WeeStrom vs. KLR, maybe it's time to upgrade

[TheIglu]

After a 550 mile ride Friday night/yesterday to the very tippity top of NH and back on my ZRX, I have concluded a few things:

-I love my Rex for smooth pavement and twisties, she's not getting sold

-The pavement in this country is not going to get any better any time soon generally speaking. 90% of roads are needing of a complete ground up re-paving, and that's not going to happen any time soon.

-I'm not a horsepower guy, but the KLR doesn't do highway well. I can cruise at 80mph all day, but it feels tired doing so.

-I like good suspension and brakes. KLR leaves a lot to be desired on both of those aspects.

-Hard luggage is a nice add on, along with some wind protection and pillion comfort.

-Long range on a tank of gas is a plus, along with good fuel economy.

So I have been thinking about a WeeStrom for a while now. Something to take the place of my beloved KiLaR. I do about 3-5 miles of dirt and another 5 miles of rough paved roads on my commute every morning. My riding enjoyment increases exponentially on overnight trips where you can start fresh on the good roads (we started on the west end of the Kanc at 7:25 yesterday morning, was having breakfast in North Conway by 8:40). I have soft bags already, but eventually would like hard bags, if not just the tail top bag for the added pillion backrest if I ever go two up.

As far as upgrading the existing KLR, I've done the front suspension upgrade using Intiminators and am fairly happy with the results. But, it's still spindly flexible forks and crappy brakes (yes, have the upgraded SS line and Gafler Greens up front). The rear shock is toast, and the "best" upgrade shock out there is pre-load only adjustable. I have a woods bike for trails, I don't need a dirt oriented street bike for much these days.


Questions for anyone here that has ridden/owned one:

HP? Is it on par with a non-modified SV650 as far as get up and go?

Gearing: is the top gear slab-friendly?

Power output: Can it handle aux lights and a heated jacket?

I know the stock suspension sucks, but you can get an Elka triple adjustable shock and Racetech Emulators for the front. Can't do that with the KLR. And don't say "You can get a Cognent Dynamics MOAB rear shock for the KLR!" because for $700 and NO ADJUSTABILITY, no f'in way.

Do I go ABS model or stick with non-ABS?

Done some reading over at Stormtroopers and ADVrider. It sounds like it is what I'm looking for.

Anyone see a deal on a used WeeStrom (DL650), please keep me in the know.

[SVRACER01]

Wirelessly posted (Instinct: Mozilla/4.1 (U; BREW 3.1.5; en-US; Teleca/Q05A/INT))

Having never ridden the strom version i cant say much other than the motor is fantastic. bulletproof and shouldnt have a prob pulling 2 up.
if the transmission is the same as the sv (i assume it is if not real close) than hi way riding will be a cinch.
i think youll like it.
get one

[Ryno]

My buddy has one and loves it. Only complaint coming off a TLR then Z1000 is he misses having a little extra HP.

[caddydaddy]

My Dad has an '08 WeeStrom and he loves it! He does some off roading, but mostly does road riding with it. He has done SS1000 Iron Butt rides on it, so it's comfortable for long distances.
I've ridden it as well, it's a nice riding position, the power is good, but not impressive.

[breakdirt916]

cool..interesting bike transition...give me 10 years and I'll resurge this thread in the same position

I'm no expert in adventure rides, but power always kicks ass. Why not a liter bike?

[caddydaddy]

I'm no expert in adventure rides, but power always kicks ass. Why not a liter bike?

Yes, good point! Speaking of powerful liter adventure style bikes...what about the Triumph Tiger 1050? It should be on your short list of bikes to consider!

[mikeb]

thanks you just talked me out of a klr

[TheIglu]

KLR is a great bike, but I want something more setup for street touring. KLR is a bike that does everything, though nothing well. I love mine, just thinking of getting something more tuned to my typical riding.

[TheIglu]

Yes, good point! Speaking of powerful liter adventure style bikes...what about the Triumph Tiger 1050? It should be on your short list of bikes to consider!

I already have a 1.2 liter bike. I don't need 100hp in a adventure touring bike, nor do I need the extra weight and fuel consumption.

I think 65hp is more than enough for most any enjoyable sport street ride.

If that new Honda NT700 had a little more in the suspension/brakes department and a little less in the plastic department, I'd consider that too.

[Chippertheripper]

Mike b, ktm 640 adv.

Clayton, I have no experience with the strom, but if you can find a cheap farkled tiger (I'm sure it won't be as cheap as a wee) go for it. It'll still need suspension gizmos though.

[markbvt]

I've owned a Wee-Strom since April '08. Got it brand new. It now has almost 32,000 miles on it. So yeah, it's a good bike.

The engine is detuned compared to the SV (it's not actually the same engine -- minor differences, such as the SV having iron-lined cylinders while the DL has Nikasil-lined ones), but it's still got plenty of power for comfortable highway cruising. Also, I think it's geared a little taller than the SV. When my friend Keith (SV650N on here) and I were touring last month, he seemed to always be revving higher on the highway than I was.

Stock suspension isn't great, but it's tolerable. The fork benefits quite a bit from new springs and oil. You can also add Intiminators -- the word on ADVrider and Stromtrooper is that they're not that noticeable on pavement, but they make a huge difference on dirt. There are plenty of options for rear shocks -- Wilbers are popular with the Strom crowd, and Ricor has one out now that uses the same inertia valve technology as their Intiminators.

Plenty of luggage options and assorted farkles out there for the Strom, including protection for off-pavement riding.

The alternator isn't super-powerful, but it'll power heated grips, a heated vest, and a GPS without issue -- you wouldn't want to run all those and auxiliary lights simultaneously though. The '08+ Stroms, by the way, output 20 watts or so more than the older ones. (For lights I'd strongly recommend the Denali LED ones that Twisted Throttle sells -- those fuckers are bright and they suck down a lot less power than traditional ones.)

