Bike with Less Character | GTAMotorcycle.com

Bike with Less Character

sburns

sburns

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Well the cat it out of the bag, some of you know I picked up a new ride!

Here it is, a 2023 Suzuki vStrom Adventure XT
new bike.jpg

So as you know my Harley was giving me a bunch of problems over the past year or so. After the last day trip break down, decision was made to find something else, with umm less character, I could just ride without issues. I was looking at some used bikes. But I wasn't sure if I wanted to deal with someone else's problems again.

The short list only included 2 bikes. vStrom or a African Twin. I went with the vStrom for a couple of reasons, long history, less expensive and could be a good start into the ADV world. I can see myself on a AT some day though.

I basically randomly visited 2 dealers to get a feel of the market and what was available. The second dealer called me back within an hour and found the exact model I wanted, deal was done.

I've had the bike a few weeks. Feels a bit like learning again as it's much different then the HD.

Still some stuff to get use to and I need to complete the break in before I really can fully experience the ride.

Likes:
- Doesn't shake!
- Quiet, so dam quiet
- cheaper on insurance
- regular gas!!
- better fuel range
- light!
- does well in gravel with stock tires
- good front brakes
- clutch is good!
- dash with gear indicator

Still getting use to
- gearing is very short - 6th is 80+
- shifting with little lever and big feet!
- rear brake is kinda weak
- needs more wind protection, didn't realize how good I had it with full batwing.

The bike does come with side cases but they are on back order, they should show up soon. Would make things easier for longer rides as I can't even carry anything with me like water or 2nd pair of glasses.

I still have my Harley and plan to rebuild the top end and see if that fixes my problem. It has about 150k on it, I think I did alright with it.

So far so good, hopefully I will have a lot of trouble free miles ahead!
(y)
 
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Welcome to the world of (mostly on road) ADV riding.
I'm in the same club.

*Love those gold rims!!!
 
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Nice! Congratulations!

You can't go wrong with a Strom. 1 out of 2 GTAMers recommend it.

Try adjusting your rear brake pedal a bit higher and see if that makes it feel a bit stronger. Coming from a cruiser/different seating position, you might not be used to where in the travel the rear brake starts engaging.
 
Lightcycle said:
Nice! Congratulations!

You can't go wrong with a Strom. 1 out of 2 GTAMers recommend it.

Try adjusting your rear brake pedal a bit higher and see if that makes it feel a bit stronger. Coming from a cruiser/different seating position, you might not be used to where in the travel the rear brake starts engaging.
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Lol.. thanks!

Good tip! Yeah I was thinking I can adjust the shift linkage for the rear brake to give it a bit more force early on. Also a big foot problem as the levers are tiny for my feet!
 
sburns said:
Also a big foot problem as the levers are tiny for my feet!
Click to expand...

Maybe something like this:

www.gpbikes.com

SW Motech Extension for Brake Pedal, Black. Suzuki V-Strom 1050 (2020-2021)

SW Motech Extension for Brake Pedal, Black. Suzuki V-Strom 1050 (2020-2021) #html-body [data-pb-style=LUTF6EX]{justify-content:flex-start;display:flex;flex-direction:column;background-position:left top;background-size:cover;background-repeat:no-repeat;bac
www.gpbikes.com www.gpbikes.com

Might be something cheaper on Ali.
 
Beautiful color!

The shift lever can be adjusted higher to help get your big fat toes underneath it.

The rear brake is intentionally soft, as front braking can lift the rear tire completely. It might also need a brake fluid flush to fix a soft pedal that was caused by boiling ("brake fade").

You might already know about these things but I thought I'd share.

Have fun out there!



Sent from my Pixel 6 using Tapatalk
 
sburns said:
Well the cat it out of the bag, some of you know I picked up a new ride!

Here it is, a 2023 Suzuki vStrom Adventure XT
View attachment 62615

So as you know my Harley was giving me a bunch of problems over the past year or so. After the last day trip break down, decision was made to find something else, with umm less character, I could just ride without issues. I was looking at some used bikes. But I wasn't sure if I wanted to deal with someone else's problems again.

The short list only included 2 bikes. vStrom or a African Twin. I went with the vStrom for a couple of reasons, long history, less expensive and could be a good start into the ADV world. I can see myself on a AF some day though.

I basically randomly visited 2 dealers to get a feel of the market and what was available. The second dealer called me back within an hour and found the exact model I wanted, deal was done.

I've had the bike a few weeks. Feels a bit like learning again as it's much different then the HD.

Still some stuff to get use to and I need to complete the break in before I really can fully experience the ride.

Likes:
- Doesn't shake!
- Quiet, so dam quiet
- cheaper on insurance
- regular gas!!
- better fuel range
- light!
- does well in gravel with stock tires
- good front brakes
- clutch is good!
- dash with gear indicator

Still getting use to
- gearing is very short - 6th is 80+
- shifting with little lever and big feet!
- rear brake is kinda weak
- needs more wind protection, didn't realize how good I had it with full batwing.

The bike does come with side cases but they are on back order, they should show up soon. Would make things easier for longer rides as I can't even carry anything with me like water or 2nd pair of glasses.

