convince me to buy a wee-strom

[10/10ths]

V-Strom@TexasBorder by Shooter158, on Flickr

And you can go off-road, and you can leave squids on Gixxers BEHIND in the twisties, and you can carry huge amounts of luggage and a fat chick at the same time, and because they get 50 mpg and go 220 miles between fuel stops, and because you can ride for 12 hours and be fresh as a daisy when you arrive,and because THEY DO NOT BREAK...EVER!

[bumper1871]

Very reliable and not expensive. Gravel roads, bumpy roads or expressways. I really like mine.

[Mazaev]

I bought a used one with 27k, beat the shit out of it, took it to Central America, crashed it, drowned it, picked up hitchhikers and not only did it get me home, but went right back to CA with its new owner. Only things replaced were tires, oil and plugs (and mirrors :-) ). And the girlie hated me for selling it (big mistake putting her on a comfy first bike).

It's a bit low on power when you want to go all out, and the brakes do suck. The fork brace is ESSENTIAL! It's also a bit boring, but that may be a good thing with the wife on the back. Super practical city bike, and handles the dirt when needed.

[aussie ttoad]

Originally Posted by Captn Spock

I recently purchased a near new 2012 Wee with 6000 kms on it. My other bike is a Kawasaki ZX6R. Hoon bike, literally.

Anyway, I was in the market for a true adventure tourer. Ability to do highways, haul reasonable amounts of luggage, comfortable, capable of taking off road and reasonable dirt. I mulled over a KLR650 for ages and ended up getting the Strom. The Strom, as others have said is a very versatile bike. It does a lot of things well, but excels at nothing.

You can't ride the Dakar on it; at the same time you cannot enter corners in the twisties at 140 kmph because it is a not an R1. But you can get on it, and ride around the country, carry your luggage and tent, ride across a forest, a creek and have a ball.

On the road, it doesn't look exciting. Its an older guy looking bike. You will even receive little to no attention from cops (which is a good thing). Nobody notices a Strom because they're just ordinary looking, feeling. It will also never get stolen. BUT its a cracking bike.

I recently rode through a state forest and on the way back did some sealed twisty roads. On the twisty roads, I caught up to some super sport bike riders on Suzuki GSX-Rs, fully kitted with all race gear and shit. The Strom made them look ordinary. On the other hand, I rode with enduro bikes in the forest on easy gravel roads and 4x4 tracks.

What more can you ask a motorcycle to do?

Same! I too came from a ZX6R, and agree with what you said. The Wee is a great all round bike. Have done everything with mine and it has not let me down once. Very easy bike to own

[Domromer]

Originally Posted by BikeMan

"with around 60 hp on tap, 650s are just powerful enough to be fun for a solo rider, but add a passenger and / or luggage and they fall flat. oh, they'll still haul you uphill, and accelerate you to freeway speeds; it just takes longer - plan your passes accordingly." (motorcyclist oct. 2012)

Bullshit, motorcycle magazines will make you believe that anything less than a busa is hardly enough power. Head over to the scooter forum and tell them 60hp is marginal. People tour the world on scooters with 20hp and love it.

I tour on my dl650. That's me at 280, my wife at 130, and all our camping gear. I have no issues passing anyone at anytime on the freeway. This is why motorcycles have gears.

[Pecha72]

Originally Posted by Domromer

Bullshit, motorcycle magazines will make you believe that anything less than a busa is hardly enough power. Head over to the scooter forum and tell them 60hp is marginal. People tour the world on scooters with 20hp and love it.

Agree with that. Another thing is that for example, the NC700X has about 50 crank hp, the XL700V has about 60, and Versys and DL650 close to 70 hp. Older Transalps had about 50-55. Two-up on the motorway with heavy load, that difference means something. Also modern FI systems can make an engine feel a lot less exhausted, than you would think just looking at the spec sheet.

And those are all twins. 650 thumpers would range from 35 to about 50hp.

[Captn Spock]

Originally Posted by Domromer

Bullshit, motorcycle magazines will make you believe that anything less than a busa is hardly enough power. Head over to the scooter forum and tell them 60hp is marginal. People tour the world on scooters with 20hp and love it.

I tour on my dl650. That's me at 280, my wife at 130, and all our camping gear. I have no issues passing anyone at anytime on the freeway. This is why motorcycles have gears.

Agree with this comment 100%. wee strom has enough power to do 2 up touring with luggage. Countless people have done it..

[fastnlight]

On my 2005 model, the wife and I (350lbs) plus camping gear did numerous trips through mountainous country and had no problems blasting right along ahead of traffic. The wife would fall asleep on it she was so comfy. If 2up riding with luggage was why I purchased the bike, I would consider going larger on the motor but that is only becuase I like speeding. I bought a few bikes and scooters since that one but now I just bought a 2012 model so I clearly have no doubts of its capabillty.

[burmbuster]

I looked at a new model in a parking lot the other day and I have to say that its a good looking bike. Tons better than a few years back. Really stylish. Never ridden one have have always heard that they are super dependable. If I was just getting back into riding after a decade or so, or getting my first bike, this would be at the top of my list.

[bleedgrn]

Been looking to buy a motor bike since this last fall and finally pulled the trigger on a new 2012 wee. Have not personally rode a wee strom before but a friend of mine has the 650A and loves it. The only drawback on the adventure model to me is the oversized panniers (and excessively wide mounting brackets) making the rear wider than the bars. My friend found this out by rounding a corner and spun the bike out from under him doing significant damage. I am purchasing the 2012 650 standard and plan to put narrower panniers/mounting system on. After all, half of the fun is farkling out your ride with new kit. I have considered many dual sports and really wanted the Triumph 800XC but not enough to spend 13K. I don't know personally, but from all the reading I have done, this bike seems to be the most bang for the buck, thumpers and twins considered.

[DAKEZ]

It is like REALLY good Vanilla Ice Cream.

[10/10ths]

...Mexican Vanilla...a little kick.

[Chef Gareth]

I am on my second one now, just traded up to the new model. They are great bikes for touring and can handle more off road than you would expect in the right hands. For the money you cant go past the wee. I have always owned 1200's and even though it would be nice to have some more power somtimes, I have never felt it to be under powered.

Chef

[ArmSC]

Just bought mine two months ago...couldn't be more happy with it. What a great bike...plenty of power for me, super easy to ride, and 50 plus mpg. I even like the way it looks!

[bleedgrn]

Originally Posted by ArmSC

Just bought mine two months ago...couldn't be more happy with it. What a great bike...plenty of power for me, super easy to ride, and 50 plus mpg. I even like the way it looks!

When a friend started bringing his 12 650A to work I thought the machine looked awesome. It really stuck out in the line of mixed bikes from a wing to a few KLRs. My last bike was a Vulcan 800C cruiser, very different than adv bikes. Passed on buying a KLR mostly for the lower power numbers and highway speed limitations. I plan to commute on this 40 mi to work starting in the spring and hope to log some hours lurking around some old dirt roads. Something I could never have done on my cruiser. To have to re-polish the chrome after Yikes. Everyone I know that has this bike really loves it. Look forward to farkling soon.