Going from a 750cc inline 4 to a 650 V twin (V strom) questions...

J

jc100

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OK..so I'm at the point where I'm seriously looking at changing bikes again. I have a 750cc Z750S which I love, but with the condition of the roads around here and also the abundance of gravel roads and firetrails around where I am, I'm looking at something with more suspension travel and a cushier ride and ability to do some basic offroading in addition to mostly on-road touring. I'm not interested in a cruiser, more the sport touring/touring type.

There's some great deals on wee-stroms right now, I'm looking at a brand new 2011 (just the bike) or a used fully loaded (bags, bars, screen etc) 2010 ABS version of the wee strom, or maybe if I can stretch to it, the adventure packaged 2012 version (which I prefer).

My big question is this....what, if anything am I going to miss going from my 750cc bike to the wee-strom. What am I going to gain? With what I describe above is this a good decision? My budget is the 10-11k max range. Preferably below, two of the bikes listed above are below that range, the 2012 new bike is at the top.

Thanks in advance
 
keep the 750 and buy a used adv/touring bike, this one is for sale at dualsport plus in stoney creek, asking 3250..

IMG_0021.jpg
 
I would love to have two bikes but I can't afford the two sets of insurance. I want to use the 750 as a trade in to get approx 3-3.5k off the price of a new or nearly new bike.

If I could swing it Id definitely have two.
 
maybe you can. I will have 2 bikes this season because my dualsport will only cost an additional $35 per month
 
The V doesn't build up power like an inline, instead of a linear uuumph it's a ball of grunt down low that weens off higher the powerband. Arguably more useful/fun for the type of riding you plan on doing.

I love the V strom and on numerous occasions have come very close to buying one, but the experience will be very different compared to the Z.. it's hard to compare.

Are you planning on doing much touring? If so, the Vstrom will suit you well. If not, you may want to get something more dual sportish and get a lil dirtier.
 
Basically every few days I ride from Kingston to Ottawa during the summer, when I'm not doing that I'm exploring around Quebec/Ottawa or this year I'm planning to spend more time in the US when based near Kingston. I take the long way round and don't mind the distance, I like exploring. I've come aross quite a few roads that end in dirt this way. I like throwing the Z around on paved twisty roads but on the gravel I ride it like a pensioner. I'd rather have the best of both worlds, the V seems to fit that bill. I like the power of the Z, love the ease of passing on the highway and the grunt it has at all revs. I'm not a speed demon, I'll cruise at 120 on highways. The Z does not have a good seat though and I'm still tinkering with the suspension to get it just right. I like the ergonomics of the Z with the semi-upright seating position.
 
It is cheaper than you think, I pay just over 1200 per year for the bandit and klr....with respect to the diff, one cartel summed it up for you..

..if you want something for mostly dirt/trails, I would suggest something in the 400/450 size....heavy sucks in the mud/dirt/trees/creeks...and the 650 stuff is kinda heavy...least it feels that way when you pick them up.

I rode across Europe on an R45, which is kinda like the Wee Strom, just smaller, two up for 2 months, up goat trails in Greece and across the beaches in Ireland, as well as the autobahn etc. (left the 4 ways on as I could only get up to 130 kph!). You can go most anywhere on most bikes, just maybe a little slower than you would like.
 
Personally, I went from a Ninja 250R, to Ninja 650R, to V-Strom DL650 2005 model. I love it, to me it's overall a much more comfortable bike for longer trips/touring than the Ninjas were. But as mentioned above, it's not the most ideal for dirt/mud etc, as it's a heavy beast there and maybe a little difficult to control. I've read that the DL1000's, with their extra ~50lbs, are more top-heavy and definitely not good for offroading -- but take a look on YouTube, there are quite a few videos of people taking the Wee/Vee offroading successfully... and some not so much... (my own first/only real attempt so far was... less than favorable. hehe.)

I found acceleration a bit better on the Ninja 650R vs the Wee, but to me the Wee feels more "grounded"; it was probably partly the stock tires and my own cockiness during some rides, but I had a few too many times where the Ninja's back-end felt a bit too "loose" in the turns, and even when braking. I've never had an issue yet with the Wee, even when emergency braking, it's always served me well. Had to hit the brakes pretty hard the other day when some idiot decided to slam his brakes, on a road where we had right of way, to allow a big-rig that had a stop sign to go first. Had parttimer on the back, and while I usually worry about emergency-braking while 2-up, the Wee took it no problem.

