..this thing is huge.

I'm 5'8", 30" inseam, 24years young and looking for my first bike. After hearing great things about the Wee I went to look at one and my initial thought was, "this HAS to be the 1000!"

I kicked my leg over and took a seat and my feet were barely touching the ground. The fairing/gas tank/cowl--I'll call it the 'front'--of this bike is enormous! I knew the bike was taller than the Nighthawk I used in the MSF but this bike is a Clydesdale and the 250 is not even a pony.. more like a Great Dane with a saddle.

I think I could handle the height, especially after some quality time in the parking lot, but wow, I left the dealer stunned and a less assured of the Wee as a good first bike.

5'7", 29" inseam here.

I added the lowering links from Murphs Kits, dropped the forks in triple clamps a bit, and pulled the rubber stoppers from under the seat. All together, I probably lowered the bike by a good 1.5" or maybe even 1.75" total. I'm not flat footed, but am close enough to be completely comfortable with the height.

As for the fairing size, it is a pretty drastic change from a naked bike like the Nighthawk. I grew up on bikes, but the Wee is the first bike I have owned with tupperware on the front. It was odd looking down at it the first few rides, but I don't even think about it now. You'll appreciate the fairing for wind protection compared to the naked bikes.

I'm not sure if the Wee is a good first bike or not to be honest. Maybe some other folks can chime in on that topic. Dad had me on a motorcycle when I was 5 years old, and I've never went any significant length of time without a bike my entire life (I'll leave out how many years that has been!) That being the case I'm not sure what constitutes a good first bike.

I will say the Wee is the best bike I've ever owned, and I wouldn't trade it for anything. It's not perfect at any one thing, but the sum of the parts is an amazing bike for the money.

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2009 Suzuki DL650 V-Strom
2008 Yamaha WR250X

As a first bike the Strom is heavy, top-heavy, and tall. Possible,but not the easiest choice.

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2007 DL650A Whee! (SV cam transplant)

Manage the unavoidable.
Avoid the unmanageable.

If you're worried about the height and overall size. Take a look at the SV650. Same engine, tons of aftermarket stuff, and a great bike.

Hope this helps.

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09 "Wee"-Strom DL650 (Orange)
99 Harley-Davidson XL1200S
00 Bultaco
73 Bultaco Sherpa-T
69 Triumph Bonnie (Project Bike)

I have only been riding for about 6 months, I started out with a KLX250s and a harley XL1200N Nightster.
The Harley was fairly small (really small for a harley) but you felt the weight for sure, it was about 600 lbs.
The KLX250s is a great size and Super light weight, at about 280 wet.
I found that I gained confidence on the KLX really easily and learned alot on it.
The harley just wasnt the riding experience I was after, so I traded it in on a DL650.
I thought the same thing when I sat on it, holy crap the front of this thing is huge!
Once you ride it for 10 minutes you dont even notice it anymore, you dont spend time riding it, staring down at that front end, you just dont notice it.

As far as being a good beginner bike? Thats very tough to call.
Its going to be alot of bike for you to handle at first, yes you are going to feel the weight when going slow. But overall I find it a very easy bike to ride and a dream on the twisty back roads.
If you really take your time, and ease into it, you will get used to it as your first bike, but you might be a bit intimidated by it for a while.
You may want to look around craigslist, etc. and find some little dirt cheap Ninja, or dual sport of some kind, just to ride for a few months, get the fundamentals down.
Its ALOT easier to get yourself out of trouble and manhandle the smaller lighter bikes.

In the end, you will NOT regret the DL650 once you get it, its a fantastic bike in so many ways, I am VERY pleased.
~John

Lower it 3/4 in. put on a fork brace, take it easy until you get use to the weight,you will be fine. My inseam is 29. only 63yrs.old though. Good luck

Get through the first couple of weeks and you'll wonder what the problem ever was.

Bill

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64 Hon cub 50, 67 Hon trail 90, 68 Yam 180 twin, 66 Hon 305 dream, 71 Yam 175 enduro, 73 Yam tx500, 70 Hon sl100, 75 Hon xl250, 79 Yam sr500 , 95 Kaw en500, 98 Hon cb750, 02 Yam fz1, 06 Suz dl650, 07 Hon ST1300



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I think it's great that a 24 yr old shows interest in the Wee. It is a bit challenging for a 1st bike though. Not that it can't be done..... it's just that handling all that weight up so high usually takes a little more of an experienced riders feel. Maybe an SV like others have said would be a better choice for a 1st bike, but hey..... being 24 and even being interested in the Wee says something about your charachter and I bet you're just the kind of young man that can do it without mishap.

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2009 Wee Strom
2008 Honda VFR 800

I think the DL-650 would be a wonderful first bike. This bike is gentle gentle until its pushed. It has immaculate manners at low speed, and at least with the fork brace, is a wonder on twisty roads. It will cruise at any reasonable speed on the slab and is great for secondary roads. Also, this bike will grow with you. You don't need to sell it after 6 months in order to get a REAL bike. I would recommend it to anyone getting into motorcycling for the first time.

After having some work done at my local shop, the service manager hopped on and gave it a few laps around the parking lot to make sure everything was running okay. The guy is maybe 5'5" when wearing a tall hat and platform soles. When he came back around to the shop entrance and got down off the bike his ears popped.

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2012 Suzuki GSX-R750, "Shoot to Thrill"
2007 Suzuki V-Strom 650, "The Grey Mule"

BLOG "Two-wheeled Astronaut": http://twowheeledastronaut.blogspot.com/