I'm riding up to Salem today to look at and probably buy a used Suzuki V-Strom 650. It's three years old and has 18,000 miles. I found it on Craig's List, and it looks like it's in great shape and has most of the accessories I want.
I wasn't in the market a week ago, but rode my VFR to the World Superbike races in Salt Lake last weekend, about 600 miles each way, and both I and the bike had problems. Every year it gets a little harder to ride comfortably in the relatively sporty position of the VFR. My back and neck start to cramp, and after a couple of hours, it gets almost unbearable. I broke the trip into two days each way, and even 300 miles was mostly uncomfortable to downright painful.
Then too, the VFR started having problems. First the speedometer started to fail. By the time I got home, it was completely dead. I had a turn signal working intermittently. Most serious, on the way back outside of Winnemucca, the fuel injection light came on. I expected the bike to die anytime soon, but it kept running fine all the way. Very nervous-making, though. There’s mostly nothing but desert between here and Winnemucca, and the roads don’t even have shoulders. If the bike had died, I would have had to push it off into the sagebrush and lay it down, then try to hitchhike somewhere. It could have been a mess.
The VFR is due for a major service, plus I need to get these other things fixed. Since VFRs are known for electrical problems, I'll probably replace the battery and regulator/rectifier as well, then put it up for sale. I'll ask a reasonable price, but truth is it might be hard to sell, even though I consider it a great bike. At 50,000 miles, it has a lot of life left in it, but I'll probably have to spend a thousand or more to get all these things taken care of.
I decided on the V-Strom because I think it will be a more comfortable riding position and it's still a sporty, fun bike to ride. I know a few people who have them, and they all love them. And I'm getting it at a good price, so if I don't like it, I can probably ride it for this season then try to sell it. It's hard to sell bikes here in K Falls because it's a long drive for most people and they can usually find the same bike closer to home. I may end up with both bikes for some time. Only problem with that is I don't have room in my garage for two bikes and my scooter, but I think I can rearrange a lot of junk and make it work.
So now I have a bike to ride to the BMW rally in John Day in a couple of weeks and Laguna Seca next month. The shops here and in Medford are booked out to mid-July, so I'll miss two of my favorite trips if I don't buy something else. The VFR is confined to the garage until I can get it fixed.
All in all, I'm happy with the choice. Can't afford a new bike or even a used, say, FJR. I even thought about a Gold Wing, but those are WAY too expensive. And I think I'll be happy with the V-Strom. They get good reviews for comfort and handling, and the v-twin 650 is a snappy little engine.
btw, Superbike at Miller Motor Sports wasn't a great weekend. The track is very visitor friendly, with lots of grandstands, bathrooms and food. But it seems to lack character somehow. Laguna Seca is always a grand festival. Miller felt like a theme park built by Mormons: well-planned, wholesome, and boring. And let me mention women. I assume they have some in Utah, but “I wish they all could be California girls.”
Even the races weren't very exciting. The leaders almost immediately fell into their positions with comfortable spaces between everyone. Round and round they rode for 21 laps with no real drama. The most exciting part was the thunder storms rolling through the area and all of us sitting in metal bleachers. One strike could have taken out a thousand people or so, including me, so that was kind of fun to watch. I had to decide if the lightning was close enough that I should get out of the covered grandstand and into the rain, or stick it out where it was dry but increasingly dangerous.
It was interesting to watch everybody around me. No one seemed too concerned that we could all get fried and we wouldn’t even know what hit us. Part of riding motorcycles is having a baseless confidence that the worst that could happen never will. It’s the other grandstands that will get it, not mine.
I wasn't in the market a week ago, but rode my VFR to the World Superbike races in Salt Lake last weekend, about 600 miles each way, and both I and the bike had problems. Every year it gets a little harder to ride comfortably in the relatively sporty position of the VFR. My back and neck start to cramp, and after a couple of hours, it gets almost unbearable. I broke the trip into two days each way, and even 300 miles was mostly uncomfortable to downright painful.
