Total Motorcycle Community Forums

Hey Mike! You're slackin'!!! How's the new bike treating you? Loving it? Hating it? Somewhere in the middle?
BTW, I've heard the torque is amazing on them, true?
Wrider

Wrider, your right. Time for an update!

It's almost been 1 week since I picked up the bike and I'm really enjoying it.

I can't find a fault to the engine so far, it is definately one of the bike's strongest points. I do indeed find the torque amazing for a 650, you just have to try one out, you'd think it was a 1000cc. You can acelerate very quickly in any gear even when your lugging it in 4th at 30km/h at 3,000rpm. With WOT you can get upto 100km/h in a couple of seconds and it pulls hard. Blows my mind and I've rode a few bikes in my day to compaire that to.

The second strong point is the gas milage, 400+ kilometers on a tank of gas, that's pretty amazing (22L tank). You can travel for 100km and the first gas light bars goes out (out of 5). I haven't actually recorded gas milage but it's definately in the 50's MPG.

For me, a weak point is the stock DL650 seat. I'm tall (6'4") with a longer inseam (34") so I move back more than the typical rider and even though I can move back on the bike, I'm at the top of the U shaped seat which isn't comfortable at all. I'm already looking at replacing the seat out of necessity to ride far on the bike. Disapointed.

Brakes are great up front, just "ok" in the rear. The front brakes really stop the bike hard, great feeling and no issues at all. The rear doesn't offer much feel or stopping power. I wondered if it worked at all and stomped on it to see if I could lock up the rear, it does, but with great force on my part. Have to take a look at what I can do to improve them. Rear drum's on the Seca were better than the rear disc on the Vstrom.

Nothing wrong with the suspension, very comfortable and very easy to adjust pre-load. I've never used a bike before that's so quick and easy to adjust!

Handlebars are wide, and took a few days to get used to over the sportier and shorter ones from my Seca. Still feels like it's a rig's wheel but it turns really well and I'm happy with that. I'd still like them a little shorter but hey, they are meant to be wide.

Vibration... What vibration! Least vibration in a motorcycle I've rode, even at high revs the vibration remains constant (a low frequency pulse that is there but not noticeable).

Headlights. Big, bright, bold and...ummm.. not so beautiful, but they work wonders. I can light up the road and signs for miles. Even has a "passing toggle switch" to let other drivers know I'm coming! haha.

Riding position. Honestly the most comfortable 650 bike I've tried even though the seat is an issue for me the riding position it fits well. Feels like your on a Goldwing or BMW tourer with 1/2 the weight.

Maintenance: Oil changes -- With a spin on canister filter they are a snap, easy, quick and no messy to do... Ok, I'm fibbing, the oil bolt makes a mess on your hands when you remove it as it's straight up and to unscrew it your hands are directly in the way of the falling oil. But the spin on filter, nice!

Transmission. Slick shifting, no false neutrals so far. The shift lever really isn't long enough for BIG feet (like size 14 boots), Suzuki really should make a tad longer one (1" more). Might have to buy a shift lever and get them to graft it on the end to make it longer.

Tires. No complaints so far. I've read the tires are not good, but then again, I'm used to even cheaper tires and can handle the oddities of crappy tires. That being said, these tires are good. No slipage. They do feel grippy so I don't expect a lot of miles out of them.

Value. Suzuki gets it's biggest points here. I can't believe Suzuki can offer such a great all-a-round, do-it-all bike with such a great engine and comfy riding position for so..ummm... cheap! They are like hotdogs, get em while they last!

Mike

Upgrades: Looking at the Suzuki Gel Seat. It's just 1/2 the price of a Corbin or Sargent but is almost as comfortable (I've read). So that's good value. Again, I'm thinking that part prices from Suzuki are like the bike prices, 1/2 what you expect them to cost.

So other than the rear brake your main complaints are because you're a freakishly large gentleman?

If you find anyway to improve the rear brake let me know. I've been thinking about a better setup myself. It'll still stop on a dime, but why not faster... eh? (couldn't help myself)

I do find that it's easier to drag the rear brake and maintain a snails pace in traffic. The lightness makes it so easy... but I could probably do almost as good with a better one as well.


Anyway- I'm glad you're enjoying it! The great part about the price is that when you buy all the accessories for it that you want, you still spent less than you'd have imagined! Once I add the GPS, I'm done!


Ok... well maybe I want the scott oiler, steering dampner, side luggage... what the hell else is there... sidecar, bike garage, a second vstrom so I can make a naked streetfighter version

storysunfolding wrote:So other than the rear brake your main complaints are because you're a freakishly large gentleman?

If you find anyway to improve the rear brake let me know. I've been thinking about a better setup myself. It'll still stop on a dime, but why not faster... eh? (couldn't help myself)

I do find that it's easier to drag the rear brake and maintain a snails pace in traffic. The lightness makes it so easy... but I could probably do almost as good with a better one as well.


Anyway- I'm glad you're enjoying it! The great part about the price is that when you buy all the accessories for it that you want, you still spent less than you'd have imagined! Once I add the GPS, I'm done!


Ok... well maybe I want the scott oiler, steering dampner, side luggage... what the hell else is there... sidecar, bike garage, a second vstrom so I can make a naked streetfighter version

LOL, yes, the V-Strom DL650 is an impressive over all bike and you nailed it, the only complaints I had was because I'm a tall rider. But with seats, every butt is made for a different seat, some don't have any issue at all with the stock seat (some riders have done the Iron Butt on stockers). For me, it's bad as I ride on that U part and then constantly slip forward, move myself back and end up getting it either in the tail or crotch at every light.

I'd also suggest Suzuki throw in a centre stand into the base price. They make them for the Vstrom as an accessory and even if they raised the price by $100, I'm sure it would be find with the majority of riders. Chain bike without a centre stand...humm.

I'll see what I can do about the read brake, maybe a set of stainless steel brake lines would do the trick, different pads or just adjusting the rear brake level a bit...

Your right about the accessories! There are SO many available and for not a lot of dough either.

Mike

Soon to be reviewed by Total Motorcycle, the new Metzeler ROADTEC Z6 for the Vstrom 650 and 1000.

I'm pleased to announce that Metzeler North America will be sending TMW a set of Metzeler ROADTEC Z6 tires for the Vstrom to review. The Metzeler ROADTEC Z6 tires were introduced recently as a pure street sport tire option. Currently there are very few street sport tires available for the Vstrom and I'm glad to see Metzeler taking the lead by offering this high end product for Vstrom and other dual sport owners.





Metzeler ROADTEC Z6
http://www.us.metzelermoto.com/en_85/ti ... id%3D16170





Evolution of Sport-Touring radial tire tuned on the characteristics of modern bikes with outstanding performance in all weather conditions


Excellent wet performance with solid contact feeling for outstanding traction and easy handling characteristics.

"Fine Carbon Matrix" compound: best dry grip among the segment tires, engineered to exploit the performance offered by modern bikes, matching a long mileage.

Specifically developed contour for confidence-inspiring overall riding feeling with friendly feedback on all bikes, for riding at best or simply at ease with high safety margins and great comfort



ROADTEC Z6 FRONT

120/60ZR17M/CTL(55W) RODZ6F

110/70ZR17M/CTL54W RODZ6F

120/70ZR17M/CTL (58W)(C) RODZ6F

120/70ZR17M/CTL (58W)(E) RODZ6F

120/70ZR17M/CTL (58W)(G) RODZ6F

120/70ZR17M/CTL (58W)(K) RODZ6F

120/70ZR17M/CTL (58W)(L) RODZ6F

120/70ZR17M/CTL (58W)(U) RODZ6F

120/70ZR17M/CTL(58W) RODZ6F

120/70ZR18M/CTL(59W) RODZ6F

110/80R19M/CTL 59V RODZ6F

110/80ZR18M/CTL(58W)(A) RODZ6F

110/80ZR18M/CTL(58W) RODZ6F



ROADTEC Z6 Rear
190/50ZR17M/CTL (73W)(E) RODZ6

190/50ZR17M/CTL (73W)(U) RODZ6

190/50ZR17M/CTL(73W) RODZ6

180/55ZR17M/CTL(73W)(C) RODZ6

180/55ZR17M/CTL (73W)(E) RODZ6

180/55ZR17M/CTL(73W)(K) RODZ6

180/55ZR17M/CTL(73W) RODZ6

160/60ZR17M/CTL(69W) RODZ6

160/60ZR18M/CTL(70W) RODZ6

170/60ZR17M/CTL(72W) RODZ6

150/70R17M/CTL 69V RODZ6

150/70ZR17M/CTL(69W) RODZ6

160/70ZR17M/CTL 73W RODZ6




http://www.us.metzelermoto.com/en_85/ca ... duct.jhtml

you lucky bastrd!

storysunfolding wrote:you lucky bastrd!

Well, I really wanted to review a pure street sport oriented tire for the Vstrom. Sure it's a dual sport but it has so much road potential as well and the Metzeler Z6's should really make it shine.

I'd actually call it more of a "modern standard" bike as like the standards of the 1970-80's you can make the Vstrom anything you want it to be via accessories, parts and a little time.

Mike

Ok ok, well if you need a review of any other tires that can be mounted on the V-strom, let me know. I officially volunteer as a tester!

storysunfolding wrote:Ok ok, well if you need a review of any other tires that can be mounted on the V-strom, let me know. I officially volunteer as a tester!

You have the stock Bridgestone's on right? How many km's have you put on those? If your at a few thousand then write up a review in the review forum... are they are bad as other say or not?

Mike

totalmotorcycle wrote:

storysunfolding wrote:Ok ok, well if you need a review of any other tires that can be mounted on the V-strom, let me know. I officially volunteer as a tester!

You have the stock Bridgestone's on right? How many km's have you put on those? If your at a few thousand then write up a review in the review forum... are they are bad as other say or not?

Mike

I'm just about to top 2,500. Maybe we can arrange another donation so I can do a side by side comparison test