new bike, bandit , vstrom ,or multistada

[soncho]

I"m looking to add something for the street .There are alot of great bikes , I"ve got a 03 crf 450 and a 05 blue S . I'm looking at big bore versions and maybe an abs 650 vstrom . I really want the ducati black 1100 S but fear of the unknown has me looking at japenese bikes . All comments and experances welcome.

[SheBeast]

Get the V-Strom 650 and I promise you will not regret your decision!

[Wayward Son]

650 v-strom.

[docjonty]

The Vstrom [1000cc version] sounds good.

The bloke who has just fitted my kitchen has one, and swears by it, after a GSXR!

[Shortcut]

Get the 650 V-Strom!

I bought one in March of 2005 and love it. If you like the DR for dirt, you will love the 650 V-Strom. It is just plain fun, cheap, and very reliable. I do find that I do not ride the DR as much and push the V-Strom a little on the dirt roads.

Ed

[toycloser]

I have put 26k on my Vstrom this year:ride: A good choice ( in my opinion), I just added a dr-z400 for a little more offroad fun.

[afm956]

Let me go out on a limb and recommend the V-Strom 650, I sure love mine.

[Spektrum]

Look into the 1000cc version on the vstrom. I've got a TL1000S with the same motor and it has more torque than you'll know what to do with.

Suzuki just came out with a 1250cc version of the bandit though...

[smpapish]

Wait till March '07 and check this out.

http://www.bmwmotorcycles.com/bikes/bike.jsp?b=g650xmoto

Might be cool.

[Jboat]

I had the opportunity to ride a V-strom 650 and highly recommend it. It is a great handling bike with do it all capability. I was following a buddy who was on my SV1000s and had no problems keeping up with him in the twisties. I was even dragging peg through some corners. It has just enough oooph for a spiritied ride. The power delivery is perfect and linear and the suspension soaks up all the road imperfections making a very comfortable ride. Another good thing is that there are alot of aftermarket items to make it even better.

I was highly impressed by the bike and may end up getting one for myself even...

[Duken4evr]

I owned a TL1000S for 8 years and a friend of mine has the standard SV650. I have also ridden a 1,000cc V-Strom. Put aftermarket cans on any of them and they sound incredible. There is nothing quite like an uncorked 90 degree v-twin. Deep full soulful throbbing sound to the max without being obnoxious. The sound alone is worth it, even if the power gains are not dramatic.

Taken on it's own, the 650 is not lacking for power at all. It is also very smooth and free revving. The smaller pistons on the 650 are much smoother at high revs than my TLS was, yet it makes pretty darn meaty power above 5,000 rpm. My buddy's SV had a Leo Vince full exhaust system on it and it sounds sweet and the bike picked up some nice power with it too. The big 1,000cc motor makes some pretty impressive effortless juice in the 6-8,000 rpm zone, but the little bike is more tossable around town and still very strong and useable in the midrange rpm zone, all the way to 10K rpm.

About the only knock I can think of on the 650 is they are a bit compact. If you are a real tall guy, you might not fit that well. If you are 6' or under you should be fine. I would get the 1000 to ride across multiple state borders and for toting a passenger, but for for anything else, there is something so darn accessible about the 650 that truly makes it a gem. If you get the 1,000 Strom, gear it down. They come geared stupid tall in stock form, probably to pass sound tests or something. 1st gear was about the same as 2nd on my TLS.

Off topic perhaps, but I found my buddy's SV650 standard does the most awe inspiring wheelies! Did some block long 3 gear jobs on it without effort. Pretty funny, as he had a large Givi trail trunk on the back. Pity I don't have a photo! Pretty cool guy, he did not mind Overall the 650 is a very fun bike ?

[TwoShots]

Slightly used (just broken in) 1000DS Multistradas are going for a song. Nice ride, fast, verstile and a little extra style to set you apart from the masses. Funky design, but it really is a great combination of elegance and attitude.

[ilsrwy27]

I would wait to hear from the new Ducati Hypermotard...

Just in case

[rjsurfer]

My wife is stealing my 06 Sm right out from underneath me:ride: , she want's it for her own.

Soooo I figure it's a great time to get that Wee-Strom with ABS !

They should be out in a month or so around here.

Any cheap places to get them on-line? I'd drive a ways to pick one up to save some bucks.

Ron W.

[soncho]

It is fun to think about all the the great bikes today. I test rode a multistrada saturday , it was a short ride impossile to tell much about the bike, except it is just another bike . Also sat on 1000 and 650 v-stroms the 650 does have a very nice feel . I'm hoping to test ride one today. Orange county suzuki is advertisng 650 otd just under 7000. Being able to roll on nice wheelies and getting the adrenaline flowing are desireable qualites does the 650 vstrom have any extra power for such fun ? The new big bore twin motards wow! what drivers license?

[afm956]

About the only knock I can think of on the 650 is they are a bit compact. If you are a real tall guy, you might not fit that well.

There is nothing compact about the 650 when comparing it to the 1000, in fact the 650 and 1000 are almost identical in length/height, with same tire sizes, and both fuel tanks hold 5.8 gallons.

The seat on the 1000 does has more foam in it so it has a slightly higher seat height (lots of shorter 1000 owners like to switch to the slightly thinner 650 seat, takes 3 seconds to swap seats between the 650 and 1000).

The 650 is about 35-40 lbs lighter, and when you ride the 650 back to back with the 1000, the weight difference is quite noticeable. Plus the 650 costs $2300 less than the 1000.

[fred j]

Wait for the new 1250 Bandit. I just turned 100,000mi, on my 98 1200.