Ducati Monster Forum

http://www.cycleworld.com/motorcycle_news/first_looks_articles/11q2/2012_suzuki_v-strom_650_abs_-_first_look (http://www.cycleworld.com/motorcycle_news/first_looks_articles/11q2/2012_suzuki_v-strom_650_abs_-_first_look)

I have always liked the Vstrom...  the new one is very nice...  sigh... 90 deg v twin...

Looks a lot better than the old one.

they are following the same route as the Multistroodle

looks a lot more like the triumph tiger to me than the multi

Meh, still looks like a generic Japanese sport touring bike with 'hand-me-down' styling. [coffee]

Other than that I think it's a great bike, well made and reliable. Plus lots of nuts on ADVRider love it too. [thumbsup]

Bet that's a nice little scooter. [thumbsup] [Dolph]

Met a fellow customer at my local Suzook/Kawi shop and we got to chattin' about bikes, etc. He and his grown daugther both had 1000 V-Stroms and loved them. They go on long multi week rides together all the time. Up into Canada, Alaska, west coast, east coast, Florida Keys... I couldn't believe all the places they've been on those scooters and as you can well imagine they had racked up a shit load of miles. He said he'd gas his bike up right then and there and take off on a two week ride and not think twice about it. Loved it and had total faith in it. At the time (last summer) their next trip was a leisurely spin to the Grand Canyon and then on to California. Kept telling me to dump my sport bikes and get a V-Strom! ;D

I've considered getting one just to commute.  I can't see myself commuting on a Monster or SS, but something more upright perhaps.  Then again, I'm in a suit almost every day..... :-/

Kind of...it still has a 19-inch front wheel though.

Though I would have preferred slightly edgier styling, it looks good enough for what it does.  Would be really nice as a 750.

I have a soft spot for Wee-Storms...it's the bike that got me interested in returning to bikes after 25 years.  Local shop had a used one out front for over a year.  Every few months I would stop and check it out and the price got lower and lower.  I liked the ergos and the general look of the thing.  Then when I decided to buy, I looked around a bit to see where that Storm fit into the scheme of things and happened to find a smokin deal on the Monster.

V-strommers are very passionate about their bike's abilities.

I could never get past the ugliness.

The new one is much less ugly and no doubt every bit as capable.

Still dont want one though.

you hit it on the head.

it's not beautiful
but it looks like it has mad skills

sort of like the ugly girlfriend that none of your friends know about

For 8 grand it's worth the risk. 

they are being sold for $6,999 in shops apparently

i had an ad for one off craigslist at a shop, i forget the dealer's name

dam, even better.

It's the engine that gets me.  THey used the same one in the Cagiva Navigator and Raptor.  Dimensionally similar to the Desmodue, except that it's watercooled and 4 valved.  The 650cc model puts out 68rwhp.  That's pretty decent for such a compact engine.

same basic engine as the sv too so it should be ridiculously reliable.

I thought the sv was not an L.  I know the TL was but thought the Sv was a 45

yup, it's a 90, not a 45

from suzuki site:

http://www.suzukicycles.com/Product%20Lines/Cycles/Products/SV650/2008/SV650.aspx#Specs (http://www.suzukicycles.com/Product%20Lines/Cycles/Products/SV650/2008/SV650.aspx#Specs)

645 cc, four-stroke, liquid cooled, 90° V-twin, DOHC, 8-valves, TSCC

i believe the vstrom engine is just tuned for a bit more low end.

ah, it's the Honda Hawk that's a 45 v.  The SV has the same basic layout as the TL and DL bikes..  Interesting. 

When it comes to a bike as functional as this, I couldn't care less how it looks.  Hence my long haul machine, aka "The Big Dirty"

(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y239/Jervisaurus/Bikes/DSCN1476.jpg)

An $8k bike brand new that has no other responsibilities but to entertain me and to get me from point A to point B with little to no hassle doesn't require "aesthetics", per se.  I'm not saying it can look like a total turd on wheels, but "average" styling will do just fine for a bike of this purpose. 

For some reason, riding a beemer isn't cheating to me, but riding a Japanese bike is. 

No idea why.

it's because on a jap bike, no one will appreciate your true douchiness at starbucks?  ;D

funny, my friend doug always had these. He called 'em mopeds - fun to ride, but you don't want your friends to see you on 'em  ;D

haha, like that fat girls and scooters joke...

why are fat girls and scooters alike?

both are fun to ride as long as no one is looking.