Down Sizing is Complete

MaxPete said:
That is pretty cool - but I have to ask...would you REALLY ride down that snowy path?

I'm Canadian and so crappy winter weather and slippery roads are not a big deal to me, but taking a large motorcycle on a snowy road, especially one with hills and curves, simply does not sound like a fun idea.
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BTDT and you are correct. Not a lot of fun during, but makes for great stories over a beer or two:biggrin:

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ST-venture said:
Where did you find it? I have a friend who is looking for a couple of Gen3 650XT's for himself and his son.
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I found it in southern Arizona at Sierra Cycle in Sierra Vista, AZ. I happened to be in the area and found it on Cycle Trader.
 
ChucksKLRST said:
BTDT and you are correct. Not a lot of fun during, but makes for great stories over a beer or two:biggrin:

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For the record, as I always got blamed for the snow we rode in, I was *not* with you on that trip. ;)

Grabcon said:
I found it in southern Arizona at Sierra Cycle in Sierra Vista, AZ. I happened to be in the area and found it on Cycle Trader.
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Sounds like a great find Brad, enjoy! Do you have a place in Castle Rock any more?
 
mcarver351 said:
Wow, that looks too cold, slippery and wet for me. How many miles did you ride in those conditions or is that your regular commute?
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That was the end. Almost to the top of Wolf Creek Pass in May. Freak Spring Blizzard that lasted about three hours. Left the bikes there and hitched hiked back down the mountain to Pagosa Springs, to our hotel. Got our room back. Later that morning got a ride back up the mountain. Retrieved the bikes. Rode back the the Hotel and drank beer on the patio the rest of the day and half the night. Left out the next morning. Beautiful weather.

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ChucksKLRST said:
That was the end. Almost to the top of Wolf Creek Pass in May. Freak Spring Blizzard that lasted about three hours. Left the bikes there and hitched hiked back down the mountain to Pagosa Springs, to our hotel. Got our room back. Later that morning got a ride back up the mountain. Retrieved the bikes. Rode back the the Hotel and drank beer on the patio the rest of the day and half the night. Left out the next morning. Beautiful weather.

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What a great experience and memory. Is the motorcycle comfortable for longer distances? Any downsides to the lighter bike like how the wind, rain, or semi-trucks affect your riding experience?
 
MaxPete said:
I'm Canadian and so crappy winter weather and slippery roads are not a big deal to me, but taking a large motorcycle on a snowy road, especially one with hills and curves, simply does not sound like a fun idea.
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Not to mention if there is a "downside" on the other side of the road. I'm from CA and not CA so a two lane blacktop is adventurous enough for me! But no worries. If there's snow on the ground I'd be inside anyway watching Due South or Sergeant Preston of the Yukon reruns with Diefenbaker and King.
 
That 650 is a nice bike.

I can certainly appreciate the downsizing trend as I've just purchased a 2019 Tracer GT. Love my 2002 ST1100, but it's 750lb. of fun meant for long distance sport touring vs. the Tracer's nimble 500 lb. I'm looking forward to accessorizing the Tracer and then exploring side roads up at the cottage that were a bit daunting for the ST. I think the Tracer won't be the equal of an ST type bike for the long haul but it will do quite nicely.
 
I have four bike (See my sig block) and if I had to get rid of three bikes and chose one bike to keep I would keep my V-STrom 650. If fits me perfect. Very stable at all speeds, will run at 85 all day long. Motor is working a bit at those speeds. Obviously the weather protection is not as good as the ST or the FJR. The Wee does 95 percent of what I want to do giving me the ability to ride dirt and gravel roads and also Freeways if needed. I find that the V-Strom 650 is the perfect bike for Colorado. Easy to ride, will go most places I want to go. Inexpensive to own and maintain. Does not break. Easy to work on if needed. Will take a fair amount of abuse. IMHO it is a great all around, do anything machine. I like the Wee so much that I rented one on my last Euro Moto Trip (Summer 2019)

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I almost bought a Wee Strom a couple times but ended up getting a 2017 SV650 since I wanted to do a few track days. I've got it configured where it can also do some decent touring. Once I get the track days out of my system, I may get a V-Strom 650. I'm hoping they'll update it so the styling from the current 1050 (2020 and up) trickles down to the 650.
 
RobbieAG said:
I'm hoping they'll update it so the styling from the current 1050 (2020 and up) trickles down to the 650.
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It is all about price point. If you want the new DL650 to keep the low price point then nothing trickles down.
 
Grabcon said:
It is all about price point. If you want the new DL650 to keep the low price point then nothing trickles down.
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I guess time will tell. Before the latest changes to the 1050, they had the same styling. It would make sense production cost wise for them to be as similar as possible.
 
Grabcon said:
As some of you may know my wife and I are full-time RV'ers and haul our bikes with us. Since we don't do long hauls anymore and I am getting closer to 70 I decided the time was right to down size my bike. My wife has a F700GS and I am happy with that size bike. So my choices for me came down to a F700GS a 2016 or newer or a Gen 3 V-strom 650.XT Adventure. So based on price and availability I got a 2020 V-Strom 650 XT Adventure with 1500 miles on the clock. Had a good price and was much easier to find that a F700GS. What a great midsize bike.

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You have me interested in this bike! Does the 650 have cruise control?
Will you share more about your experiences with it?
Thanks, John
 
Cruise no, unfortunately. The throttle is cable driven FI so have ECC is out of the question. MCCruise out of Australia has a cruise control that is servo drive, but it is expensive. That is the hardest thing to get used to. My VFR1200X did have an aftermarket ECC that I installed. I do miss it.

I only have about 200 miles on the bike as of today. It is 50 hp less than the VFR but also 130 pounds less. It is easy to move around and has good excelleration and plenty of torque. I don't need to go 100 mph but it surely can sustain 80 MPH. I have not used the bike on dirt yet but that is my intention. To put it in simple terms if I want to make a right turn on to dirt that is what I want to do and then back to pavement. As of right now I give it a thumbs up. More to come with time.
 
Excellent thank you. Be sure to update your bike in your profile! Did you consider the 1050 version? That ones does has CC and a few other goodies.
Thanks, John
 
Nope not at all. I wanted a smaller bike, Lighter, cheaper to buy, rock solid, less for insurance, etc. I haul the bike in a RV I don't need a big bike anymore.
 
Grabcon said:
Nope not at all. I wanted a smaller bike, Lighter, cheaper to buy, rock solid, less for insurance, etc. I haul the bike in a RV I don't need a big bike anymore.
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Thanks again. It's hard to tell the size of panniers from the pictures - can they hold a helmet? Or more for gear?
Thanks, John
 
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