I still have my Harley and plan to rebuild the top end and see if that fixes my problem. It has about 150k on it, I think I did alright with it.

So far so good, hopefully I will have a lot of trouble free miles ahead!
(y)
Click to expand...
I think I saw you riding today.. Westbound on Kingston near Brimley? Around 1:45pm. I was in the cage heading East.
 
Congratulations, excellent choice.

Character?

It's bright yellow, ready and eager to be tons o' fun to ride (almost) anywhere for long rides and has a profile that sort of reminds me of Woody Woodpecker (the older models moreso).

IDK, that seems like plenty of character.
 
N234 said:
Beautiful color!

The shift lever can be adjusted higher to help get your big fat toes underneath it.

The rear brake is intentionally soft, as front braking can lift the rear tire completely. It might also need a brake fluid flush to fix a soft pedal that was caused by boiling ("brake fade").

You might already know about these things but I thought I'd share.

Have fun out there!



Sent from my Pixel 6 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Thanks, and for sharing the info on parts. I'm very acustom to HD parts and all that so this helps!
 
Chameleon said:
I think I saw you riding today.. Westbound on Kingston near Brimley? Around 1:45pm. I was in the cage heading East.
Click to expand...
Sounds about the time I was heading towards the photo tag :) I did take Kingston rd.
 
Funny how everything is relative. 'Light' is not a word I'd use to describe mine, but I've also never ridden a Harley.

Be aware that the quest for more wind protection can backfire with increased buffeting and noise. Turbulence is common on many bikes with the screen that far forward. If you do end up with buffeting, try a shorter screen (or none at all) to get clean undisturbed air around your head. And if you find it noisy, try removing the mirrors as an experiment. I'm not sure about the current bikes, but the stock mirrors on the 1st gen bikes added a surprising amount of wind noise.
 
Nice bike, enjoy.

If I were you I'd join a V Strom specific forum to search out accessories and modifications. There's probably a wealth of info out there.
 
Awesome looking bike! Congrats! I'm thinking that's the route I'll go once the Scrambler gets boring.

I'm surprised I could sit on yours without too much issue! Which always worried me about the Strom. But I'd probably get the lower seat.
 
sburns said:
Well the cat it out of the bag, some of you know I picked up a new ride!

Here it is, a 2023 Suzuki vStrom Adventure XT
View attachment 62615

So as you know my Harley was giving me a bunch of problems over the past year or so. After the last day trip break down, decision was made to find something else, with umm less character, I could just ride without issues. I was looking at some used bikes. But I wasn't sure if I wanted to deal with someone else's problems again.

The short list only included 2 bikes. vStrom or a African Twin. I went with the vStrom for a couple of reasons, long history, less expensive and could be a good start into the ADV world. I can see myself on a AF some day though.

I basically randomly visited 2 dealers to get a feel of the market and what was available. The second dealer called me back within an hour and found the exact model I wanted, deal was done.

I've had the bike a few weeks. Feels a bit like learning again as it's much different then the HD.

Still some stuff to get use to and I need to complete the break in before I really can fully experience the ride.

Likes:
- Doesn't shake!
- Quiet, so dam quiet
- cheaper on insurance
- regular gas!!
- better fuel range
- light!
- does well in gravel with stock tires
- good front brakes
- clutch is good!
- dash with gear indicator

Still getting use to
- gearing is very short - 6th is 80+
- shifting with little lever and big feet!
- rear brake is kinda weak
- needs more wind protection, didn't realize how good I had it with full batwing.

The bike does come with side cases but they are on back order, they should show up soon. Would make things easier for longer rides as I can't even carry anything with me like water or 2nd pair of glasses.

I still have my Harley and plan to rebuild the top end and see if that fixes my problem. It has about 150k on it, I think I did alright with it.

So far so good, hopefully I will have a lot of trouble free miles ahead!
(y)
Click to expand...
I knew this day would come:)

I'm not sure where the redline is on that model, but generally speaking those bikes like to have the engines wrung out. I woud often ride at 120km/hr in the twisties in 5th gear to be in the sweet spot of powerband and have better access to power to accelerate or engine braking on corner approach without needing the brakes. I don't think I ever touched 6th gear in the twisties and I just used the 6th gear for riding on the highway or to save gas..

You aren't sitting on that bike the way you were sitting on the Harley, so you don't need as powerful a rear brake. On that upright bike, the front is doing ~80% of your braking on pavement. Save the rear brake for slow speed stuff and modulating some brake when you just want a touch.

And congrats!!
 
ReSTored said:
If I were you I'd join a V Strom specific forum to search out accessories and modifications. There's probably a wealth of info out there.
Click to expand...

He's already on it. GTAM is it.

Half the people who post on here own V-Stroms... Probably more than half if you account for ex-owners. (raises hand)

I assume @sburns is also on here: StromTrooper
 
The really nice thing is you have accessories available to make it an absolutely perfect fit for you. Screens, pegs, seats and on and on and on.

I'm looking forward to your ride reports that begin, "I don't know how I ended up here but...."
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