Need V-Strom help!

[Adan]

Originally Posted by 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 am truly sorry to hear you feel our comments have come across as bashing; I can assure you this was not my intention. I intended only to share my personal experience with the bike to assist someone else in re-evaluating their purchase intention. One of the reasons I hang around here is because everyone here maintains a positive attitude and offers mostly constructive comments. I would like to think that I am part of this positive "wind".

I too was very excited about the DL1000s, so much so that I sold my 1150GS to my brother last Sep. and purchased an '03 strom for half of what I got for the BMW and managed to pay-off my wife’s car loan. Seemed like the perfect deal at the time. I tried very hard to bond with the bike, and even gave it a name, Vader.

All of the bikes I've previously owned/kept in the past have been "love at first ride" bikes (Seca,GPZ750, Magna, Shadow, 1100RT, 1150GS..), the strom simply did not inspire enough passion in me in the six weeks / 500 miles I had it. I would have kept it longer, but it was rapidly killing my riding confidence and thus my love for motorcycling.

IMHO the engine's performance and bike handling are mismatched, given my recreational-rider-that-enjoys-spirited-riding proficiency. The brakes and suspension are simply not up to the level the race-bike engine is. I many times like to explore the limits of the bike & my skills when I am out riding. This had not been a problem on my other bikes, specially the BMWs, but it proved very dangerous on the Vstrom a couple of times, so I got rid of it, before it got rid of me. My BMW oilheads inspired so much confidence, that I never felt as if I could not safely get out of a tricky situation. The Vstrom’s weak brakes and suspension on the other hand, simply did not inspire much confidence. Maybe the BMWs dumbed-down my skills in a way, by providing excellent performance…..

Sounds to me like the RT you rode had some problems the owner did not deal with. The surging can be addressed several ways, and the instability sounds like wreck damage or a tire issue.

BTW, one of the GS’s main attributes in my experience is the paralever/telelever suspension; it is advantageous no only when braking, but in cornering as well. The brakes are very good as well, and come equipped with ABS. Also, some of the non-BMW riders I know that have had, and sold, their Vstrom share my feelings towards this bike, so I don’t think it is a BMW-snob/Jap-bashing thing.

Glad you are enjoying your Vstrom, in the end, that is all that really matters!