Hello All- FNG in research mode

[William42]

As others have said take a look at the V Stroms, DL650 or DL1000.

[Vincenthdfan]

Originally Posted by William42

As others have said take a look at the V Stroms, DL650 or DL1000.

What he said!

Im a long time Harley Road King rider and have owned more dirt bikes and Japanese street bikes than I can remember. That also includes dual sport big bore thumper Hondas.

I have always been curious about the whole BMW Adventurer thing, but damn...the cost of entry has just been to much of a gamble to me if I didnt like it.

Then I spotted a Suzuki V-Strom DL1000 used on Craigslist.

I thought, wow...that thing looks like it could be made into a pretty good Adventure bike.

So....I started looking at them on websites. Holy crap! These things have a cult following and a HUGE aftermarket industry supporting them as well.

I called the guy in the ad, went and took a test ride and was immediately hooked.

The bike has a huge, torquey V-Twin, which being a Harley guy I greatly enjoyed.

Very refined feeling and best of all FUN!

The bike was very, very inexpensive...Ive been adding aftermarket stuff ever since I bought it.

Take a look at this bike, you'll enjoy it.

[FacePalm]

Thanks for all the great info guys!

Just found a 2012 Tenere on craigslist for $12.5k w/panniers, 2k miles. Awfully tempting.

Also saw a 2009 Tiger ABS, tho that seems like a 99% road bike.

Thoughts?

[Ham]

You are in the envious postion of needing to go out and test ride some great iron. Just don't test a Stelvio....you won't bring it back and a lot of guys with lights on top of their cars will be looking for you:)

[Kawidad]

Originally Posted by FacePalm

Thanks for all the great info guys!

Just found a 2012 Tenere on craigslist for $12.5k w/panniers, 2k miles. Awfully tempting.

Also saw a 2009 Tiger ABS, tho that seems like a 99% road bike.

Thoughts?

The Tiger is a road bike, much like the aforementioned Uly. It is basically the same bike, except 2 versus 3 cylinders. The ST, well..................

[FacePalm]

Got some stationary seat time on a few bikes yesterday. The Tenere is a beast. I'm used to big bikes but with a much lower CG. Otherwise it was an impressive bike in person. Threw a leg over some V-stroms as well. Hmmmmm...

I think I'll do some test riding so I can get a real feel.

[vtwin]

Face, had a Road King, then a DL650 and missed the torque and lazy cruising of the big twin. The DL650 is a good, but a boring bike that needed more attention than I was willing to give. (chain, valve adjustment, coolant, waterpump etc) Went and got a Ulysses. Not without it's issues, but the torque and easy cruising on the freeway is additive. Even though it has a small rev range, it doesn't need to rev to get to speed. It does 3.8K at 70-73mph and that's with the XB9 mod. The DL650 did closer to 5.3-5.6K at the same speed with a 1 tooth up on the counter gear. Now the DL could also go to 9K or so on the tach, but I don't care to do that.