And finally, if you get tired of all the bodywork on the front of the Strom, you can go the Thin-Strom route (do a search in the Beasts forum on ADVrider).

--mark

[BLACK SQUIRREL]

http://boston.craigslist.org/gbs/mcy/1814899333.html

[markbvt]

Two things:

First, the popular wisdom among V-Strom owners is that the 650 is a significantly better-handling bike than the 1000. For what it's worth.

Second, I stripped the bodywork off mine yesterday (been meaning to do it for quite some time) and rigged up dual 4" headlights. I'm not sure yet what final form everything will take, and even if I stick with this configuration, there's a bunch of other work still to do, but here's what it looks like for now.


--mark

[TheIglu]

I've already ruled out the 1000 for a variety of reasons, 650 it is.

I have those same dual headlights on my Rex! That looks nice, similar to a GS but half the price.

[TheIglu]

I have Intiminators in my KLR. While they do improve off-road compliancy, I don't feel they do much for pavement duty.

Are there any fork swaps with a GSXR or something that WeeStrom guys could do? I want full adjustability. Willing to give up the 19" front wheel is there is no other way.

[SVRACER01]

650 will probably wheelie unlike the KLR

[TheIglu]

650 will probably wheelie unlike the KLR

It does when you bounce the front end enough!

[whynot]

Sell everything, get a Multistrada 1200.

[TheIglu]

Sell everything, get a Multistrada 1200.

Already had a Ducati once, no thanks.

[tonyd]

From what I am reading above you are on the right path and will be happier on the strom than the KLR. I have owned both and enjoyed both.

You may want to also consider a Kawasaki Versys 650 if you see one for sale. This is what I currently own and have noticed the following vs. the wee.

Engine - Power is similar. Kawi parrallel twin seems smoother than wee(v)-twin. Kawi gearing seams lower on bottom and about same on highway.

Suspension - kawi front end is much better than wee and adjustable, rear seems similar but I have not played much with kawi settings

Wheels/tires- Kawi has 17" on both ends with sportier rubber stock. IMO this provides much better performance on pavement vs wee. You will only miss larger front on the worst dirt roads.

Both have tall seats but not an issue if you are used to a KLR. Stock wee seat is better than kawi comfort wise. Kawi feels narrower between legs and lighter to me even though I think they are about the same lbs.

Kawi has under bike exhaust, leaves you more luggage options. I have givi hard cases on mine and wish I tried these years ago because they work MUCH better than any soft luggage I have tried. No center stand available for kawi.

Wee seems to have more farkles available.
Not many Versys's out there.
Wee feels more adventure-tour, kawi feels more Motard-tour, maybe it's just me though

I ran heated grips, vest, and gloves on wee with no issues.

Both machines have issues with wind buffeting. I do not know anyone happy with stock wee screen. You may find a happy place with kawi stocker, I am still experimenting, but most do not.

Both are great bikes and you will be happy with either one.

If you are ever in the White River Jct, VT area let me know and you can try the Versys.

[RandyO]

I've already ruled out the 1000 for a variety of reasons, 650 it is.

I have those same dual headlights on my Rex! That looks nice, similar to a GS but half the price.

the Wee, like the KLR can keep up highway all day long, and like the KLR, you have to keep it wound up

while the Wee's are reported to get 50-60 mpg off the highway, its also reported that steady 80mph will drop fuel economy into the mid-upper 30s

my big Vee gets around 44, consistently, highway or not

I think also thare are a better variety of tires available for the KLR

[markbvt]

I have Intiminators in my KLR. While they do improve off-road compliancy, I don't feel they do much for pavement duty.

Are there any fork swaps with a GSXR or something that WeeStrom guys could do? I want full adjustability. Willing to give up the 19" front wheel is there is no other way.

A sportbike fork swap wouldn't work too well on a Strom. It would drop the front end way down, and you'd lose quite a bit of suspension travel. Also, there are no decent dual-sport tire options for a 17" front wheel unless you mount a rear tire in front.

You could get a set of DL1000 forks (they're cartridge forks as opposed to the 650's damper rod forks), which would be a direct swap. If you do a bit of searching on ADVrider and other forums, you'll find some people who've swapped their Strom's front end with KTM, Honda XR400, Husaberg, and other dirt bike front ends.

But most people just do drop-in upgrades to the stock forks, because they're really not that bad.

--mark

[markbvt]

while the Wee's are reported to get 50-60 mpg off the highway, its also reported that steady 80mph will drop fuel economy into the mid-upper 30s

Depends on additional factors, such as how much luggage you're carrying, what shape it is, and how it's positioned, and also what sort of windscreen you've got. With soft bags and a Givi windscreen, I'd say I get more like lower 40s on the highway. On long back-road rides through the countryside, I get about 55mpg with the Givi screen, and got about 58 with the stock screen.

So I guess the important question here is, how much highway riding do you do? Personally I dislike slab and prefer to ride secondary roads unless the biggest factor for the day is the need to make good time over a long distance (not a very common occurrence). I never ride hundreds of miles of slab at a time. So the 650 makes the most sense for me.

For people who need to cover lots of distance on highways, I agree, the DL1000 would make more sense.

--mark

[tonyd]

I have never seen the 50-60mph numbers on any of my bikes.
40-45 is best I've done on Wee or Versys.

[markbvt]

40-45 is best I've done on Wee or Versys.

That's unusually low. I get in the 50s on my Wee because I'm a big guy (6'4"/260). I've got two friends with Wee-Stroms who've both gotten upwards of 60mpg. Lots of people on ADVrider and Stromtrooper report the same.

--mark