New ride for me (V-Strom 650)

[m98]

I purchased this V-Strom in June as a salvage and have finally finished
putting it back together. You talk about hot summer nights in June and
July in my garage, with temps above 90 degrees every night. However,
I really like putting things back together, so the heat becomes secondary.
The bike is a 2004 with less than 3000 miles. I have not ridden it much yet,
just around the subdivision. Once I get it insured this week I am going for
a ride this weekend and I will tell you how it rides. The engine sounds a little
like a riding lawnmower, but you can rev it more! It is fairly tall, I am 5'10"
and with my boots on I can barely flatfoot it. The seat can be lowered slightly,
however, I am not going to put lowering links on. The fairing on each side
already have scratches, so in that regard it is already broken in.

[SteveM]

Looks brand new and I'm curious to know what it looked like before you started. Is the title still listed as 'salvage' and does that affect your insurance?

[isleofmanfan]

Wow!  Nicely done.  When I think of a salvage rebuild I dont picture the likes of this beautiful Suzuki!  Enjoy your maiden voyage.

Hopefully it will vibrate less than Hondas V twin Hawk.

[ROJ]

That bike looks great.. what exactly did you do to it if it was listed as salvage??

[m98]

The new title will read salvage on it, it will not go away. Yes, it looks really good
for being a salvage. You can not tell in this picture, however, both sidefairings have
a fair amount of scratches on them, and the fairings are from a 2005 model. The frame
is a 2004, that is why it is silver color and it has a fair amount of scratches on it.
The engine is a 2005.

So the bike did not come complete and I had to find some of this stuff at salvage yards
etc. Was it worth it? Yes, in this instance it was. However, I have had a lot of practice
on some other bikes I have done in the past.

I just got insurance on it today, liability only $ 190.00 a year. I was told by somebody
insurance companies will not put full coverage on a salvage bike, I cannot confirm this
as I did not ask for this kind of coverage.

[Brittles]

Congratulations!!....................i've only heard good things about the V-Strom.

[gammer]

Very cool 

My wife works for the Ministry of Transportation here in Ontario. She told me that Salvage status on vehicles here are put on by the insurance company. And once a title has the Salvage status it can never be licensed for the road again...only sold as is or for parts.

[skramer360]

Very cool 

My wife works for the Ministry of Transportation here in Ontario. She told me that Salvage status on vehicles here are put on by the insurance company. And once a title has the Salvage status it can never be licensed for the road again...only sold as is or for parts.

Na, not down here, at least not in Indiana. The title just says salvage and it makes the resale value much lower.

[m98]

skramer360, you are right about the salvage title in the US it does lower the resale value.
I do not plan to sell my DL650 though. I rode it to work today and it is just nice to sit up
high, u turns on this bike is inbelieveably easy. So far I need to dial in the suspension on
the rear, the scoot just can haul from a red light though!

[m98]

I went for an 80 mile ride today. The bike just scoots along nicely at any rev
range. I do not have any of the buffeting behind the windshield (I think), it is
always windy out here when I go up over the Spring Mountain pass. The bike
is very smooth and I did not feel any vibrations in the rev range. My right
hand was going numb on me at the end of the ride, but it happened on the
N/H and my VFR as well, so that is my grip that is causing that. The seat
was not good at the end of the ride either, so I will have to look at options
what to do there.

[CraigF]

Your V-Strom looks great.  The V-Strom 650 is on my short list for my next bike.  A friend of mine called me last week to tell me a dealer near him (Twin City Power Sports, I think) has a 2009 650 in orange for $6499 out the door (that's $1000 off list and about $350 off for freight and prep). 

Unfortunately, I'm not in the market right now.

[m98]

CraigF, that is a good price otd. '07s and '08s are being sold private sale on the Stromtrooper
forum between $5-6000, granted they have a few farkles on them, but a new one  for 6500,
that is good.

I went for another ride today, just over 100 miles. I went up to Mount Charleston 50 miles north
of Las Vegas, I had to zip my jacket once I got over 5000 feet, the temperature begins to drop
and it was probably low to mid 60s up at the ski resort above 8000 feet. Yes, we have a ski
resort that close, it has snow from Thanksgiving until Easter. I did not bring my camera, if I go
next week I will take some pictures. The DL ran flawless, it is so easy to ride. The only thing is
the seat, I will need to buy either some beads or the Alaskan sheepskin pad, the seat is more
brutal than the Nighthawks.

