Suzuki V-Strom DL1000 L3

[Mo NZ]

I will chip in here, if you don't mind too much. Ripley's believe it or not , not every mid lifer bought a Harley, that's a fact.

Most of the guys riding the adventure bikes are well past "mid life'.

Most of the younger riders are happy scaring themselves silly collecting bugs in their teeth at 200k or so.
Some of those who survive may move on to a cruiser. And not always a Harley, there are other brands available.

Some progress on to adventure riding. Some retain their sports bike and/or cruiser and are able to buy an adventure bike, and good on em.
Mostly those guys are the guys who have ridden up and down N.Z. a number of times and maybe have ridden across some of those bridges and thought I wonder what's up there?
Can I ride it?. Some go to hunt, some to fish, some to camp out and others go just for the ride and the memories.

Those guys are not brand driven but apply the "what's the best bike I can afford to do the job I want it to do" matrix.


The earlier Stroms may have ticked the boxes for some of those riders but I don't think the newer 2014 bike will appeal to the real Adventure Bike Rider who wishes to get off road and mix it up a little. A big bike like that off road is a real handful. That's a real shame as the Strom has a very good reputation. If I were in the market for a 1000cc adventure bike I would strike it from my list of possible due to that pipe configuration. You need bash ability and reliability.. I think that pipe configuration is a huge mistake.
I believe that Suzuki has made a huge mistake to put that bike up as a contender in the large adventure bike market. Just my 2c worth, as a well past mid-lifer, and exploring the Adventure Bike riding available ..

[Laava]

You are right about the exhaust Mo but the bike itself is lighter than previous and really feels it too.
People don't buy DL1000's to go bush bashing, that's for sure. Awesome on the gravel roads tho!

[Gremlin]

And I'd do the same. Done the 42nd yet? A certain DL in my shed has...definitely as gnarly as I wanna get....

No, I believe some of the water crossings and ride in general aren't exactly suitable for a 1/4 ton tank.

Following 250s for the average road rider may be a snore, but adventure riding... yeah, I know limits. They float across sand, I dig a trench. Not to mention I'll probably have a wee nap and the last time that happened I ended up with a 2nd degree burn to my leg, which got infected, which kept me off my feet for 2 weeks, which I had to keep out of the sun for 2 years

I know you're supposed to accelerate through sand (front light, back heavy), but that advice doesn't come from people controlling 100hp! Also, I think I've just sold my set of TKCs... wasn't using them.

Anyway, back on topic. Plenty of the adventure styled bikes are more like all road tourers, like the Honda Crosstourer. That said, even the Super Tenere (which some have taken to extreme places) needed extra protection from stock. My GS Adventure came with a bash plate. That got dented during one segment of adv riding and was far too small for real protection, so it's been replaced with a much bigger bash plate (about twice the size) covering a lot more of the underneath, and a centre stand plate has been fitted which means almost the entire underneath is now protected between front and rear wheels. Realistically, that should have been done from stock.

However, as JD has said (not quite that percentage), BMW has done studies, and yes, a significant majority never leave sealed roads. The new GSs even have more road biased tyre sizing. Only problem with a new bike is limited accessories available, but the aftermarket always catches up, and you can modify as you wish to suit your needs.

[Winston001]

I will chip in here, if you don't mind too much.

Most of the guys riding the adventure bikes are well past "mid life'.

Mostly those guys are the guys who have ridden up and down N.Z. a number of times and maybe have ridden across some of those bridges and thought I wonder what's up there?

Can I ride it?. Some go to hunt, some to fish, some to camp out and others go just for the ride and the memories.

Those guys are not brand driven but apply the "what's the best bike I can afford to do the job I want it to do" matrix.

...I don't think the newer 2014 bike will appeal to the real Adventure Bike Rider who wishes to get off road and mix it up a little. A big bike like that off road is a real handful.

Yep agreed. That's why I have a Honda XR200 with a small front cog to gear it down. Falling off a slope at 4000 - 5000 ft (1500m) is no fun at all and you need a bike with some chance of wrestling it back onto the track. Or out of a creek. Light with lots of torque.

So the compromise road/offroad is probably a Vstrom 650 or similar.