Then too, the VFR started having problems. First the speedometer started to fail. By the time I got home, it was completely dead. I had a turn signal working intermittently. Most serious, on the way back outside of Winnemucca, the fuel injection light came on. I expected the bike to die anytime soon, but it kept running fine all the way. Very nervous-making, though. There’s mostly nothing but desert between here and Winnemucca, and the roads don’t even have shoulders. If the bike had died, I would have had to push it off into the sagebrush and lay it down, then try to hitchhike somewhere. It could have been a mess.
The VFR is due for a major service, plus I need to get these other things fixed. Since VFRs are known for electrical problems, I'll probably replace the battery and regulator/rectifier as well, then put it up for sale. I'll ask a reasonable price, but truth is it might be hard to sell, even though I consider it a great bike. At 50,000 miles, it has a lot of life left in it, but I'll probably have to spend a thousand or more to get all these things taken care of.
I decided on the V-Strom because I think it will be a more comfortable riding position and it's still a sporty, fun bike to ride. I know a few people who have them, and they all love them. And I'm getting it at a good price, so if I don't like it, I can probably ride it for this season then try to sell it. It's hard to sell bikes here in K Falls because it's a long drive for most people and they can usually find the same bike closer to home. I may end up with both bikes for some time. Only problem with that is I don't have room in my garage for two bikes and my scooter, but I think I can rearrange a lot of junk and make it work.
So now I have a bike to ride to the BMW rally in John Day in a couple of weeks and Laguna Seca next month. The shops here and in Medford are booked out to mid-July, so I'll miss two of my favorite trips if I don't buy something else. The VFR is confined to the garage until I can get it fixed.
All in all, I'm happy with the choice. Can't afford a new bike or even a used, say, FJR. I even thought about a Gold Wing, but those are WAY too expensive. And I think I'll be happy with the V-Strom. They get good reviews for comfort and handling, and the v-twin 650 is a snappy little engine.
btw, Superbike at Miller Motor Sports wasn't a great weekend. The track is very visitor friendly, with lots of grandstands, bathrooms and food. But it seems to lack character somehow. Laguna Seca is always a grand festival. Miller felt like a theme park built by Mormons: well-planned, wholesome, and boring. And let me mention women. I assume they have some in Utah, but “I wish they all could be California girls.”
Even the races weren't very exciting. The leaders almost immediately fell into their positions with comfortable spaces between everyone. Round and round they rode for 21 laps with no real drama. The most exciting part was the thunder storms rolling through the area and all of us sitting in metal bleachers. One strike could have taken out a thousand people or so, including me, so that was kind of fun to watch. I had to decide if the lightning was close enough that I should get out of the covered grandstand and into the rain, or stick it out where it was dry but increasingly dangerous.
It was interesting to watch everybody around me. No one seemed too concerned that we could all get fried and we wouldn’t even know what hit us. Part of riding motorcycles is having a baseless confidence that the worst that could happen never will. It’s the other grandstands that will get it, not mine.
1 comment:
As my updated post shows, I now have a red bike to add to my collection: yellow, red, and a blue scooter. I have to get the work done on the VFR, and then sadly I'll put it up for sale. It's a great motorcycle, named Bike of the Year repeatedly by various motorcycle magazines, and almost every time I go out, someone comments "beautiful bike." And it is. It's also fast, handles very well, and I've loaded it up with more gear than can possibly be safe and taken it on many long trips. I've had it for nine years.
But the new red bike has plenty of charms, and its odd looks (from the front) are even growing on me. I took it for a ride yesterday on some of my favorite mountain roads and was only a little surprised at the excellent handling. The 650 V-twin motor makes tons of torque, and if anything it's easier to ride fast that the VFR.
I'm hoping the upright riding position and other relaxed ergos will let me keep riding on long trips for a few more years. I'm heading out for a four-day camping ride next week. Reports to follow.
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