Why I've been M.I.A. New Toy.. Me and Jolly Roger apparently

[SlowPro48]

Oh, yes. The Wee-Strom is the shiznit!!! Embarrasses sport bikes in the twisties, doesn't mind a bit if you mix a dirt road or two in the route and you can ride it all day. Nice choice there, TaylorRichie!

Just be careful on those dirt roads! Well... be careful everywhere! But on dirt roads try to keep in mind that an adventure bike like the V-Strom has a lot more weight and a lot more paint than a dual sport. This is what it looks like when you forget:

[Jolly Roger VX'er]

Actually, I think a bath and a new turn signal (a few minutes to change) and she would be good as new...looks more dirty than anything else! Can't tell if there is damage to the oil cooler or not in the photo.

Just be wary of wet grass...especially on hills....this comes from personal experience..lol. The power 2 weight ratio I think constitutes to this! roughly 98hp and only about 425lbs for DL1000. (my new titanium exhausts supposedly shave 10 lbs off this.)

Also..on the V-Strom sites there is alot of advice on different tires for different situations. I feel that the stock tires (Bridgestones) are mostly a road tire to begin with and virtually worthless in the mud (yet another VX/V-Strom parallel...lol). There are other options for leaning more towards off-road.

I think your rating of the different bikes on/off road was dead-on. You can further break it down between the V-Strom's too. I'd say DL650 85/15 and DL1000 90/10 with tires tweaking it one way or the other. The DL1000 IMHO gives you a hair more latitude for 2-up touring with bags plus.......an extra exhaust pipe :-)

[taylorRichie]

I've been riding 2-up on my 650 and I'm surprised at how comfortable it is, and how little it seems to effect my power. However, I'm only 150lbs, so I'm not bogging it down much to begin with. I also have Givi sidebags, and a givi trunk. Haven't driven with it loaded down yet. But I'm very excited to start touring. Next spring/summer is going to be great!! You might have to drive out west some, and I'll drive out east some, and we'll meet up along the way.

I wish the 650 had an extra pipe, but some people just install a dummy pipe and make it into a tool storage area... Which exhaust did you go with?

I'm thinking StaInTune

[Jolly Roger VX'er]

I've been riding 2-up on my 650 and I'm surprised at how comfortable it is, and how little it seems to effect my power. However, I'm only 150lbs, so I'm not bogging it down much to begin with. I also have Givi sidebags, and a givi trunk. Haven't driven with it loaded down yet. But I'm very excited to start touring. Next spring/summer is going to be great!! You might have to drive out west some, and I'll drive out east some, and we'll meet up along the way.

I wish the 650 had an extra pipe, but some people just install a dummy pipe and make it into a tool storage area... Which exhaust did you go with?

I'm thinking StaInTune

I went with Two Brother's Racing exhausts...have gotten many great compliments about them from strangers, friends & surprisingly...neighbors (coming home at 8 am in the morning from work with loud pipes..hmmmmmm..)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tL7sM...eature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dynv2...eature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXwZQ...eature=related

[Ldub]

I went with Two Brother's Racing exhausts...have gotten many great comments about them from strangers, friends & surprisingly...neighbors (coming home at 8 am in the morning from work with loud pipes..hmmmmmm..)

"The URL contained a malformed video ID. "...

[Ldub]

"The URL contained a malformed video ID. "...

All better...Thanx

Loud pipes save lives!

[Jolly Roger VX'er]

All better...Thanx

Loud pipes save lives!

LOL..I think I was fixing that the same time you were trying that..

yeah...I think the OEM pipes were about as loud as my vaccuum cleaner,,,ugh.

Actually, if I can swing owning a 2nd bike...these videos below got me hooked on a Suzuki SV1000 w/ Holeshot exhausts. The last year for these bikes is 2007. It is almost the same V-Twin in my current bike but tuned for more top-end hp (they tuned my engine for more low-end torque). Strictly a road, sport-bike with crotch-rocket sitting position...but, man I like it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-bLw...eature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMuQ5...eature=related

[SlowPro48]

Actually, I think a bath and a new turn signal (a few minutes to change) and she would be good as new...

Ha! Yeah, he was wishing all that road rash would wash off.

It was an expensive ride that day. The piece that got gouged up the worst was $180 by itself.

I bet he shows up with knobbies this weekend...