Greg,

I agree, the low alternator output is my biggest gripe with the V-Strom. Highly recommend you get a volt gage. While there is no question that you can drain the battery with heated gear it does take awhile. I live in NC and occassionally travel to the Baltimore area for work, about a seven hour trip. Last February I rode up and had a full set of Gerbings either near or at maximum settings for the entire trip. By the time I got to Ft Meade my volt meter said 11.6 volts. I fully expected to need a jump to get going. A few hours later I tried to start the bike and it fired right up with no problems. I also carry a spare battery and a set of jumper cables on long trips like this so if I do kill the battery I can get the bike going again.

I must own up to honking merrily while doing a right turn yesterday.

I picked my '12 650 after getting home from Afghanistan with a plan to go cross country on it until Hurricane Sandy wrecked everything.

The horn thing, I feel less bad now that it isn't just me!

I'm going to look into those lowering pegs, and also thinking about adding risers on my handlebars, as after a couple of hours I tend to get tensed shoulders and I think it'll help.

As for the TraX panniers, I broke one of the keys off in the lock the first day, but I had a locksmith make me new, proper keys, to replace the junk that's supplied. My dealer is going to steer anyone he sells them to to do the same.

I wish they supplied the dry bags that SW-Motech normally includes with those cases. And I do not understand why a centre stand isn't standard.

Overall though, other than I'm glad yoga has made me flexible to climb on to it, I'm pretty happy with the bike... It'll get at least another week before I have to winterize it. Next spring, I can't wait...

i dont find the side stand a problem as i always leave any bike i put on the side stand in "gear" ...i do find the footrest are high and it makes me feel like an ape , with my knees up high so i subsitute this with my "airhawk " ..might have a look at footrest lowers ...apart from that the bike fits me perfect ....

"Freeze"??? What does that word mean???

Does it refer to a "ze" that one receives for no money?
I asked a lot of people here in Florida, and nobody knows what it means.

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I find that if I use the hand brake to exit the bike (which they teach you in the MSF course, I do not have a problem with the side stand. Other than that, this is one of the best bikes I have ever owned. Even as good (and half the price) of the BMW GS I just sold. BMWs are getting too expensive to buy and too expensive to work on. I looked at the new GS prior to buying the Wee, and the new GS is almost $20,000. The 600 mile service on the last new BMW I owned was close to $400.00. My service on the Wee was $183.00. Also, all the aftermarket stuff and OEM stuff is a lot less expensive.

In other words, I love my new 2012 Wee. Only minor Niggle is, when I coming to a stop and don't downshift quick enough, it makes it hard to downshift back to first gear. SO, I have to be careful to downshift to first gear prior to the bike coming to a full stop. I just came back from a ride to Colorado from Houston. On the first day of the ride back home, I rode from Salida Colorado to San Angelo Texas (703 miles). I was not sore and the bike did great handling my 300 pound frame and approximately 40 pounds of gear. I would also suggest an Air Hawk seat cushion for those of you that get sore bottoms when riding. They are expensive, but cheaper than a new seat.

Enjoy your new bikes and get used to the Niggles!!!

Horn = yes. Hit it more than planned

Stock features for adv model should include stock oil cover, hand covers, and center stand. Lots of aftermarket options and maybe they expect buyers to wan some farkling but should be stock.


Sent from my iPhone using Motorcycle.com Free App

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2012 - V-Strom 650 Adventure
2008 - V-Strom 650 - Sold

You need to get out more often. Maybe a road trip to the rockies, or the great lakes about now, would do it! LOL!

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Kevin

L2 DL650A The Orange Machine
K7 DL650 Hi Yo Silver R.I.P!

yep...i put a small circle of black electrical tape...a little blue aroud the edges of it works great!

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2012 wee ADVENTURE, 2012 GOLDWING WITH TRAILER (TRADED FOR WEE STROM), 07 BANDIT 1250 (TRADED FOR 2012 GOLDWING), BANDIT 1200, NINJA 500, Z1000, ZX9R, MARAUDER 800, 650 SAVAGE, 750 KATANA, NINJA 900, '78 YAMAHA 750 SPECIAL, YAMAHA RD400

Is there an obvious way to fix the horn button niggle? It happened to me again today, and it occured to me that it would be as simple as reversing the angle of the button.

It's tilted to follow the line of the handlebar, so it juts out further on the outside of the button, towards the bar end, than the part that's inside toward the steering column. It's that extra bit of sticking out near the hand grip that makes it intersect my thumb as it moves toward the turn signal button.

So if the angle were reversed - have it hang out more on the INSIDE away from the hand grip - it would be no problem. It would mean a slightly greater effort in terms of moving the left thumb to engage the horn, but it's way too easy as it is now.

Or heck, just make the horn button flat.

How hard could it be to make a substitute horn button for the OEM part and to install it?