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Wee Strom people: school me on '09 ABS 68k @ $2,750

  1. #1
    Mophead going grey dontpanic's Avatar
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    Wee Strom people: school me on '09 ABS 68k @ $2,750

    My brother has been in L.A. for nine years and hasn't had a bike since he moved west. He's spotted this Wee on CL out there.

    I've already shared my thoughts with him but want the opinion of the brain trust that is NESR. What do you all think? High points? Weak spots? Tell me your thoughts, good and bad.

    Here's the link and the text from the ad:

    https://losangeles.craigslist.org/ws...361985935.html

    "2009 vstrom for sale. Selling because I currently have 2 of the same bike. I have had many vstroms, 650 and 1000s. I prefer the 650 with abs for la personally over the 1000 and over the KLR 650.

    Here’s the details,
    -ABS is able to be turned off for dirt/gravel riding

    -tires are in good condition. I generally only use Michelin Road Pilot 4s. Which is what this bike has. If you are not familiar you can google, but basically they have a harder rubber in the center tire for longer use. I generally get about 13-14k out of the back and 20k + out of the front. These have about 4-5k on them. Should be good for at least a couple years.

    -raised handlebars
    -throttle lock
    -cig lighter power outlet
    - Garmin gps with holder
    - lowered foot pegs
    - wide off road foot pegs, great for standing and grip. About the size of a deck of cards
    - madstad windscreen bracket, easily adjustable up and down without tools
    - taller windshield/ windscreen
    - back bracket for top case / top box. Top case not included
    - 2 aluminum panniers, very easy to put on and take off. They do lock and I do have the key
    - 1 gal water, 1gal gas extra side tanks via rotopax.com. (I can knock $100 off if you don’t want these but they are nice on long trips)
    - 5.5 gal tank. 48-50mpg solo. About 45mpg 2 up w gear
    - 2 keys
    - new battery
    - brand new clutch install
    - reusable oil filter, never have to buy an oil filter again!

    I also have some extras: belly pan, hand guards, and extra mirrors if you want them.
    Cash only. Call text or email anytime. Test rides w cash and mc license.
    Clean title"

    Thanks in advance,

    D

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    Go fast. Have fun. Repeat.

  2. #2

    Re: Wee Strom people: school me on '09 ABS 68k @ $2,750

    It’s $2700 in LA market. Nearly impossible to lose money on it.
    I have no clue what a reusable oil filter is and idk if I would trust it but he has a lot of miles on that thing so maybe it works.

    I have V Strom collecting dust for 3 years now (or something like that). From the handful of times I rode it loved everything about it.

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  3. #3
    Awesomeness, Inc. MattR302's Avatar
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    Re: Wee Strom people: school me on '09 ABS 68k @ $2,750

    It’s an ok commuter, it’s an ok 2up bike, it’s an ok adventure bike, it’s an ok sport-tourer, there’s unlimited aftermarket, and it will last at least another 100k miles. Seems like a decent price.

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  4. #4
    Jamnuts jhawley's Avatar
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    Re: Wee Strom people: school me on '09 ABS 68k @ $2,750

    Quote Originally Posted by tsorfas View Post

    I have V Strom collecting dust for 3 years now (or something like that). From the handful of times I rode it loved everything about it.
    tell me more

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  5. #5

    Re: Wee Strom people: school me on '09 ABS 68k @ $2,750

    Quote Originally Posted by jhawley View Post
    tell me more
    you wanna buy it and save me the $20/month I have been paying for insurance for a bike I never ride?

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  6. #6
    Lifer
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    Re: Wee Strom people: school me on '09 ABS 68k @ $2,750

    What's to school? The wee-strom is nothing especially sexy, but it gets the job done in spades. Bulletproof. Easy to ride. Lots of fun. Tremendous bang/buck value.
    Motor is a peach. Or was before the newest batch of parallel twins stole the spotlight. You won't win any races or wheelie in 3rd or anything. But you can scoot away from traffic at a stoplight or pass on the highway with just a little stir of the transmission.
    Suspension is the first major deficiency. Springs help a lot. RT emulators or similar in the front help more. Then you need to pony up for a higher quality adjustable rear shock.
    Brakes are the next problem. I had massive problems with soft front lever. I sold it to another here who tore out the ABS system to resolve it. Word has it that did the trick. I liked having ABS on that bike as it was my daily, all weather rider. I sometimes do dumb things and the ABS was a nice backstop.

