New Bike

[gregp]

I finally had enough, and pulled the trigger today. After months of searching for a new bike, I plopped down a deposit on a new 2012 V-Strom 650 Adventure today. I had it. I was flip flopping back and forth between a KTM 990 SM-T, a Hyperstrada, and V-Strom 650's and 1000's for too long. I finally decided to keep my hooliganism for the dirt, and play it safe on the street. Of all of the bikes I was considering, the V-Strom 650 was the least expensive, by quite a bit, and it ticked off all of the boxes that I had set up for myself - except for the whole 3rd gear wheelie thing. 2-up comfort, range, weather protection, and reliability were all addressed with this choice. With a top case that matches the standard side cases, a few other accessories, and all of the fee's and taxes, it came in at around $10K. With Suzuki's current 0% deal, this will let me spring for a nice new EXC or Beta for the dirt, and maybe even upgrade my daughter's ageing Ninjette to a new CB500R. She will love me for that, although I have grown quite fond of that little 250.
So, as soon as they get the 650 ready for me, I will go pick it up, and my garage will be on its way back to being "whole" again.
I hope that I do not regret this purchase, but only time will tell. From what I have read, most 650 owners love their bikes, so lets see what happens...

[TheIglu]

You'll love it.

[DZircher]

Congratulations!! Can't wait to see the pics when you bring her home.

[Chippertheripper]

Sweet.

[breakdirt916]

weather protection...were all addressed with this choice...

what does that mean?

windscreen and heated grips?

[Garandman]

Much better looking than the old model, some intelligent upgrades like the instrument panel, and he Suzuki 650 twin punches above its' weight. One of the top two or three commuter bikes.

Some guys are selling the Adventure model bags as a kit and buying something narrower, YMMV. I'm a fan of the Jesse bags, and California Scientific windshields.

The one area where the bike shows the price is in suspension. Cartridges in front and a quality aftermarket shock make it tough to beat.

Stromtrooper.com is an active forum and the "Glee" [new model "Wee"] already has a ton of aftermarket available.

[boosten lebaron]

congratulations. even with this aweful weather youll have something to ride.

[RandyO]

except for the whole 3rd gear wheelie thing.

you may be surprised, don't know for sure, cold air = free horsepower, my old SV650 surprised me one 0° day with a 3rd gear roll on wheelie, I'm sure there were other factors, I think fat people can wheelie easier and I mighta been cresting a slight hill

Most v-strom owners are happy, I'm not one of em, and not because I have a 1000 instead of the 650. I was very happy with my SV650 with the exception of passing power at higher speeds, a hooligan reason I know.

I will not hold the cancer my Vee had against it (had to replace wire harness & sensors), I should have known better than expose it to conditions that I did.

What I find lacking in the Vee, would be even more so in the 650, not enuf electricity, really shitty suspension for a heavyweight, not as good as SV650 off road (I mean off road, not dirt road), reason I got a strom instead of another SV is cause I wanted room for luggage & accessories. , ergos on the SV fit me better than the Strom I found out, but not seriously different with adjustments, I can ride all day and than some on either doing highway miles,

If I were buying today, probably a Tenere

[Garandman]

/
Most v-strom owners are happy, I'm not one of em, and not because I have a 1000 instead of the 650. I was very happy with my SV650 with the exception of passing power at higher speeds, a hooligan reason I know.

I will not hold the cancer my Vee had against it (had to replace wire harness & sensors), I should have known better than expose it to conditions that I did.

What I find lacking in the Vee, would be even more so in the 650, not enuf electricity, really shitty suspension for a heavyweight, not as good as SV650 off road (I mean off road, not dirt road), reason I got a strom instead of another SV is cause I wanted room for luggage & accessories. , ergos on the SV fit me better than the Strom I found out, but not seriously different with adjustments, I can ride all day and than some on either doing highway miles,

If I were buying today, probably a Tenere

So when are you going to get rid of the thing? I'd think you'd get a decent trade-in on a $14,790 motorcycle and you seem to have a lot of problems with your DL1000. Only abvout 30% of DL1000 riders had problems with the stator according to this poll so you've been unlucky to boot.

[Rosco61]

Congratulations!

Nouthing like new toy.

[nhbubba]

Congrats. I am confident you'll love it.

I bought mine in the summer of '11. The first winter I upgraded the forks with heavier springs and racetech emulators. This made a huge difference in my opinion. I am told that springs is 80% of it and the emulators and new fork oil are good for another 20% of the improvement. So if you can swing it, you might want to do heavier springs ASAP. You're looking at a little over $100 for that.

