Vstrom v Vstrom

[eagle6]

Just how much better is the latest incarnation of the DL650?

I'm looking for a lightweight adventure styled machine and I'm stuck between the Vstrom and the Transalp or maybe a Tiger800.

Need 80mph cruising, good seat, good suspension and decent screen, so persuade me!

[2112]

I've had two Transalps in the past and they're not such a good 80 mph cruiser, especially fully loaded. A wee will be a much better bet and will be more fuel efficient than a tigger too. The stock screen on the wee is shite but MRA have a solution, sorted  

[willbo]

+1  

[Locky]

Same here , had a few Adv bikes before , 3 Transalps , GS 1100 and GS 1150 . The Wee is a great bike for the money and will be very hard to beat . Great MPG , easy to work on , great 2-up , ultra reliable etc etc . can't comment on the Trumpet but they seem to have a few issues if you read other forums .

And a Madstad sorts screen problems with the Wee .

Mines the old style Wee but I'm more than happy with it . Have a read through the forum for reviews on the new Wee ..They seem to be slightly better than the old ..

[Andy M]

I just went through this so:

Transalp: Adequate but will never set the world on fire. Don't see why it won't cruise at 80+, you can to this on an XT660.

Wee: Does everything you could ask. I must be the only person here who has no issues what so ever with the stock screen.

Glee: See above but fractionally more powerful, liked the new display.

Tiger XC: A step up on power but either top heavy or the forks are wrong for the front wheel. Plenty to read about on the forums about accessories and paint falling to bits.

F800: A Tiger prototype with different issues.

I bought an unregistered 2011 Wee. If I hadn't found that I'd have bought the Glee but the 15% difference in price tag isn't reflected in 15% more performance (it's maybe 5% better). The Tiger is a rip off. By the time you've done with Triumph offering half the value of your trade-in there is no way that this is the better deal. Money no object and a Triumph dealer with snotiness levels set below "Bavarian" and I'd be torn but probably still land in favour of the Glee. If you are going RTW instead of just bimbling about the odd sheep track my answer would be none of the above, get a Tenere or G650 depending on your inside leg measurement.

Andy

[DESERTRAIDER]

one bike I woud keep well away from is the tiger 800 , go on to ABR and read up on the tiger that was africajims , and once you read that drop on to triumph rat and read about all the goings on on their ,, the words no thanks comes to mind , as for the transalp I've had all 3 of them 600 , 650 , and a short lived 700 , iam on to my 2nd 650 strom and you can't beat it for the money , but then again its your money test ride them all . oh and  

[Piglumps]

I'm on my second older Wee - my first was a K4 and I got this one last year just before the new Wee was announced   I find they do all I want of them, especially now I have it pretty much how I want it set up - see my signature for the full list. I briefly owned a 2000W Aprilia Pegaso which was good but wasn't as rounded a performer as the Wee, plus the current Lady Piglumps didn't like the pillion seat of the Peg. Good fun though..

For me the thinking man's money buys the Wee...

Oh, and a warm hello and   from me too!

[Gassoon]

      Between them, the gentlemen above have said it all (Nice, sharp summary Andy m...you've persuaded me!)

Generally, the newest wee's (Glee's, whatever!) are looking better all the time, regarded as an improvement on the old wee, with no major generic problems reported. Economical, fun, practical, comfortable, reliable, sweet engine, decent handling - and that was the old one!

[wizard]

hi, just my opinion had the old wee and that was bloody brillant went all around australia had a mra screen and just perfect 2 up , mpg good,put the key just start and ride, just what I wanted . tried the new wee and well I have to say its much better all round feels lighter,engine is very quiet suspension better and loving every minute only had it 4 weeks 1200 miles happy days , first thing I did was change the tyres for the anakee 2 tyres wow fantastic tyres was bridgestone man then I just tried these as every body says they were good and I have to say they are the dogs ollocks
take care ride safe  

[Juvecu]

I have an old K5 Wee and test rode the Wee2. I've never had a Transalp, but I did look into buying one before I got the Wee. I'd need a lot of persuasion to buy a Tiger with what I've heard about the dealerships and the niggly little problems the bikes have.

My old Wee will tick over to 90 000 miles in the next week. I've never opened the engine up and the worst problem I had was a failed servo motor for the secondary throttle valve actuator. I could still ride it and if I paid more attention I could have removed the secondary butterfly valves and avoided the extra fual costs (doubled it!) that I had until I got some replacements. I bought a complete throttle bodies assembly off an SV650 which cost me £130. That's the most it's costs me in almost 60k miles other than the usual servicing and running costs and any mods wanted. I would recommend a Madstad to sort out any screen issues you have, you can spend a fortune on trying different screens, but in the end the Madstad will fix the issue. Two up the old Wee does the job, don't expect phenomenal acceleration, but the fact that you don't have that kind of acceleration keeps your pillion happy. Don't get me wrong though, the engine pulls well if you make sure you're in the right gear. The sweet spot for cruising seems to be somewhere around 85 (kph, occifer!) on the Wee with standard gearing, but it will do 95 if you want it to (the comfortable speed will depend on your screen and helmet setup. I have upgraded the fork springs and a put a stiffer spring on the rear. I don't think you will need this on the Wee2, maybe just a rear spring if you go two up a lot and you carry some emergency supplies around the waist. As has been said, change those Trailwings and get Anakee 2 tyres on it.