    My 2011 ABS model did not have the ability to defeat ABS without doing something like pulling a fuse. I never did this. Don't know what that ad is talking about when they say ABS can be turned off. That smells like bullshit.

    "Reusable" oil filter sounds like trash. Filters are like $12/ea. Even I'm not that cheap. I'd do a oil change and fit a OE filter as soon as you take ownership.

    48-50 MPG is a reasonable guess. I could get 300 miles/tank if I tried hard. Riding with sport-bike guys I would fill up every-other stop compared to them, even keeping pace.

    I threw 50k miles at a 2011 over the course of 5-6 years. Had very few problems.
    Once I kicked up a rock on a gravel road and killed the side-stand switch. Cut the wire and twist ends together to bypass & move on.
    Had a stator failure at about ~25k. Had it re-wound at a shop locally. Was down for about a week; naturally that perfect week in July when the skys were blue every damned day. That's when I decided to own a 2nd bike.

    I had a low-side when I hit a gravel patch in West Virginia on day 2 of a 10-day camp-n-ride tour down to NC and back. Sheared off a foot peg and bent the brake lever. Also scuffed the crash bars and bent/broke a pannier mount. 15 minutes with some repair wire, some bits from HD and a webbing strap and I was riding again. Finished the trip.

    Also had a close encounter with an SUV at one point. That resulted in a pierced radiator, bent/scuffed crash guard and a smashed headlight & fairing. Kept the bike upright and kept most of the coolant. Rode the short distance home with a gaping hole in the rad and no lights. Few hundred bucks for new headlight and fairings, plus rad send-out & repair and we were good to go again.

    Should add that the front fairing stay was never straight. I believe the bike had been crashed/dropped before I bought it. Either that or QC for that part is very, very poor. Much more likely that it was dumped given the rest of the bike.

    Tough bike.

    Quote Originally Posted by tsorfas View Post
    From the handful of times I rode it loved everything about it.
    That piece of trash?! Who would want to ride that?!

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  7. #7

    Re: Wee Strom people: school me on '09 ABS 68k @ $2,750

    my preferences in motorcycles have changed over the last couple years. That being said I am avoiding getting near a ZX10 or a 1000RR because things happen and someone may offer some free drugs.. um a ride and last time that happened to me I was selling street bikes and buying race bikes.

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  8. #8
    Senior Member Crconnor18's Avatar
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    Re: Wee Strom people: school me on '09 ABS 68k @ $2,750

    Quote Originally Posted by tsorfas View Post
    I have V Strom collecting dust for 3 years now (or something like that). From the handful of times I rode it loved everything about it.
    I have a friend interested in a strom-boli as well if you want to chat some more.

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  9. #9
    Lifer OneCheekRider's Avatar
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    Re: Wee Strom people: school me on '09 ABS 68k @ $2,750

    Since license plates travel with the vehicle here in Californee, I find it odd this seems to be missing one. Other than that, appears to be nicely outfitted for the price and I'm sure there's some room for negotiating. Pending something breaking, I don't think it will necessarily lose value.

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  10. #10
    Mophead going grey dontpanic's Avatar
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    Re: Wee Strom people: school me on '09 ABS 68k @ $2,750

    Superb info, thanks to all who replied!!

    BTW, here's a shameless plug for my brother: https://jtactor.com/index.html

    D

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  11. #11
    Lifer
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    Re: Wee Strom people: school me on '09 ABS 68k @ $2,750

    Finally clicked through to the ad and looked at the photos.
    Those side cases look to be the same as the tusk cases I had on mine. They aren't awful, but they aren't stellar either. Bit large for the DL650 IMO. Loaded mine had headshake issues that I couldn't resolve with preload. (Although the shock had ~30-40k miles with no refresh.) And they turned the butt into a brick. I could feel the difference on the highway.
    Covers are also really easy to not latch all the way and will fall off when underway.

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