StromTrooper banner

new to v-strom

4K views 12 replies 11 participants last post by  DLNUT 
#1 ·
Hi, I'm new here and am considering a v-strom Adventure, 2012 - 13. Presently I ride a 2005 R1200RT BMW and do mostly cross country from MN. But I've found my heart is in the west and as I travel along I pass all the dirt roads my RT will never take me on. Thus the V-strom! Can you out there offer me some opinions on the following: 650 or 1000? Do I really need the extra power / weight? How is either bike for touring for 400-600 miles a day and is there a difference in comfort / performance for either? How is the bike stability in wind / gusts and crosswinds. Anything more you can add to help me would be great. Appreciate the feed back! Dave
 
#2 ·
welp. that's a bunch of questions. hahaha I have a K2, owned a K3 for a couple of years, and the wife has a K7, all 1000's. I have ridden my bud's RT(yea, he loves me) and I recently rode a K13 wee(650) adventure..here's my thoughts:

first off, the adventure model seems like a base model with some overpriced accessories you can get aftermarket. nothing really special, I'd suggest maybe saving some cash and buying better stuff aftermarket.

The 650 I rode was not underpowered in any way, and was a fair amount smoother in power delivery and overall vibration. Being that you're planning to spend a lot of time in squirrelly situations(off road, gravel) I would think the light weight would be an advantage. If I was riding single all the time, I'd prolly switch to the glee - meaning the new 650. Hell, I may switch anyway once the K2 is worn out. The 1k has a lot of additional torque(perceived, anyways) in the lower range, but I don't know that in practicality it's that much of a difference.

To my knowledge they're exactly the same chassis/seat/peg/bars config, so comfort is same. The ability to stand on the pegs is a huge plus, add highway pegs for additional position. It's going to be lighter than your RT, not quite as solid on the freeway, but certainly fine and tracks well. It feels solid, in other words.

There's a lot of surface area on the front of these things, so it's going to buffet more than your RT. Lowering the triple tree/raising the fork tubes a little bit seems to help, as well as sharpening the handling a bit.

I dunno, just my thoughts as a long time V owner. Of course, I'm biased. :)
 
#5 ·
They are both worse than your RT in the wind, even with a fork brace and lowering the trees. We have both the 650 and 1000. Personally I might have rather gone with the 650 due to the constant tunning adjustments that many of us have to do on the 1000 I'm thinking the "recall" on the new 1000's ECU may correct that though. The 650 also handles much better in the dirt, but if you're a big boy with a big BSR carrying big gear you may want the 1000. Test ride both and see what you think
 
#7 · (Edited)
I went with the DL1000 as I also ride a 2007 GL1800 and I got used to the power of the 'wing.
It isn't that much heavier, but has a LOT more power, I rode the 650 in Daytona one year and was unimpressed (again compared to the 1832cc wing I have)

Distance?
I've done as many as 830 miles in a day on mine, but folks tell me I'm nuts!
That day was from St Louis MO to Colorado Springs, CO and it was steady crosswinds with some gusting and the bike was LOADED...it got exciting a couple times, but it wasn't uncontrollable
Properly set up it can be very comfortable, some have said more so than the wing - but I still love my GL1800 when I'm not hittin' dirt roads!


Dave

Photos, link to spotwalla map of trip to Alasak, and link to ride report here:
moto-midget's Photos | SmugMug
 
#8 ·
To my knowledge they're exactly the same chassis/seat/peg/bars config, so comfort is same. The ability to stand on the pegs is a huge plus, add highway pegs for additional position. It's going to be lighter than your RT, not quite as solid on the freeway, but certainly fine and tracks well. It feels solid, in other words.
 
Top