Need V-Strom help!

[nutmegchoi]

My husband Seth currentely has a Honda 919. He lovevs his bike, but it's not design for a long distance trip.

Now he's thinking about sell his bike and get a V-Strom. There's only one problem he has. HE NEVER RODE V-STROM BEFORE!

Since this bike is not very popular, it's hard to find one to test ride. If anybody out there nice to enough for him to test drive, you might add another co-VStrom rider. Anybody??? Please??? Help us!!!

We'll be there with two of our bikes. They are Honda 919 and Suzuki SV650S. We might even try each other's bike. How's that sound???

[Tourmeister]

I'd let him ride my GS

[nutmegchoi]

That's very sweet of you, Scott. But we can't afford to buy a BMW. So, better stay away from it!

[Thermalser]

Originally Posted by nutmegchoi

My husband Seth currentely has a Honda 919. He lovevs his bike, but it's not design for a long distance trip.

Now he's thinking about sell his bike and get a V-Strom. There's only one problem he has. HE NEVER RODE V-STROM BEFORE!

Since this bike is not very popular, it's hard to find one to test ride. If anybody out there nice to enough for him to test drive, you might add another co-VStrom rider. Anybody??? Please??? Help us!!!

We'll be there with two of our bikes. They are Honda 919 and Suzuki SV650S. We might even try each other's bike. How's that sound???

Has he considered an FZ1? If he is looking for something with the performance of a 919 yet has all day comfort for the sport-touring side it might be worth a look. There is a TWT member, Micheal Hansen who has one for sale and it is in excellent condition.

I'd even consider giving a test ride on mine if he wanted.

[nutmegchoi]

It so sweet of you offering your bike for test ride. I can't believe how generous you guys are.

I think Seth's sticking with either 919 with wind protection or V-Strom. The only concern he has is the handling. He loves how 919 handles, but he's not sure about V-Strom. He really need to ride one before he makes up his mind.

[El Guapo]

Is he looking to get the 650 or 1K? I haven't heard a whole lot about the 1Ks, but I hear the 650s are really popular (for a bike that isn't a cruiser or sportbike) so finding a rider with one might not be that hard.

Why does he think his 919 isn't good for long trips? Is it the ergonomics? Lack of windshield? Or does he want a dual sport?

[nutmegchoi]

He loves his 919. But the wind protection is poor and the seat isn't comfortable for a long tirp. It's more for urban commutting than touring.

He's a very practical person. He's more into comfort then looks. I think he's going for dual sport bikes.

He's thinking about 650 V-Strom unless it handles really bad.

[Squeaky]

I've heard great things about VStroms, which is why I am in the market for one myself. I was seriously considering the 650 for a while, but decided I could get more bang for my buck going with a lightly used 1k. If I could find a used 650, that would be a whole different story.

Check out the VStrom Forum for more info about aftermarket farkles and what the riders really have to say about the bikes.

http://11109.rapidforum.com/

[The Big Spank Daddy]

A good friend of mine has a V-Strom. He and I swapped out rides several times. Having ridden it many times in all types of roads, except dirt, here's my take....

Seating position of a Gold Wing, Handling like a Sport Bike and the pull of a V-twin cruiser. It is definetly not for the vertically challanged. A rather tall seat hieght and large ground clearance makes for a tall ride. Also, the wind buffeting on the helmet was almost unbearable. My friend read on a V-Strom board about cutting several inches off of the wind shield. Problem solved.

On our last outing to East Texas we had my GPZ, a ZX600, another GPZ and an FZ1, a VF800 along with my buddy on the V-Strom. We swap around on bikes and I end up on the V-Strom. After several miles of running the ton and just under through some twisties I have to pull over and wait for the others to catch up. So I can vouche for the bike magazines when they say the V-Strom can give a few sport bikes a run for their money.

I also posted the same reply on the HSN board.

[nutmegchoi]

Thank you, Chris.
Seth definitely use this reply.

[The Big Spank Daddy]

The V-Strom is sort of one of those bikes that you either love or hate. Each bike tends to fit in a certain niche. Thats why I have several to choose from. I ride each one for various reasons and depending on my mood.

Would I go out and by a V-Strom today? For everyday street riding, probably not. If I was to go "bull" riding with Scott Friday on occasion, then my answer would be yes. Actually I would like to do an occasional dirt excursion and therefore I would like to own a dual purpose bike. Being the cheapo I am I just could not make myself spend the bucks on one of those final drive eating BMW money pits. I'd opt for a used good V-Strom for a fraction of the cost.

...yes, Scott I was deliberatly poking you with a stick. All in good fun though....but seriously, you went from a "sport touring" bike to the GS. What do you think about the differences? If you could, would you rather have both or one or the other?

[Hoop]

post a message under the Texas forum under Special Communities at http://11109.rapidforum.com/. There are a bunch of V-Strom riders in Houston. I'm in Beaumont.