[Big Dog]

No, I believe some of the water crossings and ride in general aren't exactly suitable for a 1/4 ton tank.

Following 250s for the average road rider may be a snore, but adventure riding... yeah, I know limits. They float across sand, I dig a trench. Not to mention I'll probably have a wee nap and the last time that happened I ended up with a 2nd degree burn to my leg, which got infected, which kept me off my feet for 2 weeks, which I had to keep out of the sun for 2 years

I know you're supposed to accelerate through sand (front light, back heavy), but that advice doesn't come from people controlling 100hp! Also, I think I've just sold my set of TKCs... wasn't using them.

Anyway, back on topic. Plenty of the adventure styled bikes are more like all road tourers, like the Honda Crosstourer. That said, even the Super Tenere (which some have taken to extreme places) needed extra protection from stock. My GS Adventure came with a bash plate. That got dented during one segment of adv riding and was far too small for real protection, so it's been replaced with a much bigger bash plate (about twice the size) covering a lot more of the underneath, and a centre stand plate has been fitted which means almost the entire underneath is now protected between front and rear wheels. Realistically, that should have been done from stock.

However, as JD has said (not quite that percentage), BMW has done studies, and yes, a significant majority never leave sealed roads. The new GSs even have more road biased tyre sizing. Only problem with a new bike is limited accessories available, but the aftermarket always catches up, and you can modify as you wish to suit your needs.

Perhaps of you took the kitchen sink out of the top box?


Stupid phone / Tapatalk, apologies in advance.

[Gremlin]

Most would never leave the road because most buyers would not want to risk dropping them off road like you.

For most adventure rides, I figure if I'm not dropping it at least once, then it isn't challenging enough

Perhaps of you took the kitchen sink out of the top box?

For most of those rides I leave the top box off, too much weight too high up and too far back. Run with a tail pack instead, and for longer trips, add panniers.

[Big Dog]

For most adventure rides, I figure if I'm not dropping it at least once, then it isn't challenging enough


For most of those rides I leave the top box off, too much weight too high up and too far back. Run with a tail pack instead, and for longer trips, add panniers.

Rofl. I need to eat less pies to improve my handling. I have heard saddle type tank bags are awesome for allowing more horses on the softer stuff.


Stupid phone / Tapatalk, apologies in advance.

[Jantar]

I happened to drop into Wellington's best coffee shop on Monday. What makes it the best coffee shop is that the coffee is free and you are surrounded by heaps of bikes to look at while sipping away on your coffee. Anyway, Crasherfromwayback twisted my arm into trying out the new DL1000 for a spin. Having owned two previous models of V-Strom, I was keen to see just what improvements had been made.

One of the main complaints with all previous V-Strom models was the buffeting from the wind flow. I overcame that on my V-Stroms by fitting a Madstad bracket that allowed the screen to be quickly adjustable in both height and rake. Suzuki have now fitted that type of system as standard, and I experienced no buffeting at all.

The previous Stroms required the revs to be kept over 3000 rpm or the engine would feel lumpy. The new engine is much smoother lower down, and makes the bike more tractable at lower speed. I have not checked the full specs, but the gearing feels lower as well. This may be an illusion, but I would feel happier on tricky off road sections with the newer motor than the older one.

Although I couldn't take it adventure riding I did try some narrow, winding roads, and this model felt just as nimble as the earlier ones. The one noticeable difference is the brakes. These are powerful, great for the road, but possibly too powerful for loose gravel or greasy surfaces. The suspension feels firmer, but also more progressive, and is a definite improvement. Traction Control is a nice feature, but hardly needed. I left it on in case of grit on the road on the twisty section I was on even though it wasn't needed.

The instrument panel is different. Lots of information that was missing on previous models, but that speedo is still inaccurate and reading too high. A new feature is an indicator giving current fuel usage in km/l. Interesting, but useless. It updates every second or so, but the variation is too great to give any true indication unless you are at a constant throttle for a period of time. Like on a motorway perhaps. It would be greatly improved if it was averaged over 10 - 15 seconds.

Overall, my impressions are that the latest model is a big improvement over the earlier models for road riding, but I would want to reduce the braking effectiveness for adventure riding. Yes I would take this over the Nevis, or the Dunstan trail, but probably not Awakino.