V-Strom a dual sport?

First of all, if space and $ allowed I'd have one of every type bike in my garage. I've enjoyed riding street, mx, woods, trials, .....


That being said, I saw on Suzuki's website the V-Strom is considered a Dual Sport?

"Dual" being a cross between the street and what?

Maybe they have a little more suspension than most street bikes, but how are they any different than other street bikes?

I've seen pictures of guys trying to ride them off-road, but why???

Not trying to knock another guys favorite ride, just didn't see the "dual sport' part of it.

Greg T.

Light off road, its fine - awesome bike

There's no trademark on the term Dual Sport, so anyone is free to apply it as they see fit.

Adventure Tourer best describes the Suzuki DL series

I don't really understand what your question is, or what point you're trying to make.

A V-Strom is designed and built to be a versatile motorcycle, capable of being ridden on and off road. That would seem to fit the generalized and non-specific description of a "dual sport".

I do agree that a better description would be Adventure Tourer, but that being a more recently coined term, it probably doesn't fit into the marketing department definitions because it wasn't commonly used when the V-Strom came out.

Its nothing close to a dual sport, adventure tourer is what it is. To me a dual sport is more then taking something on a gravel road.

That is why I tried not to make it sound like I was knocking the V-Stroms.

I'd never ridden one, nor seen one up close, so I just wasn't seeing the "dual" part. It doesn't look like something I'd want to powerslide around a gravel turn.

I thought someone would say how they were different than a pure street bike.

.....they don't have to fit into any catagory.....I was just curious, they seem to be a popular bike.

Greg T.

Oh, no. Just wait until he sees Dillon or Skippii's EX250's offroading.

It's a street bike very capable of handling poorly constructed or minimally maintained roads..

al

So, WTF is a dual sport?















I prolly got another 50 photos of stuff I have ridden most guys never ride on a dirt bike. Point being....people get too hung up on the bike classification....it is ABOUT THE RIDER. Hayabusas ride to Prudhoe....It's all marketing hype....ride your own ride...whatever you enjoy.

I think if one wishes to effectively go cross country where there are absolutely no roads for tens of miles, a dirt bike would do. For those who want to take a path less traveled and perhaps a bit off the beaten track, a DL650 or DL1000 works to get you there. Other dual sports may have more off road bias and ability, but the DL series at least have a bit more ability to handle less than perfect roads than say a sport bike.

All that being said, the rider is what makes the most of a bike's abilities. Skills can make up for what a mount lacks at times. Besides, there is a challenge in getting someplace with a mount that is not the perfect one for the job, but adaptable.

V-strom off-road:
http://www.dragonsofasshat.org/images/dirt/Dirttrails.wmv

I considered this Adventure touring

My bikes are from the 80s, I DO ride what I have and enjoy them.

I thought maybe someone would come back saying the V-Stroms have off-road suspension, or a wider range (with a low 1st gear) transmission, or something that allowed it to go well on something other than pavement.

I don't care about bike classification, just wondered what was different about the V-Stroms than say my Honda Nighthawk....which I'd NEVER take off road.

That question really depends on your definition of the word 'dualsport'. I've owned a 650 V-Strom and I put 30,000 kms on it in just 18 months. In my world the DL650 is definitely NOT a dualsport. But it is an exceptionally good 'adventure bike'. Meaning it's great for this kind of thing...



And also this kind of thing...





BUT!!!

I have a bike that I do consider to be a 'dualsport', and it looks like this, and as you can see, it lives in a very different world than the world the DL650 lives in. Ride a DL650 in any of these common 'dualsport' situations, and you'll destroy it within minutes...

I think we have a winner.

Let's not forget fuel capacity.

Exactly...

Adventure bikes have big fuel tank capacity, and dualsports don't.

Dualsports also don't have a sportbike-style paper air filter element under the fuel tank. They have washable, easy access oiled-foam air filters.

....folks look at my old R100GSPD as ask if it's a DIRT BIKE. Sure, it has a high front fender and TKC80 knobbies.

I have to answer, NOT REALLY.

I explain it's a touring bike that can handle gravel or roads in poor condition. But I don't try to make her go off road.

I wouldn't go off-road with a V-Strom. Gravel roads, yes.

Like someone already said, DUAL SPORT is a general marketing term, kind of like what folks called an "enduro" back in the late 1960's.

My $0.02

Tom in Salem