Today I did a shocking thing...
I test rode a V-Strom!
Long story short, I'm doing a bit more 2up riding and though the Varadero is an idea all day comfrotable mile muncher with plenty of grunt.
But, I've been finding it very heavy at slow speed and awkward to haul around by hand.
So I've been looking for options to maybe replace it.
Said replacement must be comfy for two, capable of carrying everything and the kitchen sink but still be a fair bit lighter than the Varabeast.
So I went to the dealer to check out a Tracer 900.
It's the older model with the S10 style dash, but with the fancy blue forks and wheels.
Did about 20 miles in the hour.
The Brakes were Great, handling very light, but planted. There was a small aftermarket sports screen fitted, which did supprisingly well until the national speed limit was reached.
The dash was a little dull and hard to read in bright sunlight but you could read it.
The seat was rock hard even though the bike had done 10k so you'd think it would have softened up a little. Though it was wide as the rear of the riders section and has 3 different height settings. The pillion seat also seamed adaquate allthough I think SWMBO would insist on a sheep skin cover until I had both sections refoamed and recovered.
The engine picks up speed really well but without the low down grunt of my Honda I found myself going into the first few roundabouts in too high a gear. Once I tuned into the lack of torque low down and kept the revs a little higher where the engine responded well all was good.
The STD and B fuelling modes are a waste of time. After you use A mode for the first time you just set it to A and ride on. I did find that the trottle responce was a little jittery in traffic, but no more than the Varadero, so I'd be able to live with that.
The handlebars seemed very low but fell nicely to hand and nice and wide foor me with my long arms an experience riding low flat bars on my dual sport bikes.
The silly looking handguards also seemed to work well keeping the cold wind off my hands which I didn't expect given the shape of them- though I didn't ride the bike in the rain.
The two main negatives for me was the noise of the clutch. It rattled like a shaken bag of spanners until you pull the lever in.
Also and more importantly the vibration from the engine. I didn't expect vibrations from an engine that people have called a rev happy smooth as silk ride. I couldn't live with a bike that vibrated that much regardless of revs or road speed.
I came away from it quite diapointed. It has a few extra HP from the Varadero and is significantly lighter yet planted and a capable machine.
Pity the thing virbrates so much.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/DpTnBebTJvaLjj4D6The sales bloke hands me the keys to a DL650 demo and off I ride.
As with most technical inovations, I think their bollo##s, but the Low RPM assist really does work and work well. If you didn't know about it you'd just think you gel so well with the clutch and engine that you make it pull away that smoothly.
Well done Suzuki- that's one inovation that really does work.
The fuelling on the DL650 was just as I remeber it on my K6 Wee. The Tracer was jittery on the throttle in traffic and low speed the DL650 was silky smooth.
If you worked the DL650 that little bit, it wasn't that far off the pace of the Tracer and felt just as planted. OK flat out the Tracer will pull away from the DL650, but I'm talking real world feeling of pace.
The seat felt far lower than I remember, but I did also fit a Vee seat and usually a sheeep skin cover most of the time. I'd likely go for a higher seat option or have it refoamed and covered but I could live with the stock seat for a while.
The suspenshion felt that bit more robust and not as wollowy as the early models but my Wee had done 50k before I changed the spring for a Hyperpro one.
I liked the digital dash, where I always have wanted old fashioned clocks with needles. I also likes the way the buttons cycled through the user selectable display. The top section would cycle if pressed forward (up) and the lower selction if press back (down).
The brakes are still as crap as ever.
The engine has got smoother since the early ones like my old K6, but saying that my K6 felt smoother, but 60k miles will do that. I'm sure the new models will be much the same with a few miles on them. This Demo bike only had 63 miles on it when I started out.
I didn't want to give the keys back for the DL650.
Anyways, atm a brand new bike is not an option while saving for an expensive holiday next year and for a new kitchen. But I may start looking for a 15/16 year model one.
Don't tell SWMBO!
https://photos.app.goo.gl/BM1nYADM4UugVPat7https://photos.app.goo.gl/do9WGELeVJsPbmoz6https://photos.app.goo.gl/g4y1BqZfQE5rkeNK7