Hello, I have been a lurker at this site for many years but finally registered. I am a heavy diesel mechanic and do all my repair and maintenance on my 'strom. I have an 05 1k that I bought new and have 35,000 miles on it. I also have a 86 SRX 600 Yamaha that I restored and I am building a 250 Honda Nighthawk with fuel injection and turbo that I plan to run at Bonneville salt flats this August for a speed record. Motorcycles have been my passion for many years . I will be retiring soon and hope to be able to spend more time with them.

Another new 2012 Wee-Strom owner here. I've only been riding for 11 years/64k miles and my Wee is my 4th bike. I'll be 60 in August and wanted a lighter, more maneuverable bike. My wife no longer rides with me, so my Nomad will be sold shortly. I've ridden nothing but cruisers til now, but I am a convert to the Wee-Strom.

A friend of mine, an MSF Coach told me that one of the dealerships he holds classes at, had some Vee and Wee Stroms in and that a Standard was due soon. Turns out they had a 650 Adventure sitting on the floor and after talking with the owner for a few minutes, he said he could remove the bags and brackets and sell it to me as a Standard, leaving on the touring shield and engine guards. I posted a little about this in the 650-2012 pricing thread a few days ago. So, I test rode it on Friday afternoon, firmed up a decent deal when I got back, rode it home yesterday in a little rain. Went out today for a short ride (darned threat of rain prevented me from going for a longer ride) and I think I'm in love.
I'll post my first impressions in the 650 2012 folder.
Great forum. Glad to be here.

Hello all,
Been checking this forum our for a while, mostly for maintenance advice. I just ordered a new 2012 DL650. It will be my third one: Had a blue 2004 and currently have a silver 2008 that will get traded in when I pick up the new one on 1 sept. The 2004 I bought in san francisco, and I've been living in paris france since 2007. Started riding at age 15, motocross and enduro, then moved to road racing. Now I'm a commuter through city traffic which can put all your skills to the test.

Cheers

Hello. Im Chase from Charlotte NC. I got my first vstrom in May 2012. it a 650 adverture. This is my first forum ive joined. I ride about everyday when i can. i have about 7000 mile on it now. Ive installed a phone mount, 12v outlet, knuckle gaurds, lower fairing, cruise contral, and luggage box for back. I bought this bike for my dream ride ive been planing for years. picked this bike and waited a year for the dealership to get it. Ill be leaving july 5. hope to see some of u on my travels

Just sold my vrod, never really fit well on it, and am looking for another room mate for my '00 Dyna. I'm interested in an Adventure bike for a run up into Alaska, then returning via Toronto After reading a lot of posts .. it looks like the vee has reliability issues and I'm wondering if a wee has enough juice for a 6,000 mile ride .. some on gravel roads, some on Interstates between 85 and 90 mph and everything in between.

Hi I'm jamison my bike is DL650, I started riding a motorcycle almost a year only so that i'm still a newbie. I want to learn more about my bike since it was my first bike I want to take care of it, I want to learn more about it's parts and maintenance to achieve the greatest performance of my bike.

Hi guys I just bought a new 2012 adventure DL650 and saying I love it would be an understatement! I am out in the Joliet/Morris area and I have been riding dualsports for about ten years. I grew up riding dirt bikes and three wheelers. I just discovered this website and joined today. I look forward to exploring this site and spending many hours out on the road with my new 650 once the weather warms up a little. Hope to see some of you local vstromers out on the road this spring!

Hello all
I've been grazing the site for quite a while and finally got around to signing up. Not exactly new to the two-wheel world. I've been riding for about 40+ years starting on dirt bikes, migrating up to litre bikes then back down to my currently retired 900cc ride. This ride is getting long in tooth and I was not comfortable taking it on a long haul anymore. Last year I bought a pre-enjoyed 07 wee from someone I know and am now enjoy riding in the Quinte, Ontario area without folding up and hunkering down.

Welcome aboard!

You have nice area around there to ride in! If you haven't already, check out the Canadian section here in regional forums. We are having a meet-up in Bancroft in April... Would be nice to meet you!

..Tom

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Road Toads Charter Member - 2006 V-Strom DL650: 202,000 km 125,500 miles, 2012 DL650 New March 2012 50,000 km


Why Cars don't see bikes (SMIDSY)
SMIDSY detailed report

Hi! I'm from the Philippines and ever since the Vee was introduced it has been my dream bike. Intently following the still unresolved debate over which is better, the vee or the wee, Suzuki Philippines finally made the glee available here last year and so it finally sort of guided me as to which one to own. I'm very happy with my glee though when I took her out on a long trip with the wife plus luggage I was a little wanting in power especially since we were in a pack with Honda Goldwings and KTM990's. Not the Glee's fault, Oh she is so smooth, and she handles like a dream, but it seems that the best solution is to have both the Glee and the Vee.
Thank you to this forum for being most informative and helpful to Vstrom owners.