A lot of the worry I had moving up from an MT03 has gone away. Still need to work on slow movements.

Purchased a 2015 650 XT less than 2 weeks ago. About 500 miles on the clock so far, waiting for it to stop snowing and raining to hit it hard! Here are my thoughts:

• I have to keep the engine revved higher than I expected. The 4-6k range seems to be the best spot to hang out.
• The v-twin is buzzier than I thought it would be. My first v-twin -- I've owned V4s, inline 4s, parallel twins, and a thumper, but never a v-twin, so wasn't sure what to expect.
• Holy cow do the side cases add a lot of drag! Trying to accelerate past 80 with the side cases and a tad bit of wind was really stressing the engine, had to drop to 4th to get some momentum. Almost wondering if the 1000 might be better for me...
• More fun in the twisties than I expected! Wasn't sure how such a tall bike would handle that -- the answer is "no problem".
• BIke is more like a tractor than a sport bike. Lots of rattles, clunks, engine vibrations. Definitely more of a swiss-army bike than a sports car.
• OMG is fuel injection so nice! I've always had carbed bikes -- no rituals for starting, just fire it up and go.
• Suspension if fairly plush, might have to look in to beefing that up at some point, I'm 250 and will regularly be riding 2up
• (added) Brakes are a bit underwhelming. But as long as you keep squeezing, they keep stopping. I guess I was expecting something grabbier. I'll get used to them, at least they are predictable.

When I bought the bike, the guy included a bunch of random stuff in the luggage. Including a front and rear sprocket. I'm guessing he went bigger on the front and smaller on the back, to reduce RPM on the highway, at the sacrifice of some torque. Gonna have to count some teeth later, might want to swap them back on to get back some of that grunt.

EDIT - I counted some teeth today, looks like I'm rocking 16/46. If I'm mathing right, should drop my rpms around 10%. At the expense of 10% less torque. I wish I'd had a chance to drive it before the swap to see which I prefer.

Overall an excellent bike, excited to really push her this summer!

Man I love this bike

What are people carrying for tube changing when out Adventuring? I’ve never changed a motorcycle tube before and am not enjoying the thought of having to do it while out on the logging roads. I’d like to buy some tools and start practicing to reduce anxiety of a tube change.

What tools are you carrying in your tube change kit and is breaking the bead on the stock tires challenging?

V stroms are simply not popular in NY metro but I have a 2013 650 under 24k. Come with MOTECH side cases, Givi top box, centerstand. Typical old man stuff. Wired for Gerbs, tender, comes with flat kit, compressor, new Michelins at 21k, plugs, chain, sprocket @18k. Even replaced the battery this week because it was reading low at startup. I take good care of it. I was guessing $3800. What do you think? Thank you.

Hi all,

I have a 2008 650 DL, which I've recently been using with my girlfriend as a pillion. I noticed that when she sits on, the rear suspension compresses and takes weight off the front wheel, reducing my confidence a little.

I tried to adjust the rear suspension, but I noticed turning the knob didn't do anything. Brought it to a mechanic, who said the suspension itself is fine, the adjuster just doesn't do anything. We then checked a 2018 650, and it had the same issue.

Is this just something about the V-Stroms, that the adjustable rear suspension is more so for aesthetic reasons than functional? Does anyone else have experience with this? It doesnt provide an issue for me when I'm riding solo, but it makes having a pillion slightly harder

Hey hey hey, guess who can’t remember how to reassemble their bike after tinkering for too long? 😁

For context this is a Suzuki DL650 2007 ABS

Picture 1. Spacer for…? Forums say 07 abs doesn’t have a front spacer, sooo.. where does this little guy go? Or are they wrong?

Picture 2. Clutch assembly, honestly this is a mess and I can’t for the life of me remember how it was

Picture 3. Got two brackets I’m not sure where they do, guessing the smaller is for the break mount? And the larger for the abs? Or am I completely off the mark here?

Any tips appreciated

Hi everyone. I’m looking for a new gear shift lever suggestion. (Not a clutch lever)

2018 DL1000 here.

Any recommendations are appreciated.

I may change the foot pedals too so bonus points for a matching set.

(Links are appreciated too)

(This is a repost to clarify I am looking for a gear shift lever and not a clutch lever)

Took Mamba out to the desert. Love this ‘24 Suzuki V-Strom 800 Touring.

Hey everyone, I'm in the Philly area and there's a 2014 Vstrom 1000 at a dealer near me that looks particularly nice. I previously rode a 2016 650 that sadly got stolen a few years ago and am looking for a new bike.