All that said, I haven't had a lot of chances to really try the Wee out on dirt/gravel roads, as I only picked it up in November and haven't really wanted to push myself on cold, loose roads. Will find out more about how *that* works this season. :D
 
The Wee is completely at home on broken pavement and gravel roads. Firetrails or dirt had better be dry and hardpacked though; it really is a street bike and not a dual sport, at least with the 90/10 sort of tires that most people put on it. Some more aggressive knobby tires would help a lot in the dirt if you're really determined.

That said, it is a fantastic commuting and light touring machine. It's physically quite large, so there is tons of legroom. Power-wise, I love the engine since you don't have to rev it out to 10k to make power and wake up the entire countryside. Stick a topcase on it and cops won't even blink if you happen blow through a speed trap. You're clearly too responsible to be one of those sportbike maniacs...
 
Yeah I concur - VStrom not a forest trail bike at all but a decent tourer.
- even the KLR650 I'm riding here in Australia is marginal for rougher stuff - not a chance I could horse a Vstrom where I've been riding and those ARE the nicest trails to ride...period.

I'd keep the 750 ( sweet machine ) and pick up a KLR650 - they are cheap, bullet proof and decent off road and on. Get some 50/50 tires and go have fun.

Go chat at ADVRider.

The most interesting off road rides are those with some risk of falling as they are forest tracks- do you really want to dump a 500 lb V-strom?
and then pick it up yourself?
Klr - just pick it up and ride ...no harm done and with the same model for some 20+ years there are tons of decent add-ons.
With 50/50 tires and stock gearing - you can cruise at 80-100k ( for the sake of the tires ) and still tractor through a stream.

For twisties and touring with the occasional well maintained gravel road then maybe the VStrom works....but if you want to both light tour and adventure bike into the boonies - I'd not do the V-strom.
 
Don't get me wrong, I'm not kidding myself here. 90% + of my time will be on paved roads and the rest will be non paved gravel or pretty flat packed dirt tracks, nothing too gnarly, no tree root or boulder strewn stuff. I'm also tending towards something that can just feel a little more at home on the potholed crappy streets I'm finding locally too. Something I can stand on the pegs a bit more with.
 
Might be okay then and if you decide to tackle The James Bay Road you are in.

BTW how tall are you ? My riding partner "struggled" with his - he's strong but height challenged.
I'm 5.9 /5 10 with boots and have to be careful with the KLR tho I do provide good "sag" once on it :D
Still getting aboard is a bear at times and at certain angles when parked - especially trying to stop on a forest track. Not very elegant boarding procedure

The VStrom with more weight might be an issue but might not be as tall as the KLR.
Jay eventually got his lowered enough ....which sort of takes away from the dual sport aspect and stopped carrying so much stuff ;)

The headache may be that once you get a taste of the "good stuff" in the narrow and more remote tracks you want more and gravel gets boring - you have to pay attention all the time so takes away from the sight seeing.

We did the James Bay run at ahem rather brisk at times speeds and the suspension on the VStrom was just a marvel - I thumped and banged around sweepers with bumps - the Burgman was always stable but hit bottom a few times at high speed and could see buddy ahead just floating over the same stuff.

Of course that's what makes them hard to get on - that long travel.

If you are height challenged I was impressed with the 650gs BMW I saw at the show for $8999. Lower seat, low centre of gravity and a I suspect superb suspension.

If I ever go dual sport in Canada that would be high on my list.

bmw-g-650-gs-left-front.jpg


Low weight, low seat height, more sophisticated than the KLR but indeed you COULD do more off road with this than the VStrom I think.
It's almost 30kg lighter.

review here
http://www.webbikeworld.com/BMW-motorcycles/bmw-g-650-gs/

and a comparison here with the KLR
http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/roadtests/122_0905_bmw_g650gs_vs_kawasaki_klr650/viewall.html
 
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I'm 5,10. Not too worried about seat height as it will definitely sag when my 200 lb frame is on it. There is a lowered seat available from Suzuki for the wee strom, I tried it, it was a little low for me.
 
The BMW looks nice but I'd have a job getting a good priced one here. I was reading reviews last night and the 2012 v strom is a pretty good upgrade over previous years it seems.
 
I'm 5'10'' and I put the DL1000 seat on mine (1 inch higher than the stock DL650 seat, if I recall correctly). I can still easily get both feet down, although not flatfooted.

I've only ever sat on a KLR in a showroom, but I found it a lot higher to mount. But the suspension sagged a lot more, so once I was on it had a similar height to the VStrom
 
Versys? Ninja 650 engine with more low end torque. Comes in a 1000 cc now too.
 
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