[hockeyhawk]

Nice looking bike, would never know it's salvage from the pics. Good luck with it. 

Ride Safe 

[darian]

I'm very impressed.  I have considered trying to fix up a salvaged bike and run it until the wheels fell off.  Although it varies from state to state, it doesn't take much for an insurance co to total a bike out and I thought if I could find one w/ just cosmetic damage I'd be ok.  It seems most bike shops don't do body work (just replacing) and most body shops don't do bike work.  In the end, I decided I didn't have the experience and would probably get burned.  Your looks great though.  I like the veestrom.  If it had some bags, it'd probably be a perfect tourer.  (a combination sport / adventure tourer)

[m98]

Darian, I was lucky with this one. I have had others where things were much
worse than this one and I got rid of them after a while.

Yes, throw a couple of bags on it and it is ready to tour. Check out www.
stromtrooper.com, be careful though not to drink the kool-aid over there.
I began lurking on that site a long time ago and now I have a Strom. It is
so nice with that front fairing and you either like the look of a Strom or you
don't.

[m98]

Here is a picture of the Nighthawk and the V-Strom. My son is wearing the red helmet and
I am wearing the white helmet. We are not giving the number 1 salute, my son is showing
I-4 (inline 4) and I am showing V-2.

[OriginalHawk]

Thats cool man, looks like you guys are geared up for a great ride. (or returning home)
I wish my dad would get a bike - he is a cager though.
Sometimes we will go for cruises in our cars, he has an 06 Corvette and I have a 00 Transam.
He did drop the bomb yesterday, he said "can I ride your Nighthawk when you get it 100%, I haven't been on a bike in thirty years!" Of course I told him sure. I hope he has a great ride, maybe the bug will bite him too.
I would love for my dad to be able to ride with me.

[Vermontster]

Yep, very cool you're riding with your son! My Dad just turned 90. Always a cager, and a bit of a lovable curmudgeon now, he'll not ever get to experience what I've just discovered.   

[m98]

Vermonster, just get a hack (sidecar) and give you father one of those small
bottles of wine to sip in the sidecar while you do the driving duties, lol!

[Vermontster]

M98, I like it! 

He's really just a kid, behind the curmudgeon. I wonder if that runs in the family...

[Yokomo]

I think Vstroms are kind of ugly, but I would really like to have one!     How is the torque and speed of it compared to your NH?  Do they feel about the same weight?  Any pro's the NH has over the strom?

Thanks for the comparison pic!!

[detdrbuzzard]

good job on getting the vstorm road worthy m98. the last time i was in vegas my brother took me up to mt. charleston ski resort for lunch

[m98]

Yokomo, the V-Stroms are weird looking, but the fairing is surprisingly effective.
It is not fair to compare the NH with the V-Strom, even if you bought
the last model year (2003) NH. You can get the V-Strom up to 90 mph.
pretty easily. The windblast on the NH is too much and you have to lay over
the tank to minimize drag. The torque on the Strom is awesome and the
upright riding position fits me perfect. I did replace the OEM bars with ATV
hi-bars, cheap fix $ 25.00, and it fits me perfect. The NH does feel heavier
getting in and out of the garage since it does weigh more. The V-Strom is pretty
high seating height, so if a beginner were to buy as a first bike you really have to
be long legged to balance. I am 5'10" and can barely flat foot, but have no problem
balancing at stops. The NH is a good beginner bike or getting back to riding.
I really like the NH for city riding, not so much for outside the city. The Strom
does everything well, it is a bulletproof engine just like the NH. Come and visit
us on www.stromtrooper.com.

[m98]

Hi Buzz, Mt. Charleston is a nice place, isn't it? The mountain received about
2 feet of snow last week. It was the same day I believe wykedstyles went down
on his scoot. I did not allow my son to ride last week because of the rain. This
week the temps have been around 60, yes sixty, in the daytime, perfect for
riding.

[Yokomo]

ya I've sat on a couple and they fit me great.  They're not a striking bike, but I think they'd be perfect for the highway like you said.  Some guys put knobbies on them and dual sport with them.
Nh is a windy ride, I just put on a shield to help with this!  maybe I'll come across a cheap enough one, one of these days.