[Tourmeister]

Nutmeg,

You can get nicely loaded used GS's with low miles for a steal right now! Seriously, keep an eye on the Flea Market on the Advrider.com site. Also, check out the Beemer sites:

http://bmwsporttouring.com

http://www.ibmwr.org/market/

Chris is right, diff strokes for diff folks. After reading the reviews and then riding a Vstrom 1000, I was a bit disappointed. Crap suspension, would need to be upgraded immediately. Coming from the 919, Seth would notice this right off. Not as much grunt as I expected, but then the GS has spoiled me. The Strom feels more top heavy than the GS to me even though it is a lighter bike on the scales. The buffeting from the windscreen was bad. The "hand guards" are laughable!! About the only thing they will do is deflect the occasional rock or bug from your knuckles.

I loved my VFR's. I still love the V4 motor. But for overall practicality on a daily basis, the GS rocks! Just today, myself and our Canadian friend rode about 200 miles of mostly gravel/dirt roads and had a fantastic time. The switch from paved to unpaved takes about 10 secs when we stop to disable the ABS for the dirt. On the pavement, the bike handles great, is very comfy, good wind protection, carries tons of luggage even with a passenger,... It is easy to work on too. I do pretty much every thing myself with basic tools.

Yeah, I am biased, I admit it.

I bet if he rode it, it would definitely surprise him!

Adios,

[Adan]

Originally Posted by Tourmeister

I bet if he rode it, it would definitely surprise him!

I'm with Scott on this one, before replacing the 919, I'd let him ride a GS, he may not want any other bike afterwards

Oh, I just noticed the post subject ..... advice on Vstrom ... hmmm perfect bike on paper, not as good in real life, so I'd look elsewhere.

[The Big Spank Daddy]

I must admit the GS guys have one up on me because I have never riden a GS.

[fz1moto]

Originally Posted by Chris Donnelly

Also, the wind buffeting on the helmet was almost unbearable. My friend read on a V-Strom board about cutting several inches off of the wind shield. Problem solved.

have heard this before for sure... and the same solution works for beemers too btw... well at least for the 1150 a buddy of mine has...

[nutmegchoi]

Hmmm.... scott and adam got me thinking.......

Let me see if this would work on Seth, too.

Currentely, I don't have a husband. I lost him to X-Box Live!!!

[Hoop]

I could really care less what others think about my bike, but since there's been some V-Strom bashing, I'll have to put in my 2 cents.

I had never ridden a BMW until about a year ago when I was shopping for a new street bike. I have a friend who is nuts about BMW RT's. He had bought a new one, and was selling his old one. I took it for a test drive. The power windscreen was a lot of fun. However, having the bike go straight when I was on the gas in a corner was not any fun. Then in the next turn, the opposite direction, the bike wanted to turn when I gave it some throttle. This really freaked me out, and I didn't feel comfortable on the bike after that except going straight.

I got back to my friend's house and asked him about it, he explained that the behavior which I saw as a fatal flaw was to him a "feature" that made the bike fun to ride. Whatever. I also noticed that the bike had a rough idle and hunted around at low throttle. So I asked my buddy if it needed a tune-up. He said, nah, they all do that. OK, so what's so frickin great about this bike that I should pay more for a 5-year old bike with 30,000 miles on it than I would for a new V-Strom? Well, what about the ABS, my friend said? OK, wonderful, you got me there.

So, I guess I don't get the BMW thing, just like I don't get the Harley thing. I really enjoy reading all the stories on advrider.com about the guys who ride their GS's to the end of the world, break the frame, break the motor, explode the shaft, whatever, I'm sure it's part of the mystique. You really get a chance to meet the locals that way, just like riding the old Harley's that would shake so hard the plates in the battery would break.

I love the V-Strom, it's a great all-around bike, and a lot easier on the wallet.

[kurt]

I visited with a guy today who was selling a V-Strom. He also has an 1100GS and a 1150R in the garage. Other than just 'liking" BMW's, he said he couldn't find $1000 worth of difference between the GS and the V-Strom, much less $7000. Strictly his opinion, but having ridden neither, what do I know?

[Tourmeister]

Hoop,

It is not bashing per se, anymore than any other bike. I can list a lot fo things I don't like about the GS Regarding your friends bike, I don't think he knew what he was talking about. The bike should not handle weird. They handle the same as any other bike as far as the input/response. It makes me wonder if he had a problem and just didn't know any better? A simple and quick tuneup has the boxer motor running smooooth...

If money were a deciding factor, the GS would lose to the Vstrom and several other cheaper bikes. Which is why I bought mine used with 10K miles for about the same as a new Vstrom. For the beemer, that was not even broken in. The motor really came alive around 18K and has been running fantastic since!

The funny thing about the money arguement though is that it works against the Vstrom too. The Vstrom is not $3-4K better than a KLR 650... so why would anyone spend the extra $$ to get it instead of the KLR? A Gixxer 750 incredible, so why buy the 1000? In the end, I don't really think it is primarily about the money

The Vstrom is a great bike. Ask Wasabi. He went with us to North Carolina and we did a bunch of forest roads, dirt roads, etc,... and he had a great time and the bike performed perfect. He loves it. Funny thing is, he bought a KLR shortly after that trip....

Adios,