Riding in 2010: where are you?
I am bolting on some upgrades, and enjoying the season change in Pennsylvania, USA.
New handlebars are on the way. The VSRI handlebar gallery is a great page to visit if you are unsatisfied with your grip. I work on a computer all day, so my wrist discomfort compelled me to order a new steel handlebar.
The weather here is always spotty. Where the hills fail to soothe the wind, strong winds force me to ride at an angle. I am adding a fork brace to stiffen the front end and improve my control.
What are you doing? Tell me about your plans for this spring and what you have already done. Brian has hit the road on a 650, and he says he’s headed to San Diego, California. From Texas. Through Alaska.
I have yet to wash my V-Strom in 2010, but I have clocked plenty of miles. I will take pictures when I install the goodies I mentioned above, and I am also planning on a DIY valve adjustment. In the meantime, I want to hear from you.
Posted on April 24th, 2010 in BS | 14 Comments »
April 24th, 2010 at 8:15 pm
Beginning my second season w/ my Orange 09 DL650….I had an 05 and put 53,000 on it, and bought again….I’m in MI.
April 25th, 2010 at 6:12 am
Got my first DL1000 at the start of this year. Its a yellow K2 but it runs sweet and am getting used to the twin over the old four potter GSX etc. I live in London UK, and me and some mates are off to Spain and France in September. Over the Pyrenees stopping off at Magny Cours to see the WSBK championship. Should be fun
April 25th, 2010 at 10:59 am
Second year with my k4 dl650. Rode all winter 8-). Even took the bike out for a spin on New years day. If you don’t mind rain Vancouver Island Canada is a great place to live and ride. Brother in-law, bought a k6 DLl000 last month and we plan on lots of road trips this summer. Thinking about upgrading to a DL1000 myself as my daughter often comes along, and the extra power would be nice. Love the bike, hate the windshield. Cheers
April 25th, 2010 at 11:04 am
Just picked up a 2004 DL1000 with 212 miles on it. Apparently it scared the PO on the way home from the dealer and he never rode it. I have logged many, many miles on my Goldwings but this new bike and I are getting along just fine. I have added 45L Zega Pro’s, Motech center stand, eng gaurds, mirror wideners, and skid plate. I hope to get a Zumo 665 for her if they ever start shipping the things. I have ridden the whole northern half of the US and will be exploring the southern half this year.
April 26th, 2010 at 9:10 pm
Where are you in PA?
I’m in Easton and frequently ride two-up to area wineries. Maybe we can hook up some time. I ride a K6 DL1000 Silver with several farkels. Next one may be a custom lower fairing to attach to the crash bars for cold weather riding. Gotta get the wind off the knees and legs. also contemplating the Yosh box loner program to richen the low end. Perhaps we can split the cost on that or organize a day in PA to do that for a few people.
Dave A.
April 29th, 2010 at 11:30 pm
Thanks for the shoutout. The trip is going great so far. Left Texas today and am in Carlsbad NM. Enjoy your rides!
July 8th, 2010 at 9:33 am
Well I am T-minus 3 and counting as we leave for the Inuvik, NWT for what we hope is a memorable trip up the Dempster Highway. This will be my 998’s second trip north to Alaska and Northern Canada…we’ll clock just a little over 6700 miles. New this year will be two new farkles, a Garmin GPS and a Escort 9500ix RD. I plan to make the trip on a single set of fresh Metzler Tourance and Motul 7100 should allow me to avoid a mid-trip oil change. For the record, I have been all over the West on my V-strom and it has been an awesome steed. Most of the time we ride two up and fully loaded, which does tax the old part bin suspension…nothing a few dollars could not address. I do feel the bike is pretty tight with two people aboard, but that is how we roll. i will be looking at over 45K on the ’05 Strom when i return in a month…we’ll decide to either upgrade Strom or look at a few othe options. I sure wish Suzuki would consider taking their dirt bike smarts and apply to the V-strom platform to give the BMW 1200 a run for its money. Yamaha is threatening to bring their big DS to the States…why not the big S.
July 10th, 2010 at 1:57 pm
Back in NC after a 2100+ mile ride last week. Really enjoyed riding in the White Mountains of NH and around Rangely Lake in ME. The first day was 670mi up the I-95 corridor. The other days seemed shorter after that. It was the first long ride with the Richland Rick fork brace and mirror extenders, man, what a difference. The modified Walmart bead seat made the first day possible (with gel bike shorts). I may splurge on a proper gel seat, and maybe Dan Vesel’s footpegs for my next long trip. Overall it was a successful trip, with no problems mechanical or otherwise. Got everywhere from 48-66mpg, depending on how much I was hauling (3 JCW cases), and how fast. Time to change the oil and give the chain some love.
August 4th, 2010 at 6:01 pm
Reading the comments and the length of some of your rides and I have to say “How do you do it” I have a 2002 DL1000 that I bought new and I can’t ride any longer than about an hour and I have to get off and give my ass a rest. I have looked at after market seats but not able to pull the trigger do to the price shock.
Roger
August 25th, 2010 at 8:57 am
Hi, guys. I’m from Brazil and recently I got a DL1000 2008. I live in Acre state, located at southwest of Amazon area. From here to Sao Paulo state is about 2,000 mi (3,200 km) and I’m intending to go to the south (add more 1,000 mi on this counting) with a friend who has a KTM 990, next December. It’ll be awesome!
September 15th, 2010 at 12:15 pm
’09 DL 650. Just passed the 13K mark with a 2-up trip to Nova Scotia. Need to do the spark plug and air filter replacement, but have virtually no mechanical experience beyond changing the oil. Any old vstrom hands out there able to help me? Or recommend a good mechanic within range of Brooklyn, NY?
October 6th, 2010 at 9:41 pm
07 650 w ABS, in Santa Fe NM. She is lowered 2″, has a really nice sargent seat, 3 large givi bags, center stand and touring windshiled. getting full heated grips and hand guards while i’m in sc at a reunion this weekend. I’ve beeen riding 2 years to the day. Started with a ninja 250 … 6 months and 6000 miles later I got this bike from a friend … love riding it but I’m not that experienced and at 5’6″ and 128# it’s a bit topheavy for me. I want to find the bars that stick out from each side at the motor – they look like touring pegs to me but protect the bike if (when) i tip over … chuckle… I’ve ridden @900 miles in 3 days, 445 miles in a day and very comfortably … looking forward to more and more longer trips!
November 6th, 2010 at 9:00 am
Been riding about 5 years, all of that on a (now) 13-year-old BMW F650ST. Sold it this year for a 2010, orange, 650 V-Strom with ABS. I like it a lot, but it’s a lot heavier than what I’m used to and Kitty’s right: much of that weight sits up pretty high. It’s taking some getting used to. I’ve just put it to bed for the winter, so I’ll have to live on vicariously through others in warmer places.
January 1st, 2011 at 2:01 am
’09 DL650 that I bought in March. in the 5800 miles since, I have ridden all over South Central Alaska (where I live). Upgrades to date include an Axio tail bag, SW-Motech luggage racks, Pelican 4530 bags (great for commuting, but too small for touring), a Tech-Mount cell phone/GPS holder, and SW-Motech crash bars on the way. I’ll probably add Oxford Touring grip heaters soon.