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Wee Strom Review

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FDM

FDM

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Mar 18, 2007
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Location
Floresville,TX
I’m way behind on posting my review being I bought my 09 Wee in December 08 and I now have 7700 miles on it.

I got a bunch of great info from members here in helping me decide if the Wee would be a good choice according to my riding needs, as a lot of y’all know I bought a 07 KLR 650 new in 06 and rode it for 2 years, it was a great bike for what it is intended for but with a change of employment I started to use it to commute on and I found it to be a little on the rough side to ride pavement 90% of the time, anyway here goes I find the DL 650 to be a great all around bike the KLR handled my gravel road better but the Wee sure makes up for it on the pavement, it’s smooth, runs great, plenty of power, handle’s really good, comfortable, great seating position and 51 MPG :clap:

The only thing that I see bad about the bike is the buffeting and I was told about that up front, I finally installed the Madstad bracket, center stand and a set of Anakee 2 tires yesterday haven’t had a chance to road test it yet to see how it does but from what I have read the buffeting should be a thing of the past for me, all in all I am very happy with my Wee and look forward to putting many miles on it, Thanks for all the help TWT :rider:
 
Will be interested to see how the madstat works out for you. How tall are you? I test rode a wee some time ago. Liked the bike accept for the buffeting. Kinda getting interested in selling my RT and looking at the wee again if I could get rid of that buffeting problem. Be sure to report!
 
MGN54 said:
Will be interested to see how the madstat works out for you. How tall are you? I test rode a wee some time ago. Liked the bike accept for the buffeting. Kinda getting interested in selling my RT and looking at the wee again if I could get rid of that buffeting problem. Be sure to report!
Click to expand...

My $14 fix:

http://www.vstrom.info/Smf/index.php/topic,10043.0.html

I am 6.2...

I think there are many fixes out there for many people. Uniformly, there is consensus that Touno (or some other) mirrors or mirror extenders help a LOT. I did not really need to try after this "fix".

The fix is out there... but you need the bike first! :trust:
 
What the Wee should have been

dl1.jpg


* XR400 forks (bought new) fully adjustable with 10 inches of travel
* Custom long travel wilbers shock, fully adjustable with high and low speed compression adjustment, hydraulic preload adjuster, 8. inches of travel.
*KTM 950 21 inch front wheel, rotors and fender
 
I’m 5’ 10” and had the wind shield on the highest setting that seem to work best for me, the buffeting was weird sometimes there was none and then other times it was really bad I guess it all depended on the wind direction and how strong the wind was, that is the only thing I see wrong with the Wee, I’ll let ya know how the madstad works out, I also want to add that the lights are great they light up the whole road at night and the bike handles really good in the rain, got caught in some down pours a couple weeks ago.

CBAT Looks like that Wee is all tricked out….Looks good! But I need mostly a street bike for my purpose I just have to get down my sand drive way and my poorly maintained county road, then it is all pavement for me.
 
Well everyone was right the Madstad bracket took out the buffeting, I have the bracket set on it's highest setting with the angle about half way on the adjustment that position seems to work very well for me, I haven’t taken the time to try different settings yet, right now the wind is about a inch or so over the top of my helmet.
 
Can't say enough good things about the 07 V-Strom I had, the Madstead Brackets did take care of my buffing problems for me, great bike. I just wanted a BMW R1200GSA for my DS and touring riding.

John
 
I had an '04 Wee back in 2005 and coming off nothing but dual sports, it seemed too heavy when trying to park. I never dropped it but had a few close calls. It was great on the road and I solved the buffeting with a windshield from California Scientific.

http://www.calsci.com/motorcycleinfo/VStromprod.html

I replaced the Wee with an '06 KLR650 which was a major mistake. I won't go into details but paying $5500 for old technology was a joke and the carb was leaking the day I got it home and this was a brand new bike. I replaced it with an '08 DR650 which was a great bike and my favorite dual sport, but I just didn't go offroad enough. Then I bought a brand new '10 Kawasaki Versys. This is their answer to the Wee and they nailed it! I like the look of it better than the Wee and even though the bikes weigh about the same, the Versys feels less top heavy. It also feels like it has more power especially at 5000+ RPM. I'm not bashing the Wee but if you haven't checked out the Versys, I highly recommend it. :rider:
 
My new to me 04 Wee, also had an 07 KLR, traded it for a DRZ400 but most of my riding is on the tarmac as well, I was sort of considering a newer KLR and decided against it in favor of the Strom, the DRZ is a fine bike but not one I care to ride a 200 mile day on, I missed the harvest classic because I just didn't want to ride it that far, anyway, I sold it and my project Connie both to TWTers and jumped in the pickup and headed for Houston, bought this from a TWTer too, all in the family, after coming off the Z, the buffeting will not be an issue for me at least for a while anyway, looking forward to many happy miles and two or three trails mixed in soon, need a skid plate, nothing but motor and parts hanging down below, gotta be careful, here she is.
IMG_0823-2.jpg
 
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I bought my 04 new, put Givi's on it, centerstand, lowered it 1", heated grips, raised the fork tubes about 3/4", went to 16T sprocket on the front (will change back to 15 next chain). This bike handles great, gets great mpg (had verified 70mpg in CO), is great on the road. Not an off road bike, not supposed to be. That's what the KLR is for. Have messed around with the windshield - up, down, spacers on the low mount bolts, but down works best for me. I'm 5'10. Great bike IMO.
 
10-4 on the farkles, I dont see it as a dual-sport at all, some fire roads yes, bash plate and guards a must, I wont even jump a curb without the bash plate,Got it for commuting and light weight in the twistys, still have a DRZ sitting around here somewhere for my wheelie and trail fix,,,:trust:
 
sz rider said:
10-4 on the farkles, I dont see it as a dual-sport at all, some fire roads yes, bash plate and guards a must, I wont even jump a curb without the bash plate,Got it for commuting and light weight in the twistys, still have a DRZ sitting around here somewhere for my wheelie and trail fix,,,:trust:
Click to expand...

I like your plan. I may do the same eventually for my Alaska trip. Got a few years til then.
 
Congrats SZ rider on your strom!!

I now have 11000 miles on mine and I still feel the same that it’s a great bike, dirt and gravel roads are fine on the Wee I have to travel some of that every day leaving my house.
 
Thanks, put a 100 miles on it this morning, I really love it, Harleys were in the way on the up hill into the wind stuff and she made quick work of getting around them, opps, sorry cbat, Too fun.:rider:
 
sz rider said:
Thanks, put a 100 miles on it this morning, I really love it, Harleys were in the way on the up hill into the wind stuff and she made quick work of getting around them, opps, sorry cbat, Too fun.:rider:
Click to expand...

Ask the Connies I ride with. That's not my style of Harley riding. ;-)
 
I believe you 100%, You are a true trail blazer Bruce, I can only dream of the trips you've made alone.:clap:
 
Nice looking Strom!! All I have added is a center stand and a Madstad bracket, I don't get off road much but still have my gravel road to deal with, I got almost 12,000 miles on mine and still love riding it. :rider:
 
Gravel and dirt roads are the extent of my off roading as well, I can hear the gravel pinging the skid plate, I'm sure it will get some water crossings on the next Rusty event in the hill co.
 
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