Not a wannabe.... a GONNABE!

[StromKYX]

I've done lotsa research, no little part of which came from this sight (many many thanks to the administrator/s) and come December I'll be trading in my Intruder 1400 on an '04 DL.

I was shopping for a new bike last year, and my uncle (who's an old school Harley rider) talked me into a V-Twin cruiser. The Intruder made the grade. And, she's a great bike.... but my spare is an old '82 Seca 750, which I ride on the rare occasion the intruder's in the shop, and otherwise once a week to keep her moving well. Well, mid-December, I'm riding the Seca to work and realized I was REALLY enjoying the ride. Now, I've ridden sport tourers my entire adult life (I'm 38 now) and the Intruder is my first cruiser. And while I enjoy her, I came to the realization on that ride, that I have a distinct love for sport tourers.

So, much research later, the DL is the one.

I'm really psyched.

Thanks for this board, all of the information you share has been a great help to me.

~Brett
Sacramento

[Mac]

Congratulations on your choice! I recently traded my Shadow Sabre 1100 for a strom. I loved the shadow but the strom more suits my riding desires now. How are you ever going to be able to wait til December?

[StromKYX]

Well, taking financial considerations into account, I'm going to have to wait. But it's gonna get harder and harder.

Yesterday I was running my mom around to help her with some errands and we found ourselves in the vicinity of our local Yama/Suzi dealer. Now, with all the research I'd done, I'd never actually seen one live. So, being in the neighborhood, we stopped by and while they don't yet have an '04, they still have one '03 left.

I looked her over, sat on her (great height - I'm 6'4"), and talked about her with the sales rep. I'm standing on the left side of the bike at the saddle, yakkin' with the sales guy and my mom looks at him and says, "He'll never be able to wait until the end of the year, look at him stroking the seat."

I was! lol

A little history: I grew up in a mc family. My dad was all about enduro, and my mom's favorite street was an old Norton 850 Commando. She even worked at a Suzi dealer in New Orleans (Performance Cycle) for a few years in the 80s.

She told me I was gonna love the bike (the Intruder) when I bought it (as she walked back into her house, she looked back once so wistfully it pained me, she has a really bad back and hasn't been able to ride for about ten years) and she was right.

She saw me on the DL and right away said we were made for each other.

December seems farther and farther off the more I think about it.

[freediverGA]

StromKYX don't worry Bra your not the only one on the long wait I'm right there with yeah. Actually my wait will twice as long but still I'm feeling it with yeah Buddy! I almost wimper every time I see a bike drive by!!! LOL :x

[used2jeep]

I'm right with you on the "Can't wait" list. Bought a CB1000C to learn on. I've put about 26K miles on it. Nice bike (UJM) and ok for long rides but it "just isn't right". Took a test ride at Americade last year (Japanese dealers here in Mass won't allow test rides) and couldn't stop smiling. I've been back and forth between a bunch of styles and keep coming back to the V-Strom. My only concern is the chain. 1 - How long it will last? 2 - How messy is it? 3 - How hard is it to adjust? I think this coming winter will bring me an '05 VS. Maybe we'll get lucky and shaft drives will come out (yeah, right). :wink:

[hux]

>>1 - How long it will last? 2 - How messy is it? 3 - How hard is it to adjust?

1- depends on how you ride and how you take care of it.

2 - define messy? oil on yer clothes? naw. oil on the rim? a little. I don't consider it messy, but if yer a psycho-cleaning-nazi-type that can't stand a bit of oil on yer rim you might...shrug

3 - pull cotter pin, loosen axle nut, loosen lock nuts, turn adjuster nuts and measure. repeat as necessary - takes 5 minutes prolly once a month, yer dealer should be able to show you exactly how to do it.

Folks make too much of this chain thing, it's nothing to maintain and MUCH less expensive to repair.

[s boy]

i have been riding/owning bikes since 1973 and all i have ever owned are chain drivien bikes. they require constant cleaning and oiling and checking/adjusting... as described above... not a huge issue, but an issue non-the-less.

the bike i have now is a shaftie... as much as i love the vStrom ergos and style... i'll never go back to chain no matter what.

al

[hux]

>>they require constant cleaning and oiling and checking/adjusting

I guess it depends on how you define "constant"..I check mine every 500 miles or so, and it literally takes me 5-10 minutes IF I have to actually adjust it...Clean and oil takes about 2 minutes. Shaft drive, on the other hand, requires very nearly NOTHING.

Shaft is more convenient, of course, but for someone to say they won't buy a 'strom soley because it has a chain on it is somewhat like saying you won't buy it because you don't like the color of the left turn signal stalk....it's a minor thing. Very minor. I can't believe we're even chewing this, nearly all the high performance "crotch rocket" bikes are chain drive. Ditto the racers. Hayabusa? Chain drive. Blargh.

[hux]

I uh, didn't mean fer that post to sound like a slam...we all have different priorities, that's all...and nothing's wrong with that.

:wink:

[used2jeep]

Didn't sound like a slam from here. It is just going from 1 technology to the other is sometimes tough. That whole change thing... Anyway, man I wish I had the cake for an '04 (with hard bags, centerstand and oiler)...

[s boy]

no slam received... none given. it's just that i do 80 miles a day commuting and 100-200 a weekend. this doesn't include trips, so i just don't want any more chains to mess with.

but if one of the big traillies doesn't convert to shaft in the next few years... i will probabaly eat my words, because the ergos are worth it and the older i get the more critical that becomes.

i love everything else about the vStrom and have been keeping up with them from day 1.

al

[StromKYX]

Interesting info... gotta say, I prefer a shaft as well, but I have no doubt the Strom will be worth the chain. :wink:

[dbl_aitch]

Had a couple of shaft driven bikes myself. In one case it barely outlasted a chain, in the other it didn't. Guess I don't see a tremendous advantage. As for time, I tend to lube my chains infrequently and adjust them only slightly more often, so they don't consume a lot of my time. To each their own, though.

[Circlip]

I have over 10k on my Strom 1 chain adjustment
I oil after every ride of 200mi. or more as soon as I stop while chain is still warm. BelRay spray lube