Looking to get vstrom 650 | GTAMotorcycle.com

Looking to get vstrom 650

H

Hancop

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New rider, looking to get a vstrom 650. Was thinking of getting the regular version 650a vs the 650xa (with spoked wheels, hand guards and plastic bash plate). Would rather have barkbuster hand guards that will protect everything, and a metal bash plate and don’t think I need the spoke wheels. Therefore I think the 650a is the better buy as can get for $1000 less and that is enough to buy the bark busters and metal bash plate.

Think this is a good idea ?

Also wondering if the 2021 650’s will,get some of the changes the 1050 got for 2020.

thanks

peter
 
Check insurance first. Idea seems reasonable.
 
hard to say what your riding interests may evolve into
if you get tired of pavement and want to venture into the bush
in the future, who knows?

was just reading about the ADV styled DL650
has things called Spoke Styled Wheels
aluminum hoops with spokes

maybe I'm mistaken but that negates the major advantage of spoked wheels:
a steel rim that can take a bashing from hitting a rock and spring back to shape
or you can use a rock onsite and smash it back to shape, air up the tire and go

an aluminum hoop doesn't seem to offer any advantage over a cast wheel
GTAM dudes, am I wrong on this?

if it were me, I'd buy the regular Vstrom and spend the grand on luggage

DL650 had a major update in '17
would guess it's awhile until it sees significant changes
 
Hancop said:
New rider, looking to get a vstrom 650. Was thinking of getting the regular version 650a vs the 650xa (with spoked wheels, hand guards and plastic bash plate). Would rather have barkbuster hand guards that will protect everything, and a metal bash plate and don’t think I need the spoke wheels. Therefore I think the 650a is the better buy as can get for $1000 less and that is enough to buy the bark busters and metal bash plate.

Think this is a good idea ?

Also wondering if the 2021 650’s will,get some of the changes the 1050 got for 2020.

thanks

peter
Click to expand...
I agree that the barkbusters are better as well as a metal bashplate. The last time I dropped my bike the barkbusters took the hit with no issue - plastic OEM handguards would have been toast. The plastic bash plate won't do much if you are looking for it to protect anything. It's probably around the same cost to get something aftermarket that is metal and better protects the bike.

If you are mostly riding on the street, I would also agree you don't need the spoked wheels. I have taken my DL650's with the cast wheels into some pretty fun rocky and dirt roads with no issue.

J_F is right - $1k is better spent on luggage or other things.
 
I have enjoyed my 2006 DL-650 since 2006. It has carried me to ten provinces and to 41 states,
and it has just over 90,000 miles (with an M) on its odometer. It has been commendably reliable,
and I like it a lot. Mods: 17-tooth front sprocket in place of stock 15-tooth, so my highway RPMs
are reduced. It's as if I have that seventh gear that I had been trying to shift into. This mod is OK
for me, but lots of riders won't want it. Apart from that, the bike is stock, although various cargo
carriers have been fitted to the luggage rack over the years.

I recommend the V-Strom, whatever flavour suits you best, to riders who like touring
and don't mind a bit of gravel under their tires.

Salos Dafee
 
to those that have ridden them both, how is the 1000?
 
bigpoppa said:
to those that have ridden them both, how is the 1000?
Click to expand...
Best person to answer that is V-Tom since he’s had two of the 650’s and one 1000 and now a 1050. There’s another guy who lives near me (Rick123) but isn’t on this forum very much - he’s on his 7th or 8th Strom across all the various models and displacements, except for the 1050.
 
J_F said:
an aluminum hoop doesn't seem to offer any advantage over a cast wheel
GTAM dudes, am I wrong on this?
Click to expand...
Spoked rims on all modern advs are aluminum hooped. There are some advantages to spoked wheels, I doubt many Vstrom riders take their bikes to the limits of cast wheels, so let’s say the main advantage is style.

Spokes offer some flex on impact, cast crack. If you damage a steel spoke you can replace it, break a cas spoke and you need a new wheel. On a spoked wheel you can replace a damaged hoop.
 
Mad Mike said:
Spoked rims on all modern advs are aluminum hooped. There are some advantages to spoked wheels, I doubt many Vstrom riders take their bikes to the limits of cast wheels, so let’s say the main advantage is style.

Spokes offer some flex on impact, cast crack. If you damage a steel spoke you can replace it, break a cas spoke and you need a new wheel. On a spoked wheel you can replace a damaged hoop.
Click to expand...
I was going to say all modern spoked wheels are aluminum my dirt bike wheels certainly are and take a bearing.

Sent from my moto g(8) plus using Tapatalk
 
J_F said:
an aluminum hoop doesn't seem to offer any advantage over a cast wheel
GTAM dudes, am I wrong on this?
Click to expand...




Mad Mike said:
Spoked rims on all modern advs are aluminum hooped. There are some advantages to spoked wheels, I doubt many Vstrom riders take their bikes to the limits of cast wheels, so let’s say the main advantage is style.

Spokes offer some flex on impact, cast crack. If you damage a steel spoke you can replace it, break a cas spoke and you need a new wheel. On a spoked wheel you can replace a damaged hoop.
Click to expand...

glad I asked the question
checked my bike with a magnet
no stickie to the hoops

I was wrong
again
 
Yes will be my first street bike, but have had a beta 390 enduro for the last 3 years that is blue plated and ride mostly in woods and gravel roads but also about 20 percent on paved roads
 
also, are you a cop?(asking for a friend)
 
I had a 650 and really enjoted it, I have ridden the 1000, I'd say 97% of the time the 650 was just fine. I would have a couple times enjoyed the extra juice of the 1000 on a very long highway drive, but I solved that by not taking stupid long pavement rides

Its a very nice bike, huge loyal following and not much bad to say from any owners I've talked with.
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