V-Strom
Today here in eastern Pennsylvania the temperature hit 60F, which is unheard of for February. Most years at this time the ground is covered in snow, the bike is inside on the trickle charger, I’m reading old magazines, playing MotoGP on the Xbox and wondering when the snow will melt so I can ride again. But today was the best February day I can remember so I wrapped up work by noon and headed off to the Poconos to visit my parents.
I ride a 2005 V-Strom. She’s a bit beaten up, has a few dings from a deer strike a few years back (including some deer hair my brother and I epoxied in place to commemorate the crash) and something like 55,000 miles on the odometer. I take this ride a lot. There’s a bit of small town traffic, then some country roads, then the fun stuff. I head up over a dirt mountain road full of twisties that’s recently been coated with a layer of cinders. The paving starts again at the top, then it’s mile after mile of the Lower Mountain Road which twists along the base of the mountain through dense woods. On the last stretch there are almost no intersecting roads and I’ve never counted the turns but I have to guess it’s well over 50.
It occurred to me today that the V-Strom is quite possibly the perfect bike to handle that kind of varied surface and
traffic mix. Sitting as high as it does I’m at least eye level with most SUV’s in town, the entire trip takes less than 1 1/2 gallons of gas and the V-Strom is nimble enough to handle the steep, twisty, muddy, cinder covered mountain. The Bridgestone Battle Wing tires I ride aren’t great once the grooves fill up with cinders but hell, that’s part of the fun.
The V-Strom is capable of doing everything well and with the addition of a top box and some relatively inexpensive Givi cases it makes a great 2-up tourer with plenty of power. The SV650 engine is practically bomb-proof and maintenance is fairly simple. I’ve owned three other bikes and although they each had their strong points, none of them were capable of handling the variety of terrain and traffic conditions that today’s sort of ride presented with the ease the V-Strom did. After 55,000 miles I’m starting to think about replacing her. It most likely will be another V-Strom.
Ride safe.
Couldn't agree more. I bought my 2008 V-Strom in April of 2011 and have ridden the hell out of it. I hit all of the lower 48 states and a couple of Canadian provinces on it. Oil changes, fluid top offs, new tires, and a new chain/sprockets is all of the maintenance I've had to do. I've only been riding since 2006 but this is my fifth bike and by far the most reliable and fun vehicle I've ever owned.
My '07 is over 55k miles. There is a few other bikes I would REALLY like to own and ride but I can list a hundred reasons why none of them could actually replace my Strom. It just does everything I want a bike to do for fun as well as everything I need a bike to do for every day living. And it does it all well.
I have however found one thing the Strom will absolutely NOT do. If your looking to buy a bike to help you pick up women at the local bike night, the Strom is not for you. LOL
Lol, that's certainly true Don. One reason I don't do bike nights, already found the perfect woman and she likes riding on the V-Strom with me.;-) I've heard people in my bike group say "you don't often see a bike like that leading rides". Not sure what they think it is.