This winter I sprung for a new rear shock. Everyone has been telling me how much I will appreciate having the rear match the front, performance wise. I'm thinking I will wait until mid spring to install the new shock as I really want an A/B experience. I am skeptical that this upgrade was worth the $$$. The front was cheap enough to be a no-brainer value wise.

I've upgraded the pads because everyone says the factory pads are shit. I can't tell the difference. I probably just don't ride hard enough... but that upgrade was not worth the dough, for me, even though it wasn't a lot of dough.

The 2012 Adventure bag setup is basically Trax/SW-MOTECH rebranded. That stuff looks like good stuff to me. Probably better than my plastic Givi setup. The lockable hard-bags has been my other must-have upgrade.

I agree that the styling on the 2012 is way better. But I still hate the digital dash. I much prefer traditional dual dial setup. Such a minor nit-pick, and I'd probably still buy a 2012 were I in the market anyway. But yech!

[RocketPunch]

Wow congrats man. I almost got the adventure myself last year, but decided to wait on the Duke instead.

[gregp]

At 52 years old, I must admit that I am pretty excited. This is the first bike that I have ever bought brand new. My wife is excited as well. She liked my old DR650, but the VS looks to be much more comfortable for her.

[RandyO]

So when are you going to get rid of the thing? I'd think you'd get a decent trade-in on a $14,790 motorcycle and you seem to have a lot of problems with your DL1000. Only abvout 30% of DL1000 riders had problems with the stator according to this poll so you've been unlucky to boot.

if I could afford a new bike right now it would be traded, yep, I've had stator issues, but again, that is not the electrical issue I speak, I think that 400w with maybe 175w available for accessories is weak for something that is marketed as an adventure bike

and dontcha think 30% failure is a serious issue remember, some of those 30% including myself have had multiple stator issues

[nhbubba]

FWIW: I installed a voltage indicator after reading about these dreaded electrical short comings. Except when the engine is stopped or at idle, I have never seen it read anything but green.

It is not a Goldwing or anything made by BMW. I would shape your expectations accordingly.

[Chippertheripper]

I'm requesting a pic all kitted out with the bags.

[nhbubba]

It does look way better than my '11. And I really like the look of those cases.

Another good looking set of cases, IMHO, is the Givi Trekker bags..

[gregp]

I'm requesting a pic all kitted out with the bags.

When I get it (next weekend?), I will post it up. I am not on any rush to take delivery at all. The Adventure comes with the 2 aluminum side cases, but I had to buy the additional matching top case. I think that the salesman charged me for the top case, the mounting plate, and hardware, but I read that the Adventure comes with the mounting plate, so we may have to straighten that out yet. I am buying the bike from Allpower, in Granby, MA. It was a very easy purchase. The salesman, Doug, quoted me an internet price, I shopped around, and I walked in and bought it. No pressure at all, but I didn't feel like haggling, and I knew what I wanted, and how much it should cost. I really wanted a 2013 model, but it didn't look like he was going to get on in until May (?)... and he told me that the 2013 Adventure is Grey. They had a Grey DR650 there, and I did not like the color (it looks like shiny primer), so I took the $300 "left-over" discount on the Black 2012.

[gregp]

The one thing that my wife is worried about, is that the top case does not look like it has a back rest pad. The catalog picture did not allow me to see the front of it, but I figure that I can make something up if it is truly uncomfortable for her. I did see a thread on ADVrider that shows how to move the case back 3" pretty easily, if needed.

[gregp]

I also bought the hand guards, and I may still spring for heated grips if they offer them. The OEM skid plate is plastic, so I skipped it. I will get an SW Mototek aluminum skid plate (or whoever makes one). I do *not* intend to off road this bike at all, except maybe for some short dirt roads on the way to our favorite fishing spots.

[Paul_E_D]

Nice! That is not a bad looking bike by any stretch. The first gen on the other hand...

[nhbubba]

I have not seen the need for a plate yet. Not with the mild sans pavement excursions I take.

That said, I've seen posts on stromtroopers where a guy in the Boston area lost his oil filter on I-95 thanks to some crap in the road.

[gregp]

Yes, the OF does stick right out front, down low. I just like the look of a pretty full coverage aluminum skid plate I saw on ADVrider. It covers up the OF and the cooler.

[nhbubba]

Which one are you looking at?

[gregp]

Similar to this one:http://shop.sw-motech.com/cgi-bin/co...typid=88583653