06-15-2015, 06:47 AM
My wife is on her second V-strom. Her first was a 2007 that weaned her off cruisers forever. Five years and many trouble free miles later she got the urge for a retro bike, sold the V-strom and bought a Bonneville. Even though the Bonnie was a good bike, she never really warmed up to it so the Bonnie was traded for a 2012 V-strom which she still has and would not part with for any reason.
The Wee-strom is a bike that does everything well and is so reliable as to be boring. Just change the oil on schedule and ride it. The ride is better than our CB's on rough roads and the handling quite agile despite the 19" front tire. The main "weakness" is the brake performance. It's a bit soft by modern standards but ABS is standard and works very transparently. The accessories available are staggering in number, everything to make this very capable bike even better. If you decide on a used one be aware that improvements were made starting in 2012 that made for a smoother engine with better throttle response and a small power gain. The clutch was improved and a bit of weight removed. Unless you're someone who really rides hard off pavement the V-strom is satisfactory on dirt roads, especially with some better than stock tires.
I love the Suzuki also and came close to buying one in place of my CB. Of course, I'm glad now that I didn't.
The Wee-strom is a bike that does everything well and is so reliable as to be boring. Just change the oil on schedule and ride it. The ride is better than our CB's on rough roads and the handling quite agile despite the 19" front tire. The main "weakness" is the brake performance. It's a bit soft by modern standards but ABS is standard and works very transparently. The accessories available are staggering in number, everything to make this very capable bike even better. If you decide on a used one be aware that improvements were made starting in 2012 that made for a smoother engine with better throttle response and a small power gain. The clutch was improved and a bit of weight removed. Unless you're someone who really rides hard off pavement the V-strom is satisfactory on dirt roads, especially with some better than stock tires.
I love the Suzuki also and came close to buying one in place of my CB. Of course, I'm glad now that I didn't.