VStrom Owners Thread

Yea I have my stock spring still from my 2012. But there are no numbers on it to indicate spring rate, unfortunately.

https://www.racetech.com/ProductSearch/12/Suzuki/DL650 V-Strom/2012

Best regards,

Thanks Pollack. Yea I've already looked at that, but when I bought their 12.5 kg spring back in 2014 (?), I weighed 175 and rode two-up, and their calculator recommended a 12.5 kg spring. Now I'm 155 and ride solo, and they recommend.... a 12.5 kg spring. So I dunno. Has their calculator change since then? It seems different, unless maybe I'm thinking of the one from Sonic. But they (Sonic) only address front springs, there are NO other calculators I can find for a rear spring besides Race Tech's.

Now, I've already spent the $125 on that first (12.5 kg) spring, but figure I definitely got my money's worth out of it. (Ha, they're $135 now.) But, if I buy another spring, well that's money that may be better spent toward a whole new shock. And there won't be much time left to ride here in Michigan, this season. I think I'll research those options.

To be honest, the current 12.5 kg spring still does a pretty fair job, and combined with the correct-weight Sonic Springs and Ricor Intiminators up front, I can fly down any dirt road and the bike handles pot holes extremely well. It's the damn PAVED roads around here that are the problem! The type of raised surface that forms at pavement joints, going all the way across the lanes, (whatever they're called- "frost heaves", "speed bumps", etc.), are just brutal. And there are a lot of those here in southeast Michigan.

So, this being now an eight year old bike, with what the bar-hopping locals here would call "high miles," I have to decide whether to invest the big money into a new shock, for a bike that may end up being replaced sooner than later. Tough decision! Thanks for you input so far, everybody!

Consider a stock rear shock re-build and new spring by Jaimie Daugherty:

http://daughertymotorsports.com/

I have been quite happy with mine and his upgrade build of the oem forks for over 30K miles. It was the best mod done to the bike and I wish I had done it first.

Finally scored a gel seat for the wee. Tiny bit of height is nice and no more getting sucked into the tank!!

Now that sounds like a perfect "in-between" option! Thanks for the link.

Any interest in a seat swap? I hoe this is legal, mods please move if necessary. Not selling anything, looking to swap.

Have a 2006 Wee that I bought this spring. It’s my first V-Strom and I love it so far. Came with lots of add-ons, most of which I would have wanted to install myself.

One addition I’m not so pleased with is what I believe to be a Corbin low seat. Seat pan is deep and you sit down in the bike. At 6’3”, I don’t benefit from the low height and could use the extra leg room of a normal seat. Seat is also really firm.

Anyone looking for a low seat that would want to swap? I can send pictures and such, ideally meet someone in Indiana and just swap them in person. PM if interested.

Thanks!

You may also want to consider (given your height) is a DL1000 seat. IIRC it is higher than either the stock or gel DL650s and bolts right up to the Wee's frame.

^ ^ ^ Yes, the Gen I 650 and 1000 seats are directly interchangeable...

I’m 6’5” - 36” inseam - pegs lowered and now a gel seat. Even better than the small bump in height is the flatter shape of the seating area. You don’t get sucked into the tank like the stock 650 seat.

Thanks for the info, I’ll keep the fact 1000’s share seats in mind.

I vaguely recall there was something with 2007+ DL650 having a charcoal canister or something else that could interfere with using either and older seat or one from the DL1000.

Could be my memory tricking me.

..Tom

Late to add this here, but "Welcome!"

You likely just bought your favorite bike.

I have a factory seat from my 2011 Wee-Strom I don't want. I bought another. No swap - how about 40,00 and you pay shipping? That is if my seat is what you are looking for. It is in real nice condition. It's in my way. I do know shipping is stupid expensive using USPS. The member that sent me theirs was like 55.00 but you would still only have 90.00 tied up in a seat.

I have a shock question . Can it be revalved to be plush so expansion joint heaves and pot holes in the road don't slam your butt so hard ? It's a 2019 650 , thanks

hi again
sorry if this is the wrong section for this question..

I was thinking of having my vstrom 650 lowered a little

the kit i saw was 20mm rear dog bones, and I assume to keep things close to what they are now, i woudl have to lower the front by 20mm as well

i was thinking this would give me a little bit more control for when i am duckwalking backwards into my garden and more stability at junctions with a nasty camber as well as helping the missus get on a little easier ( maybe)

BUT what are the bad side of that

1) how does it affect handling
2) would i need to get the side stand replaced / shortened
3) would the centre stand still be usable

and anything else im not thinking about?

Typically the front suspension is where most of the gains will come from. Since these are still the same damper rod suspension from 2004 ( or 1896 I think..) they need some help! On my 2012 DL 650 I converted the front forks to cartridge emulators. Changed the springs ( a bit heavier ) and with some fine tuning on the cartridge it made those expansion joints, patches in the road and so forth so much more plush to go over. Even though it has a heavier rate spring, the ride is much improved. Where my wrists would hurt on long trips, now they are fine. You can get the stock rear shock modified to help there too (daugherty motorsports is one place) but I think the front needs help first.

That was pretty much my post earlier. (Well not pot holes so much, but definitely the "expansion joint heaves.") Short of buying a whole new shock, I was recommended http://daughertymotorsports.com/
Mine's a 2012 with a lot of miles; since yours is still so new, I'm sure any such investment will pay off over time. Good luck!

EDIT: RealShelby beat me to it!

Yes, as was said above, you can revalve the shock to give a smoother ride. @realshelby pointed out some important stuff, but forgot to ask - how much do you weigh? The change to a heavier spring rate only works if you (and your typical load) weigh more than the original springs were designed for.

There are other suspension places that will redo your rear shock. The front is fairly easy to do, so unless you really have two left hands (and are right handed ), you could easily do it in your garage for the cost of the parts.

Gustavo

Lengthening the dogbones lowers the seat (and ride height) by a ratio of ~2.5/1. That is, if you get 20mm longer dogbones, the seat height will be about 50mm lower. I think that would exceed the available space for the rear wheel to travel and you run the risk of the wheel hitting the underside of the bike instead of the suspension bottoming out. IIRC, 10mm longer is the max you can go before that happens. Also, you can't lower the front that much w/o major modifications, but yes, in general, in order to maintain the handling of the bike, you would have to lower the front too. Again, IIRC, you can push the forks up by about 12mm before the fender starts hitting the lower triple clamp at full compression.

If you keep the bike level, the handling characteristics will be maintained. If you lower the rear more than the front, that increases the rake and trail, leading to slower overall handling - the bike will require more deliberate inputs to initiate a turn, but will be more stable in a straight line.

Make sure you read and understand what the dogbones you are considering really do. Some advertise by overall effective lowering and others advertise the difference in length in the actual dogbone. The result is not the same.

Needless to say, with even with 10mm longer dogbones, the centerstand will be very hard to use and you will need a shorter sidestand.

Gustavo

Edited to avoid confusion. Thanks @wilddoktor for pointing that out!