V-Strom DL650 Thread

[crazyhorse]

WHen my bike broke down on route to the Cold Kiwi a fews ago (due to too many chiefs and not enough indians performing a service on it!), well they brought me a replacement bike. Well, the V-Strom was a great bike, but not when you're in the short wheel base department.

So, angry as I was, I leaped on it - with over a 100 km of country road with no stops ahead of me, I decided to worry about how on earth I was gonna stop when I got to the intersection at Taupo. By then I had calmed down and put the brain into gear and could stop with my foot on the island.

I never fell off once (not even on the muddy dirt track getting to the cold kiwi that year) and to be honest, it was not a bad bike.

Although i love my sports bikes, to the V-Strom

[CRM]

Just did 2000km on the Wee down to Masterton via Taupo and Desert Road then back up via route 52 (Waipukerau etc), Napier, Wairoa, Opotiki, Waihi and through Auckland (hard to avoid) and home.

I put the hard panniers and top-box on (all second hand off TM). The top-box is a givi E370; not too big but about right for me (I've heard bad stories about stability issues with big top boxes). The panniers are DL650 standard apparently (I had a few problems finding how to attach the frames - had to drill holes in the alloy rack - not that pretty but worked well).

The panniers and top-box worked great - stable at all speeds (a bit of rocking-horse hitting a bump through fast corners but possibly another issue - anybody had this and know how to fix? - fork-brace? suspension adjustment? tyres?).

Also put 35mm bar risers on - helped with arm-fatigue heaps.

I did 30km or so of gravel coming up through the back roads from Masterton to Alfredton. I was a bit worried about scratching my panniers as it was windy and large deep gravel. The panniers are pretty wide so I had to watch out for fencepostsThe big wide front tyre (Shinko E705) was pretty hairy in the deep stuff. It got better at the end - smaller gravel not so deep and I felt like I was more in control - actually quite fun. There's a lot to be said for narrow 21" front tyres!

I passed through a herd of bulls at one stage. After that she smelled like more of a poo-strom than a wee-strom.

Pictures are Waiouru, Rangitikei, Alfredton, Porangihau

[mikkid]

Picked up a DL650 K5 myself last year. Have been progressively updating the farkles from an otherwise standard bike.

I added a Madstad and a Laminar Lip as the buffeting on the standard screen was uncomfortable. Whilst the lack of wind behind the screen does cause the occassional fogging of the helmet visor, its a trade off for no buffeting other than when there are strong cross winds, which you just cant avoid. Bonus is that I can comfortably ride with the visor up @ 100+kph.

The wee strom is a great tourer and there are plenty of forums on how to best farkle your bike. Advise you check out Stromtrooper.com where there is a whole dedicated section to the 650.

[Padmei]

Welcome to the site mikkid. The strom is a great sized cruisy tourer. CRM's one looks excellent ready for the big miles.

[Waihou Thumper]

Must be really wide though if he has to look out for fence posts...

[CRM]

I discovered the chain was stretched so put a new one on and at the same time went back to standard gearing from the oversized countershaft sprocket it had on when I got it - MUCH better in my opinion. Went to Cambridge and back and had a ball (except for rush hour through Orkland yesterday - they should really just by-pass the whole thing ). Even tried some lane splitting which with my big panniers on which is a little and but there is a limit to sitting in the hot sun in black riding gear on a motorway isn't there?

I'm still getting sore arms on the Strom - even after putting risers on it - not sure if it's a vibe issue or just the whole riding position. They have a reputation of being great tourers but I actually found I could go just as far or further on my XR600 believe it or not - I did some huge distances on that. Also found my VF700 Magna more comfortable than the Strom for distance. It must be just my weird body shape or something ...

[CRM]

Having had the Wee for 4 months or so and doing a few thousand k's here are my reflections:

Stuff I like :
Great headlight!
Good fuel range.
Easy to start.
Nice and smooth.
Can go pretty quick and fast for a large heavy 650!
Black and shiny.

Stuff I don't like :
The sound - noisy mechanically and not an inspiring exhaust note.
It feels big and heavy coming from more dirt style adv bikes.
Not that agile.
Reach to the bars is too far for me - I've put risers on and pulled the bars back a bit but my elbows get sore on long trips. Have tried changing how I sit but can't seem to get it right.
19" front wheel - not great in gravel with the large weight and height.
A bit lacking in character - nothing I can completely put my finger on but a combination of fuel injection, uninspiring sound and the fact that it's a bit of a compromise bike.

I guess you have a love/hate relationship with every bike - there's always something about them that you wish you had a different bike for... it must be some clever marketing ploy to keep us buying and selling .

[Eddieb]

Who said Stroms can't adv ride?

If you only watch for a few seconds, make sure you at least watch starting at about 4 minutes 10".

[Padmei]

Classic. I bet he has a still of that jump as his screen saver.
That Strom has a really nice cackle to it. The KTM def needed a boost in the pipe department.

[red mermaid]

But all those trees would scratch the paint work!

[paturoa]

Who said Stroms can't adv ride?

woooa almost over!

[CRM]

Classic. I bet he has a still of that jump as his screen saver.
That Strom has a really nice cackle to it. The KTM def needed a boost in the pipe department.

Sure must have had some suspension work on that strom! He's a brave man...

[Muppet]

You guys will like this vid

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jE682...eature=related