will a v-strom fill my needs?

[knightwolf]

hi everyone,

this is my first post and I hope it hasn't been rehashed too many times.

I will give you some history, I have been riding motorcycles since I was 6 years old. almost entirely trail and motor-cross over the years and love riding on the dirt. for the past 13 years I have been living in Sydney and it's almost impossible or too much trouble getting to the dirt to bother so I have got myself a Suzuki GS500 for commuting and general on road use. Its a great bike. good fun and is really starting to give me a taste of the road, and in doing so started me thinking about my next bike. Now for years now I have followed the V-Strom and I am quite a fan. I haven't had the chance to take it on any sort of a good ride yet but I like the size and upright sitting position , kinda like the trail bikes I have ridden for years.  BUT .... I have been enjoying straightening our some roads on my GS500 and my fingers are starting to tingle with the fun of the road and I am wondering if the V-Strom is going to give me enough enjoyment/rush/tingle while still providing a comfortable fun bike to ride.

I also have to consider that my girlfriend also wants to come out on rides with me and after her sister complained about her boyfriends R6 and R1 comfort issues has been praising his new BMW F800 joy and comfort it makes the decision that much harder.

so the short question is.... what is the v-strom like compared to a sports bike .. now I know they are way way different but for those that have changed from a sports bike to a Strom is there still enough fun throwing it around the bends to give you the thrill, be in the running with my mates on sports bikes or at least not too far behind and yet still be a great overall enjoyable bike.

wow the short question really wasn't that short lol!

Thanks in advance for all your help and taking the time.

Kris

[Emerald_Rider]

From what you write, I think you'd like the DL650 a great deal. It isn't a trail bike but, from what I understand, easier to manage off-road than the heavier DL1000. Go for it!

[silverado]

  Do yourself a favor and test ride both bikes if you can. Emerald rider is correct when saying the wee is easier to manage off road due to its lower weight, BUT, for all out power the vee is fantastic. I have owned about 8 bikes and the only one faster then my vee was my 1982 kawaski gpz1100 and it didnt handle as well as the vee. I call my dl1000 the old mans crotch rocket.

[calltrex]

bought a brand new sport bike a year ago and just bought a new 2010 vstrom 650 with the luggage

i dont even think about the sportbike since i traded it in. dont care

Vstrom is fun, adventurous.

if i see a gravel or dirt road i just keep going. 

my sportbike never left pavment

650 has good power. i dont need a vstrom 1000 speed machine that sucks more gas. im more for distance in case

[Peter]

I believe the DL 650 is one of the best bikes that you can get for riding in Australia. Two-up comfort in this price bracket is as far as I know still unbeaten. The F 800 GS is not as good two-up. It is certainly somewhat better on dirt road, yet the extra speed and power above 140 kph IMO is not really needed on OZ highways. If it's worth the extra expenditure over the DL650 is up to you.

[SpringheelJack]

The DL1000 is a wonderful bike - great for two up, all-day long comfortable (at least with my gel seat) and plenty of power throughout.  As far as keeping up with your mates on their sport bikes, that's up to you.  Generally speaking better riders on slower bikes will be able to keep up with less skilled riders on faster bikes.  YMMV.  If two up is your thing, buy the Vee.  If going off road is your thing, the Wee may be more your speed, but from what I understand is somewhat less happy two-up touring and for sure has less power.  Decide what's important to you and try to test ride them both.

Steve

[Urban Tangleweed]

Bear in mind the 1000 has all but disappeared from the Western world, Suzuki couldn't get it to meet the latest EU emissions regs, Australia and Canada are two of the very few places left where you can still get one, yes, the 650 will do all you need, the 1000 is just, well, better ! (and yes, I have ridden both...)

[PeterW]

The DL1000 is a wonderful bike - great for two up, all-day long comfortable (at least with my gel seat) and plenty of power throughout.  As far as keeping up with your mates on their sport bikes, that's up to you.  Generally speaking better riders on slower bikes will be able to keep up with less skilled riders on faster bikes.  YMMV.  If two up is your thing, buy the Vee.  If going off road is your thing, the Wee may be more your speed, but from what I understand is somewhat less happy two-up touring and for sure has less power.  Decide what's important to you and try to test ride them both.

Steve

Both are great bikes, I have the 650 - if it didn't exist, I'd have got the 1000.
The 650 suits me best - mostly 1 up, enough power that the occasional pillion isn't an issue, better handling than the 1000 and better range (don't care about economy - but parts of Oz - it's nice to know you can get to the next TWO petrol stops if you have to ).
I ride off road a fair bit - the 1000 is only a bit heavier, but the weight is higher than the 650 - I'm not particularly tall or strong so the 1000 would be a handful for me off road.

Either bike can embarrass sportsbikes on the right road (rough, windy, and preferably damp ).  But it's just more satisfying to be waiting for a Superduke or Speed Triple to catch up on a 650 than it is on a 1000 - so in that regard it depends how cruel you want to be .  On straight roads though, a 600 sports bike will leave you in the dust - you'll just have to be patient and pass them when they stop for fuel or a stretch .

More seriously, if you plan to be doing more than ~140kph regularly, get the 1000. Up to about that speed there isn't much performance gap - you just have to rev the 650 harder - beyond that the 1000 disappears.

Pete

[FirePig]

I've spent over 40 years off-roading. Desert, Moto-X and cow-trailing. When I decided to get a street ride I tried riding a couple of sport bikes and cruisers. Didn't care for either. Then I borrowed a racing buddies wifes V-Strom. Went out and bought a new 2008 DL-650A the very next day. I like the way it sits like a dirter. At least compared to everything else I tried. That's what I'm used to and am comfortable with. It's not going to be the fastest through the twistees nor the most comfortable doing long rides on the interstates nor a true Dual Sport but it's sure a fun and comfortable ride. I wouldn't trade it.

[ken]

I have ridden the length of the fair land Aussie on a GSX 1100 many times and I have been cruising the UK, France, Spain, Belgium et el on a VStrom 650 of late.

When I went to buy a bike hear I really wanted a SV 1000, I really wanted a V Twin and have always been partial to Suzuki. The more and more I looked into it the DL650 kept coming up as a better bet.

Over here the DL 1000 is a choice because you can do 130kph on the French highways and flat out in Germany. At home in Aussie it is mostly 100kph, a smattering of 110kph with friggin roof mounted radars everywhere to stop you having too much fun.

Given the choice I just don't see a DL 1000 offering anything that you could use that much or often over the DL 650. Remembering the 1000 is in another rego and Ins bracket and it will wear through everything sooner and drink more fuel.

So my choice would be the DL650

[calltrex]

you guys that are talking about speed etc

ive cruised at 160, 170km lots of times. no problem...