Having ridden both I would recommend that anyone who can afford to buy the new Wee2 does so. The little tweaks were done in the right places and it is the better bike. If you are on a budget then get the best condition old Wee you can find, anything with under 30k miles on is still 'just run in' as far as I'm concerned. They are gems for the money you get them for. Even having ridden the new one the difference isn't enough for me to want to part with any hard earned just for the little, but noticeable, extra you get.

I strongly recommend a test ride, but on a warm dry day so the tyres don't affect your confidence in the Wee's handling. The handling is really quite good once you've settled into the bike and with the right tyres on for our weather conditions (generally cold and/or wet.)

ps. Ooer... that longer than I meant to make it, that happens quite often

[Strombone]

I read in one of the mags not so long ago that,although the quality feel to the new one was very good,it didn't warrant the higher price. They seemed to be saying that that the price had pushed it into a new price bracket where the competition in that same bracket was of a higher quality. Interested to see what people think...

When I saw it I thought it looked great, personally.Sadly, I have now tasted the power of big engines so I doubt that it will be my next bike :(

[Anonymous]

For what it's worth... never owned the "old" Wee but have had the new Glee for 5 days & 500 miles.

I'm very impressed. Although running in and keeping below 5000rpm it's smooth, light & punchy and very, very economical with the petrol.

I'm a happy bunny.............. :greetings-clappingorange:  :greetings-clappingorange:  

[ukiboy]

I've got the old wee and as the miles pile on it just gets better and better! A superb bike for everyday riding, touring and hooning. And they are cheap to buy now that the new one is out.
I've not riden the new wee although I rode a Gladius which shares the same engine and the Gladius had a  considerably smoother engine than my wee's sv650 based lump.
I reckon you won't go wrong with either.
Transalp's OK, although the engine is ancient, its only got 5 gears and the fuel tank is too small.
As for Triumphs - I'd love to spend my 'hard earned' on a British product but my local dealer is snobbish, arrogant and has a 'strange' attitude so no way they're getting my quids!

[rascaltrousers]

Never owned or ridden a wee but I got a nice KLV1000 last year which id fab. It replaced a much loved but tired Yamaha TDM900 which as usual nobody has mentioned. it must be the most overlooked bike in britain. I loved it and it is a very close run thing as to which is better KLV (v-strom) or TDM. I think the TDM wins on smoothness and economy, they are about even on most other things, b8ut the KLV wins on chassis/handling (just) and grunt (definitely   )

Do test ride a TDM if you can. They are great bike.

[Glider65]

Stibs... that is one heeeeeeelllllll of a fuely number you have there.  


You must tell me how you fixed it  

[Anonymous]

Stibs... that is one heeeeeeelllllll of a fuely number you have there.  


You must tell me how you fixed it  

My last two bikes were Deauvilles a 2004 650 then a 2010 700 both averaged around mid fifties and I was happy with that!!!!!!!!!!

These Stroms are very good

[Juvecu]

Note that the initial price of the new V-Strom 650 was higher than it is now. It's already dropped in price a bit and they do good finance and cash back deals (cash back is such a gimmick though...)

[Captain Sensible]

You can get the Wee2 for about £5,500 second hand now.

Remember that without hand guards, centre stand, heated grips, luggage  etc. the new Wee will need these if you are wanting a real tourer. The full dress new Wee costs about £7.5  k with all the touring bits on it.

I have a 2008 Wee (GT model) and it does everything I ask of it. It has never let me down. Great mpg.

The screen is a moot point - as a shorties maybe it is OK for anyone under 5' 9'' ? I am 5' 7'' and the OE screen is absolutely fine - for me!

I class the Wee as the consumate all rounder - it is the ultimate do everything bike in my opinion.

Dave

[bgfs]

I've got the new WEE with full kit and I have to say I'm really impressed. Did the Welsh Rally a couple of weeks ago with a couple of friends, one on an FJR the other on a Beamer and they didn't believe it was a 650!. Really comfortable and fantastic economy. I've also got a GSF 650 SA K9 which I've done the Alps twice on. I've retired this to commuter and will be using the Wee as my new tourer, 2 up, in a couple of weeks to Austria, so I'll post how I got on here.

My only complaints are the top box could be bigger and the pannier spread could be a little less. Aparantly the Wee is wider than a Pan European with the panniers!. The other one is the K9 has 2 cracking glove boxes in the fairing, one with an AC adapter. I've not seen Suzuki do this with any other bike. The new Wee would really benefit from that Mod as the stock adapter is down by the ECU and exposed to the elements! Also 1000cc version would be unbeatable! It would beat the hell out of the Truimphs!

[Juvecu]

On the subject of accessories, do the homework before you buy the Suzuki ones. You can get better Givi rails, panniers & a top box for far less than you pay for the Suzuki ones. Same goes for that ridiculously overpriced 12V socket they sell, you can get an equivalent for less than a tenner. There are plenty of aftermarket handguards that are better, with an aluminium bar inside and wider, with removable bits for cooler hands in summer and so on. R&G Heated grips are ~£40 and dead easy to install. The only thing I would buy from Suzuki if the price is more or less the same as aftermarket parts is the centre stand. Suzuki would charge you somewhere in the region of £2000 for the extras, I'm pretty sure you can kit it out the same bits, better ones at that, for less than £1000.