Thoughts on one with 7400 miles for $6500?

Thanks and ride safe!

Bedliner paint job. Love this bike

This is a follow up to my previous post. Someone has asked about pics of the 2017 but I couldn’t post any in the comments.

This is top on my list of bikes I’m considering as my first. I’m open to here opinions. Seller is firm on the price.

How is the 800 for someone who is 6ft and 350 pounds?

Hi guys, I'm wondering what exhaust to add to my Vstrom 650 2017 model. It will be combined with an air filter (probably K&N), and in the future, an ECU tuning will most likely also take place to ensure the motorcycle is running well. Does anyone have experience with any of these exhausts?

Does anyone know the exhaust piper outlet where it meets the muffler tip on the vstrom 800?

Hey guys, I have had the V-Strom 650 (2023) for a few days now and I am absolutely fascinated by this bike. I think it has an incredible amount of power, super agile, and extremely comfortable to ride. I don't even need to say much more because I am sure you all know exactly what I am talking about.

I just noticed that my gear indicator on the dashboard (only when I am in 1st gear (not while driving) and I touch the gear lever with my foot, sometimes briefly shows 2nd gear. It is not really a big issue because shifting itself works perfectly fine but it is really just the indicator on the dashboard. When I am in first gear and slightly touch the shifter with my foot or gently lift it from underneath it switches to 2nd gear on the display only for a short moment and then switches back to the first.

I found this video https://youtu.be/nAqRSQpYKtc that supposed to fix the issue but: has anyone here had experience with this? Or should I just leave it as is? It is probably just my perfectionism..... :D Other than that, I have no problems with it. Everything works great and the engine + sound is an absolute dream.

Made them because normally the mounting plate and mounting system of the bag would hit the exhaust. The mounting plate didn't hit the exhaust when mounted all the way forward on the rack but then it would be uncomfortable for my passenger because of the limited leg space.

Just started my bike up to keep the battery up after winter and it's running weird. It sits outside without a cover because I'm broke and I only run it once a month or two. After I got back from a couple laps around the block, I noticed it surging while idling and sounding quieter/having a different cadence to the pulses.

Cracking the throttle off idle has very poor response and a snappy sound more like a single, so I'm pretty sure it's running on only one cylinder below 2500-3000, but if I hold it at 3k and THEN crack it, it revs almost, if not completely like normal.

How should I go about diagnosing this? There are no lights on the dash.

Since getting Stella out of storage this spring, I've noticed that (at least for a while after starting up) I consistently have clouds coming out of the left exhaust pipe but not the right. Any ideas why?

I imagine, if everything were equal, I'd either have clouds from both or neither.

It sounds fantastic

Hello all,

As the title implies, I am in the market for a first bike.

Of all the bikes I’ve been considering, the VStrom is the one that I keep coming back to in part because I think they look amazing but largely because it seems every review I’ve read or seen praises the bike.

Locally, there are 3 that I am considering and would like opinions and suggestions about what to look out for from these 3 options.

1) 2017 VStrom 650, with ABS and TC, 15k miles $5,500 firm

2) 2008 VStrom 650 33k miles $3500 obo

3) 2014 VStrom 1000, with ABS and TC, 27k $4,600

I will be looking to purchase late April after I pass the MSF course.

I bought an new navigation device with Android Motor & Apple MotorPlay but it has DVR camera's included.

Looking for spots I found these and very happy about it. Hoping the cable for the rear is long enough, but scared it isn't.

Anyone got tips before I start with this?

Electrical wise: I currently have a separate relais switching on all my accesoires and a plug in the front for my old navi. I just need to switch that out.

I've been looking at exhaust options for my newly acquired 2014 650. Anyone have a complete system and could provide feedback/ sound clip with it? I'm not used to bikes this quiet! Looking for suggestions with possible links to purchase online!

Hello! I've been hunting around for an adventure bike and have come across this 09 vstrom that looks super clean. Having owned an sv650x before this I love that engine. My hang up is (strangely) the mileage. Should I be worried about this bike having almost no miles on it? Does anyone here know what tends to fail on these if they're left sitting for years?

I know these engines can go into the 6 digits of mileage, but I have no idea what seals might have dried out from none use. Obviously I'm going to check out the tires when I look at it and plan to replace them if they're original.

Shoot me any questions I should ask this guy about the bike! Thanks friends.