Which v-strom - 650 or 1000?

[Bald Eagle]

Am about to dispose of a C50 Boulevard cruiser and move to a v-strom. So far have had a very good report on an extended test ride of the 1000 and myself had a short test ride on the 650.

Use will be ocassional commute, urban leisure riding and some one up touring in company on by-wys and lesse highways.

Any suggestions which would be more suitable and why.

[Jantar]

Either will suit your requirements. I have owned 2 DL1000s and put a total of 110,000 kms on them. My main reson for the 1000 over the 650 is because I do a reasonable amount of 2 up travelling, and even one up I tend to travel long distances and hence carry quite a bit of gear.

The 650 is a smoother engine and more versatile, and of course more economical. Whichever you choose will suit you fine.

[Waipukbiker]

If you are planning on doing some more adventures riding like shingle etc and only one up then the Weestrom may be easier to live with
due to smoother engine, lower, lighter, less fuel consumption etc etc. Its very much a personal choice in the end.

[paturoa]

If you are thinking of getting a new one then the new wee (glee) has had some pretty good reviews and will do about 4 l/100km. There is a new thou on the way later next year which is very different.

If your talking the old ugly model then the wee has abs, the thou has more grunt and a higher seat.

The wee is prob one of the most reliable bikes ever made, but the thou has a couple of minor annoyances.

There are some good on-line forums for the strom, for general stuff including an ongoing lively discussion on the differences between then try stromtrooper.com and http://www.vstrom.info has more tech.

[bluninja]

I have a weestrom...it's just like an SV659 with a big front wheeel and fuel tank . Can't compare it to the thou as I haven't tried one. Get 400 kms between fills and it's comfortable and capable to do New Plymouth to Taupo and back again via the forgotten wrold highway. Suspension is soft if you are on the large side. Apart from some changes in the internals (cylinder lining I think) on 2012 model the engine and suspension are pretty much as they always have been, just styling and cosmetic changes.

[Eddieb]

This is the DL1000 concept, rumoured to be out as a 2014 model so maybe Sept-Oct 2013 it will appear.

[Waihou Thumper]

​Nice looking bike.

[Edbear]

I haven't ridden the thou but the 650 I found to be smooth, fast and about as comfortable as I have ever been on a bike, including my C50T. Only change I would have made is a higher screen. The latest 650 has some significant improvements including using the Gladius engine and is about the best all round bike you can buy for NZ! Make sure you ride both. Boyds in Hamilton are good, tell Greg Boyd I referred you.

[kevfromcoro]

i have ridden both.....
and settled for the 650. iam not to heavy and i found it a perfect bike for me.
found the thou a bit lumpy....
the dl can be set up for a bit of ADV riding without to many mods.
the tank is a bit large,, and sort of throws you off a bit off road
also watch the side stand.. its not bent enuff and the bike will go down
1st job,, fix the side stand
i have had many bikes. but i would buy another wee strom again,, its in the the top 2

[banditrider]

If I was just commuting I would get the Wee - they have a sweet motor and don't appear to use any fuel.

If you like HP or do 2-up stuff go for the Vee. Sure they're not as smooth but grunt is addictive.

I'm not really sure how much easier the Wee is to ride on gravel etc - they're both still pretty big bikes. I seem to keep up with the Wees OK and if you get onto some fast gravel then the Vee is a hoot.

[Gravel Man]

I have owned both a 650 & 1000. Found the 1000 very tall geared & I could not get settled with it on the gravel. The 650 felt much more nimble, the gearing is so much better & felt so much more stable on gravel roads. I ran them both on TKC80 tyres. Yes I would own another 650, but not another 1000. Don't know about a late model 650 as none switchable ABS on gravel could be a worry, been caught out on my 990 a couple of times.

Cheers G.M.

[Ender EnZed]

I haven't ridden either. But my take on the pair (based on others reviews/opinions) is that the 650 is basically better in every way except outright grunt. If you're doing a lot of 2 up riding then that extra grunt could certainly come in handy. Otherwise, for an awesomely capable all-rounder; get the 650. For a big road bike that's a bit more upright than a SV1000; get the DL1000.

My impression is that they're quite different bikes despite looking very similar.

I'd suggest you'd prefer the 650 because you don't sound like a power junkie and the 650 is better handling and cheaper to run.

[Matt]

Had extended test-rides on both and went with the Vee - mainly for the extra grunt, and there wasn't much $ difference over the Wee - they respond really well to a pipes/Power Commander upgrade, which smooths out the big v-twin nicely. Only downside to the 1000 I can see is fuel consumption - I typically get around 300kms to a tank, whereas the 650 seems to get around 400kms?

[Jantar]

..... Only downside to the 1000 I can see is fuel consumption - I typically get around 300kms to a tank, whereas the 650 seems to get around 400kms?

What model V are you riding? I used to regularly get 350 - 360 km out of a tank on my L0 1000, but only 320 km on my K6 1000. One thing I did find was that the K6 went better on 95 octane and the L0 went better on 91 octane.

This is from a previous post I made.

My 1996 VStrom would not run well on 91 octane. It would tolerate it on a trip, but not when commuting, so the aim here was to see if there was a difference between fuel brands. I found only minor differences with Shell being best, Caltex, Challenge and BP equal, and Mobil slightly behind. BP 98 was slightly better than than all others, but not by enough to warrant the extra cost. This test was carried out over two years and aproximately 40,000 km.

My second VStrom gave very suprising results. First of all it felt as if it ran better on 91 than 95 or higher, and it wasn't long before the results confirmed it. The Mobil test is not significant as Mobil is the only fuel I don't have a fuel card for, so I use this brand only when there is no alternative. This test is over 2.5 years and 45,000 km.

BP 91 - 16.6 km/l __________ BP 98 - 16.0 km/l

Caltex 91 - 16.5 km/l _______ Caltex 95 - 16.5 km/l

Challenge 91 - 15.8 km/l ____ Challenge 95 - 15.3 km/l

Mobil 91 - 15.1 km/l _______ Mobil 95 - 16.8 km/l

Shell 91 - 17.2 km/l ________ Shell 95 - 15.9 Km/l

Overall 91 - 16.5 km/l ______ Overall 95 (or higher) 16.2 km/l

[Laava]

Based on the above replies, it is obvious that you need both.
Matt is selling his one and it has ALL the fruit!
iMO the best mod is the fork brace followed by the pipes and PC111