Buel Ulysses

[PaulVS]

I'm not fond of the Strom looks myself... but it's not a lot different from Honda's Adventure bike, the Transalp.

[PeteSC]

How about the Honda Varadero?

[banditII]

I owned a V-Strom a while back.  Great function, best seat in the biz.  Sold it cause it just didn't have any garage appeal to me.  I learned a lesson with that bike.  I need to like the looks of my motorcycle.  If suzuki could make the tank / fairing section look less bulky, that should help. I would prefer a standard tank, just toss away all the other plastic up there, stick a single headlight up front and mount an aftermarket screen.  It looks very top heavy.  Mine handled fine, didn't have the cornering clearance of my bandit which was annoying.  It's no good off road, and on the road the cornering performance is hampered by the dual sport tires.  But I know of a lot of folks that love the bike.

Warren

[B12Teuton]

If suzuki could make the tank / fairing section look less bulky, that should help. I would prefer a standard tank, just toss away all the other plastic up there, stick a single headlight up front and mount an aftermarket screen.  It looks very top heavy.  Mine handled fine, didn't have the cornering clearance of my bandit which was annoying.  It's no good off road, and on the road the cornering performance is hampered by the dual sport tires.  

The tank and fairing on the 650 is a lot less bulbus than on the 1000.  Hard to see in pics, but obvious when you see it in person.
I'm somewhat surprised that you say it had less cornering clearance since it's a lot hight than the bandit.  What touched down?  The pegs??

I guess the Strom and all the other Adventure bikes need to be set up for either street or dirt as far as the tires go.  The dualsport tires are maybe good for touring or commuting, but not much else.

[banditII]

Yeah, the pegs touching down so quick supprised me too.  Of course, I added a centerstand which limited the left side clearance even more.  An extra long peg feeler comes with the stand.  The DL1000's foot pegs are set fairly low.  The bike has a lot of leg room and it's real comfortable.  You would think because it's a fairly tall bike it would have the cornering clearance but it doesn't.  You can still have fun on it, it makes pretty good time, just not quite as quick thru tight stuff as a bandit.  Most of the bikes I have bought have pretty much lived up to what I had read about them.  The Strom was an exception.  It also wobbled horribly at highway speeds if you hit a lot of turbulant air behind trucks etc.....  That tall lanky suspension I guess?

[gtbandit]

I have to admit, when I first saw the V-Strom, I wondered what was Suzuki thinking? But, the bike has really begun to grow on me, especially seeing it in person. Functionality really appeals to me. I got to take an extended ride on one just a couple of days ago. I also found that the pegs touch down early. I would probably raise the rear end of the bike with shorter dog bones to improve cornering clearance and quicken the steering, then install a lower seat to keep my feet on the ground. However, I disagree about the tires being a hinderance in cornering. I really couldn't put them to the test, but I've seen one in action in Arkansas a couple of years ago. I've also pushed my KLR pretty hard in the twisties on inexpensive 60 to 70% on-road dual-sport tires with no problems. While it's definately heavier and more cumbersome off road than my KLR, with the right tires, it should be fine for its intended purpose. Some people have even successfully traversed the Continental Divide on them. I'm seriously thinking about adding one to my personal fleet, but I'll continue to use my KLR when I plan to ride some really tough trails.

Click here for some personalized pics: http://vstrom.info/vsri-gallery/gallery/AP?page=3

[B12Teuton]

Granted, it's no sport bike and it's no dirt bike, but if you had to have one reasonably priced mount that did it all... with the right tires: