Advice on possible dl650 vstrom purchase

[myfirstluv]

Hey everyone; I hope I posted this in the right place.

Anyways, there is 2006 dl650 with the light blue color for sale for 5k.  It has 75miles on it and was wondering if this was a good buy.  According to kbb the retail for an 06 and 10k miles should be -4100.

The only thing i don't like is the color, but that can grow on me.

I've been riding for under four year and put on just under 17k miles on my gs, so it's not like this is an impulse or immature buy. I just want something more suited for touring and adventure touring and also camping.

I'm gonna start taking weekend road trips and would like to do some camping.  I just wanna say that i don't have to buy a bike but at the same time I would like to change/upgrade and have been waiting for a while to do this. Used vstroms in nj are always exensive; private is about the same or more than dealers.

Please give me honest and candid responses.  I always value the opinions and advice of individuals in this forum.

Thank You... P.S. I can't wait till spring! This snow sucks!!!

[zirconx]

The v-strom is a great bike.  A little underpowered, just like the GS.    But lots more torque.  You can really get buffeted in the wind, you'll probably want a larger/better designed shield.

Only 75 miles worried me though.  Has that oil been sitting in there since 2005-2006?!  I would go through the bike very carefully, it sounds like its done a lot of sitting.

[Shepa]

As to my experience (and preferences), Baby Strom has way too soft front end for it's weight, similar to GS, and identical brake calipers as GS, so an upgrade would be welcome (stiffer springs, fork brace, and Brembo 4 or even 6-piston calipers, depending on riding style). Maybe it's just me, but I don't like that sinking feeling when aplying the front brake.
I've ridden a version equipped with ABS, which is a pure pleasure to ride (and specially brake with  ) on wet roads.
V-twin has enough torque for any kind of roads (even with passenger), and seating position is just about perfect (relaxed and upright) in combination with slightly higher windscreen.

If you buy it, you won't regret it, it's worth the money. I've thought about buying it for a while, but I'm more "naked bike" oriented guy, so I'm fishing for a Hornet 600.
So, Strom is not perfect (but then again, what bike is?), but it's very reliable, competitive, not too thirsty, and much better choice (my opinion) than it's bigger brother DL1000.
It's not real off-roader/enduro, but it can deal with not too heavy gravel roads, forest paths and such.
And if you equip it with top and side cases, it can haul quite large amount of camping gear  .

[Twisted]

Just because you get another bike does not mean you have to get rid of your GS. Think of any extra bikes as fellow stable mates. 

[myfirstluv]

I would love to have two bikes.  And considering my 06 with ~17k mi and some minor lowside scratches might be lucky to get 2300, it almost makse it worth keeping both, but at the same time I could still put that towards the vstrom and my parents probably won't like that I have two bikes in the garage, plus I'll need to buy my own car soon so I can finally move out.  If I could have a two bike garage I would choose the wee-strom and an sv650 naked, which would cover all my bases.

I really want to get into touring/adv touring and some camping.  It seems like a lot of fun, and at the very least I want to get more serious about touring.

Actually, when I plan something later I will post and invite people on the east coast/jersey area to join me.

[myfirstluv]

I just found another one that's a red 05 wee-strom with 5600 miles on it for $4500?

As you can see new jersey is just an expensive place to live.  I've heard of some people getting really good deals on these bikes, but it's like this all year round.

[madjak30]

Compared to here, that is a smokin' deal...

Check this link...it is a current add at a larger dealer that has a selection of used bikes...

http://www.blackfootpreowned.com/show.php?id=1072&p=25&category=&make=Suzuki&srt=price ASC&submit=Search&page=1

But even on Kijiji they aren't much cheaper...and our dollar is at par with yours and has been for a while...

Later.

[yamahonkawazuki]

Compared to here, that is a smokin' deal...

Check this link...it is a current add at a larger dealer that has a selection of used bikes...

http://www.blackfootpreowned.com/show.php?id=1072&p=25&category=&make=Suzuki&srt=price ASC&submit=Search&page=1

But even on Kijiji they aren't much cheaper...and our dollar is at par with yours and has been for a while...

Later.

yall are at what 1.25 or thereabouts?, back to original topic, 75 miles? why so few. seems odd. have you seen this bike? and another poster said what concerned me, is it the original oil? if so, and you get it, as soon as you get it home. change it

[myfirstluv]

Those are all questions i need to ask if i go back.

That red 05 i mentioned seems to be a better buy if i can get it down to closer to 4. Kbb is around $3880.

[redhawkdancing]

My GS is 2006 and had been sitting inside with 19 miles on it. The battery was dead, and it needs new tires as the old ones are starting to show signs of dry rot after one season of riding. 

Is this a private seller? I wouldn't give him retail price. Retail price is what dealers offer. I would have a price in mind some place halfway between retail and wholesale. Be willing to go up for pluses like low mileage. Be willing to go down for stuff like dry rotted tires, dead battery, etc. If it was stored inside the whole time, it may be a good deal.  Good luck. 

[myfirstluv]

They are both dealers. I haven't checked out the red bike out yet and the blue one I checked out but not in detail. The blue one with 74 miles has no dry rot on the tires and is in perfect condition.

The mechanical condition is still undetermined.

According to the adv forums, one guy said to wait till the yamaha tenere comes on sale because a lot more people will be switching over from the wee-storm.

You guys should here about some of the deals some of these people are getting. $3500 for low mileage, touring mods, full hard luggage, crazy stuff cause I've never caught any of these deals.

On a side note I've starting to consider molding my gs to a naked as a dedicated/summer bike if I get the storm, and keep the strom as a dedicated tourer. But then again everyone loves the sportiness of the fairings. I'm sorry I'm writing/thinking aloud  

[Twisted]

They are both dealers. I haven't checked out the red bike out yet and the blue one I checked out but not in detail. The blue one with 74 miles has no dry rot on the tires and is in perfect condition.

The mechanical condition is still undetermined.

According to the adv forums, one guy said to wait till the yamaha tenere comes on sale because a lot more people will be switching over from the wee-storm.

You guys should here about some of the deals some of these people are getting. $3500 for low mileage, touring mods, full hard luggage, crazy stuff cause I've never caught any of these deals.

On a side note I've starting to consider molding my gs to a naked as a dedicated/summer bike if I get the storm, and keep the strom as a dedicated tourer. But then again everyone loves the sportiness of the fairings. I'm sorry I'm writing/thinking aloud  

Not everyone loves fairings. I personally would take a naked bike over a fared bike. And its ok to think out loud 

[myfirstluv]

A lot of people on the adv forums have suggested to wait a little bit till march/april.  Supposedly a lot of people will be selling their vstroms for the new yamaha tenere or the triumph 800's.

Few people said that those two bikes were good buys.  I'll see if I can bring down the red 05 closer to kbb, if not I'm in no hurry and can wait for a better deal.

Either way I'm going to hit up these forums later in the spring to see if anyone is up for a short weekend trip in the spring.

[mister]

They are both dealers. I haven't checked out the red bike out yet and the blue one I checked out but not in detail. The blue one with 74 miles has no dry rot on the tires and is in perfect condition.

The mechanical condition is still undetermined.

According to the adv forums, one guy said to wait till the yamaha tenere comes on sale because a lot more people will be switching over from the wee-storm.

You guys should here about some of the deals some of these people are getting. $3500 for low mileage, touring mods, full hard luggage, crazy stuff cause I've never caught any of these deals.

On a side note I've starting to consider molding my gs to a naked as a dedicated/summer bike if I get the storm, and keep the strom as a dedicated tourer. But then again everyone loves the sportiness of the fairings. I'm sorry I'm writing/thinking aloud  

Not everyone loves fairings. I personally would take a naked bike over a fared bike. And its ok to think out loud 

+1 Naked rulz

Michael