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

[Jolly Roger VX'er]

http://www.revver.com/video/680317/t...rcycle-review/

http://www.tiger1050.com/




and for you Paris Dakar Rally 'o' holics: KTM Adventure 990


nice look'in bike nfpgasmask:

[taylorRichie]

Ha... Yes V-strom owners are just as fanatical about their choice as the VX owners.

Bart, the F800 is a killer bike, and that was originally what I was going to buy, it's just the replacement for the F650, but I honestly didn't LOVE the F650, it just didn't do that well on Road, but in all fairness, I never tried it with a better windscreen, which was my main complaint.

The F800 I would still consider, but I definitely didn't want to buy it Brand New, $10,000 OTD, because a 2007 650GS can be picked up for $5,000 with less than 2,000 miles (That's what I've been riding)

Then after buying the V-strom, I don't like riding the BMW (on Road) however, I can tell the BMW would dominate offroad.

Here's my opinion on how the bike split.

ON ROAD / OFF ROAD (performance)

V-strom: 85/15
KLR: 25/75
BMW: 60/40

KLR's are mean machines, but not good for touring, great for heading out into the desert and disappearing for a few days.

V-strom is great for heading on the highway to remote places and taking the dirt roads / fire roads etc. Off to even more remote places.

I personally plan on doing a trip up through Idaho -> Banff -> Vancouver -> Seattle -> Oregon - > home next year.

and here's a thread
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=156028

Of people who would argue everyone that the V-strom is just as capable offroad as the BMW's

[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. "...

[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...