What bout the 2018 V-strom?

[rkruz]

The 2018 V-Strom XT has wire wheels and the beak is more integrated looking. Still no cruise control but most influencing is that its 50lbs lighter than the Super Tenere and the about $3k less price for a non ES Tenere.
Not the aftermarket support that the Tenere has. Your thoughts?

 

[Sierra1]

You lost ME at "no cruise". Ride Suzuki and the Yamaha. I think you will feel the $3k difference. But, I am biased.

 

[Dogdaze]

As a die -hard Suzuki rider (first and then another 12-13 after that) I like the V -Strom, came off one to get the S10, but like Sierra 1 posted, no cruise! I like the cruise, the electronic suspension I can live without, but speeding fines just takes the fun out of riding.

 

[yoyo]

I came from an 06 DL1000 and test rode a 2016 model before buying the S10, I was really surprised in how different it was compared to the old model but that said I wanted cruise, shaft drive and the stories of the S10's reliability were enough to sway me. I will say if I'd not done any research and I'd had to have made my choice off the back of a 30 min test ride I'd have chosen the Strom but I'd read the S10 doesn't give a massive wow at first and the more you ride it the better it gets and I found that to be very true!

 

[snakebitten]

Grew up on Suzuki's. Got a soft spot for them.

My all-time favorite motor for just plain having fun is the lump in the SV650. I love that motor.
But once you go up to the 1000cc flavor, the mission statement changes for me.
If off-road was NOT on the menu, I'd probably really enjoy loading down that Vstrom 1k in pack-mule fashion and crossing the country. I've ridden my brothers a few times and liked its street manners.

BUT, there were many times when we were riding together that he took an alternate route or just waited for the rest of us to come back to camp.
It isn't that the bike COULDN'T have taken some of those tracks, but he said it just wasn't any fun. I could tell it wasn't by the change in his demeanor.
(In his defense, he doesn't feel comfortable with picking it up off the ground. He just never liked falling down)

Still, I'd like to test drive the new one. Suzuki always seemed to give me a LOT of bike for the $money.

 

[rkruz]

Beakless is a +. However the 2018 V-strom beak is nicer looking the the mini Gonzo beak in prior models. Props to Yamaha to not following the teenage MBA boardroom fashion imitation decisions of others.

 

[Checkswrecks]

You lost ME at "no cruise". Ride Suzuki and the Yamaha. I think you will feel the $3k difference. But, I am biased.

::026::

 

[sjh]

I put ~45k miles on my DL650.

I may be irrational, but one of my lasting pet hates of the bike was the amount of fairing you had to remove to get at it ... the new ones seem to have even more plastic.

Nonfunctional beaks also make me twitch a little.

 

[rkruz]

how would a beak be functional?

 

[RicoChet]

how would a beak be functional?

It is if your fashion conscious!!

 

[Nissbird]

I particularly liked the seat on my Vstrom, it was much better than the one on my XT. Also the engine made less mechanical noise and sounded better.

 

[greg the pole]

nothing wrong with the strom. Wheels are identical hoops to what the ST wears.

If you're more biased to road riding, the Strom may have the advantage.
If you go more off road, stay away from the Strom. It just feels wrong off road...

I tried both back to back on deep gravel, and couldn't wait for my buddy to get off my ST, and give him back his vstrom 1000 (with knobbies)

 

[yoyo]

I particularly liked the seat on my Vstrom, it was much better than the one on my XT. Also the engine made less mechanical noise and sounded better.

I'm with you on both of those, I find the economics of the S10 better but the seat on the Strom was more comfortable on the butt, as for the engine, yup the V-twin sounds fantastic with an open pipe and the engine is fairly quiet but the S10 does sound like a tractor that's low on oil!

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

 

[greg the pole]

I'm with you on both of those, I find the economics of the S10 better but the seat on the Strom was more comfortable on the butt, as for the engine, yup the V-twin sounds fantastic with an open pipe and the engine is fairly quiet but the S10 does sound like a tractor that's low on oil!

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

this is mine with a staintune slip on.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xj0X6Zh9xwA&t=268s
They sound much better with the full arrow. Nothing boring about the Tenere motor.
That said, my 2006 Vstrom 1000 with twin staintune pipes sounded amazing.

 

[sjh]

how would a beak be functional?

afaik the suzuki dr big was the start of beakiness while still having a front mudguard - their the goal was aerodynamics - http://www.parisdakar.it/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Suzuki-DR-800-1989-2.jpg

bmw folk will tell you it's to steer air towards an oil cooler - http://ruggedroads.co.uk/WebRoot/Store15/Shops/00cbb604-5d1c-407e-8207-580e14387ec5/5435/1E2E/567C/4B4F/747B/0A48/3538/329E/841251726072.png

Some will say it's a splash guard - the Tenere's lack of a beak, or my `12 dl650 'glee' never suffered much for it while riding through water...

As dubious as you may feel those reasons are - this v-strom iteration is just me-too-ism - and that irks me

 

[Sierra1]

Even back-in-the-day when I like BMW, I never understood the beak. The '18 V-Strom kinda looks like a KTM headlight/windshield, with a Beemer beak.

 

[Wallkeeper]

I put more than a few miles on a 2002 DL 1000. IT WAS QUICK! Even with bags on, I could generally blow away punks on their mid bore crotch rockets out of the hole and down the line. The fun factor aside, I did not care for the shift from 1st-2nd or the narrow change from 5th to 6th. Once I solved the infamous windshield buffet it was overall a good, solid ride for 10 years. The Super Ten is much more sedate but heck, I am in my mid 60's and I do not need Testosterone fueled motorcycles anymore. Besides, I REALLY LIKE THE CRUISE CONTROL! It was the main reason I went with the Yamaha over the Suzuki

 

[Descendant]

I had a 2014 DL1000 V-Strom putting on around 8K miles. Never a mechanical problem.
I loved the motor characteristics and the light weight for the street, but it felt top heavy off-road.
I sold it as would like shaft, Cruise Control and the 24K valve service intervals on the Yamaha.

It's a great bike for ripping around the mountains and back roads but not as comfortable in a long haul like the S10.

 

[Checkswrecks]

Your thoughts?

Try asking again on a Strom forum.


I've still got the son's 2003 DL1000 in the garage. It runs OK but holey moley is it crude.