[eng943]

I have an opportunity to buy a used '08 DL1000 w/4,000 miles. Cosmeticall it is in good condition, however I was wondeing what to be cautious of from a mechanical perspective.

Does the DL1000 have any known engine issues/reliability concerns?

 

[teevee]

only like 12,000,000!

seriously though, other than clutch chudder (too few miles on yours), lean spots in the rpm band, not many problems. check chain for proper lube and tension, oil change frequency/history. vstroms are generally regarded as being very reliable and relatively cheap to maintain

 

[lharrell79]

I wouldn't worry about anything with that few a miles. If it's in good shape, snap it up, and start riding.

Lucas

 

[danketchpel]

I'd have to say that bike should be an easy decision to make if the price is right. When I was looking I had the same concerns but after much research found it to have a sterling reputation for reliability with many stories of high mileage bikes still running great. There is a guy who's turned over 200,000 miles on his and Suzuki offered to replace his speedo with a new one for free so he could keep on counting the mileage. Apparently it stops reading at 199,999.

Something else, if the transmission sounds like it has rocks in it at idle in neutral with the clutch out, don't worry, it's normal. There will also be a fair amount of gear whine which comes from the gear drives on the cams and jack shaft. You may notice some minor vibrations in a few patches of the rev range, that is also fairly normal.

A bike with that few miles should ride pretty much like new.

 

[crager34]

I'm to conservative to just grab and go. Granted mine had 12,000 when I bought it, I took it straight to a dealer to have a maintenance check. Was told it was rock solid, but was also told buy the dealer I bought it from, they "put work into it". They did nothing.... chain needed lubed/tightened, oil needed changed... things like that.

 

[Lesman]

You're in good shape. When aliens invade Earth they will pick off the Wee riders first. This is THE ABSOLUTE REASON to ride a VEE.
A 4000 mile Vee should have no problems for a couple of years. Don't worry about the 'Chudder' or Dreaded Lean Spot(Borrow a Yam FZ1 and compared fuel mappings to determine if you actually have anything to bitch about).
This is how g-d ranked the Universe. You will be first in g-d's eyes
1. DL1000
2. Honda CL90
3. Vespa
4. V-Rod
5. Porn
6. A Broken Craftsman Ratchet
7. Suzuki Wankel
8. A Seized Motor
9. A Blown Transmission
10. DL650



Just saying,
Les

 

[sempervee]

Only thing to watch out for is Wee650 owners pissing on your boots about how superior they think they are (Not) as compared to the bigger better engine.. Come on, WTH could be wrong with a 4000 mi motorcycle of recent vintage. No Bad Motorcycles, only bad uneducated MC owners

 

[Scarlett Harlot]

It could cause your children to be born naked.

 

[markclow]

I dont think you have anything to worry about. All or most of the bugs have been ironed out before 08 and the miles are low.

 

[coonass]

*******

I know nothing about the "new" Bigger and Better Stroms but my 2002 has 33k completley flawless miles and cannot find a bike I feel comfortable replacing it with.

 

[Dr. M]

If you are worried, change the oil, check the tire pressure, make sure all the other fluids are full (brakes, clutch), maybe check the chain tension, lube it if it suits you, make sure the light bulbs are all working. Then get on it and ride. Yes, the clutch will make some noise in a few more thousand miles; there are fixes for that. Yes, you'll probably want to add a PowerCommander or Flash the prom, but that can be done. Yes, you'll want to sync the throttle bodies someday and put some fingernail polish on the adjustment screw to better fix it in place.

Then, when you wheelie away from a 650 wheezing in your dust, you can grin and say to yourself, "yep, made the right choice." I've owned both versions and would not EVER go back to a 650. Not even the new one. (Tongue in cheek, of course.)

Steve