bolt-on goodies methinx...

For a beginner? Definitely a good choice! Upright riding position, relatively low weight, powerplant with low-end torque etc. Purrr-fect! (11 bikes / 20 years / +500.000 km [well Finnish winters make riding seasons a bit shorter...] so maybe not a beginner anymore but certainly not a pro either!). Just find a demo-bike and prepare to order one! :-)

For one-up touring with gear on sealed and good gravel roads, you can not go past the DL650 for comfort, performance and value.

For reliability, the DL650 is based on the DL100 that has proven itself (except the motor/gearbox) for a few years now. The motor/gearbox in the DL650 is taken from the SV650 that has also proven itself over the past few years.

The DL650 runs happily on low octane fuel; important in some less developed countries. With the 22 litre tank (same as the DL1000), you should have no problem getting 400km before refuelling.

The only down side to the DL650 is that the OEM tyres do not like mud. This can be solved with the fitting of more mud-orientated tyres.

After-market accessories are coming onto the market. Currently available are a centre stand, crash bars, rear carrier and hard luggage. Skid plate and others should be avaialble within the next couple of months.

I have had my DL650 for 3 months now with 6,000km of one-up with gear touring on 80% sealed roads and 20% "development" roads in outback Queensland. I still can't get the smile off my face when riding it.

Form the initial production run, most dealers have now sold out of DL650's. New shipments are expected in Jluy/August 2004.

Before purchasing my DL650, I did a lot of research into what bike would be best for me. This included the DL1000, F650GS (& Dakar), XL650V Transalp and R1150GS Adventure.

My recommendations are; for sealed & formed gravel roads-

One-up touring with gear or two-up day touring, the Suzuki DL650

Two-up touring with gear, the Suzuki DL1000

For touring that includes unformed roads and scrub bashing-

One-up touring with gear or two-up day touring, the BMW F650GS Dakar (not the F650GS)

Two-up touring with gear, the BMW R1150GS Adventure

BTW, my other two bikes are BMW and my car is BMW.

If the DL650 (or DL1000) is for you, I would recommend the "must haves" as-

SW Motech centre stand
Scottoiler with lube tube
Crash bars (SW Motech preferred)
Rear carry rack (large)
Skid plate (when available).

For further information, on the DL650, try joining the Yahoo groups "DL650" and "VStrom2", the latter catering for both DL1000's & DL650's although more DL1000 orientated.

Richard
Cairns, Australia

[This message has been edited by RBSK100RT (edited 02 June 2004).]