Repeater
04-28-2005, 10:26 PM
Another V-Strom n00b here.
I'm currently on my first full year of riding, and I've started on a Ninja 250R. It's a fun little bike, really, and quite apt to my commuting around here in St. Paul. But of course, I've been looking for an upgrade at the end of the season, when dealers start clearing out their yearly stock before the winter. I plan on keeping my 250 (you can't mess with nearly 70mpg...) for commuting purposes, but I'd like a more highway/destroyed pavement (which Minnesota has a lot of) type of bike for non-commuting duties.
So I was looking at naked sports. Speed Fours, Z750Ses, Monsters... that sort of bike. But insurance for me is astronomical for even these - the Speed Four was cheapest at $2000 per year, including my 250R. Insurance companies don't like unmarried twenty-somethings very much.
While searching for info on the Suzuki SVs, I was reminded of the existance of the V-Strom. Interesting, I thought - there's no way my insurance companies could construe that as a sportbike! So I went to the online quoting on my insurance company and sure enough - $588 for full coverage for a whole year. Nice - I could actually afford to pay for insurance on a V-Strom 650 AND have enough money for gas!
So what should I expect moving from a 250R to a DL650 if I choose to do it? I notice my 250R gets tossed about on the highway by crosswinds quite a bit - does the DL do so as badly? What should one expect to pay for one, when it's all said and done? Are they easy to find discounts on?
Thanks for any help - now that I've "discovered" the DL650, I've really got a mind to grab one for myself when I have the money. They're sorta neat - and they're big! Wow! It's like three times as tall as my Ninja! Well, not quite, but it's a huge bike! I'm not large - 5'9" and 155 lbs... so this bike seems enormous to me. But I dig the bolt-upright seating position... neat bike!
I'm currently on my first full year of riding, and I've started on a Ninja 250R. It's a fun little bike, really, and quite apt to my commuting around here in St. Paul. But of course, I've been looking for an upgrade at the end of the season, when dealers start clearing out their yearly stock before the winter. I plan on keeping my 250 (you can't mess with nearly 70mpg...) for commuting purposes, but I'd like a more highway/destroyed pavement (which Minnesota has a lot of) type of bike for non-commuting duties.
So I was looking at naked sports. Speed Fours, Z750Ses, Monsters... that sort of bike. But insurance for me is astronomical for even these - the Speed Four was cheapest at $2000 per year, including my 250R. Insurance companies don't like unmarried twenty-somethings very much.
While searching for info on the Suzuki SVs, I was reminded of the existance of the V-Strom. Interesting, I thought - there's no way my insurance companies could construe that as a sportbike! So I went to the online quoting on my insurance company and sure enough - $588 for full coverage for a whole year. Nice - I could actually afford to pay for insurance on a V-Strom 650 AND have enough money for gas!
So what should I expect moving from a 250R to a DL650 if I choose to do it? I notice my 250R gets tossed about on the highway by crosswinds quite a bit - does the DL do so as badly? What should one expect to pay for one, when it's all said and done? Are they easy to find discounts on?
Thanks for any help - now that I've "discovered" the DL650, I've really got a mind to grab one for myself when I have the money. They're sorta neat - and they're big! Wow! It's like three times as tall as my Ninja! Well, not quite, but it's a huge bike! I'm not large - 5'9" and 155 lbs... so this bike seems enormous to me. But I dig the bolt-upright seating position... neat bike!