I bought a used van van two years ago. I put a sub frame under the motor (a Suzuki OEM part). Then, I installed a DR200 skid plate from Ricochet. I had to reshape it to fit. I've taken this bike on forest service roads, and through the Badlands and Black Hills of South Dakota. Next year, I plan on riding it on the Alpine Loop in Colorado.
The comments re: build quality are absolute rubbish. VanVans might be an unknown entity in North America, but in Europe & Asia we have been abusing these things for decades. They are bullet proof. And your arguments in support of your assment are equally ridiculous. Regarding the shifter peg ... there is a basic engineering concept where by you intentionally make a component of limited strength so that it gives before it causes damage to the next mechanism it is attached to. Long story short, if you drop the weight of your bike (and you) on the shifter peg - do you want the shifter peg to bend, or do you want it to stay perfectly intact but instead transfer that force into the clutch mechanism ? ... naturally, you want the easily repairable/replaceable peg to bend rather than transfer that force into the clutch. This is smart engineering. Amazing that you have such confidence trashing the build quality of the VanVan based on such flimsy, ill conceived observations - and in stark contrast to the decades of abuse these things go through in other vast areas of the world whilst maintaining a stellar reputation for ruggedness.
I’m happy to say they’re holding up very well! They crash good as in do not get much damage. I do have a Trex cage on it that’s very strong. I have only had to replace a mirror and a rear signal. No levers and no shifters. I will be buying more for the school fleet.
I actually swapped the shifter pedal for one that folds so if you fall it won't break as easily. The OEM from Suzuki is really bad (and expensive for what it is) I really recommend changing it.
Van Van competition? Definitely not the Ducati, its the Yamaha TW200.... The VV 200 really are cool bikes.... I have a few bikes (2 HDs, 2 Suzukis, Yamaha and a KTM).... The VV 200 is definitely a slow boat, but I always smile cruising it to unwind and getaway. I leave my VV 200 at a So Cal mountain home for an around town cruiser / trail bike when I visit... Rode it today on & off road to waste a Saturday. The little guy always gets smiles and thumbs up when riding. Even non riding people say its a cool bike. Even cooler is it was only available here for 3 years and are pretty rare to come across.
My tips for anyone thinking on getting a Van Van: This is not a fast motorcycle, this is a motorcycle to go slow and enjoy the view. It can totally handle rocks and off-road, mud, sand... It would surprise you. But dont over inflate the tyres! Talking about tyres, swap them for the Bridgestone Battlax Adventurecross Scrambler AX41S. They're so much nicer on the road and off-road than the Dunlops. It doesn't have ABS and the rear uses a drum brake, so go to a parking lot and practice some emergency braking with each brake and both to get used to it. Really, do practice emergency braking. And finally... Have fun 😊
I picked up a Van Van this summer for a fun goof-around bike. So far, it's been great. The extra CC's above a Monkey / Grom make it a lot more usable around town. Definitely not fancy, though, like the Monkey. Just a basic, fun bike. Looks like it'd be perfect for an MSF class!
i have a 200 Van van, good review, i would beg to differ on the robustness of the bike. it seems able to hold up pretty well so far, i did have a Honda 400/4 which frame snapped whilst parked with camping gear on, left it a side stand, and when i returned it was on its side... so Honda build quality does'nt impress me lol... the key thing with the van van is just how much it is to ride, i can honestly say i get more joy from riding van vans than every other bike i've owned.... and it looks brillent to, rember its better to ride a small bike fast, than a fast bike slow, have fun
Thanks for posting Stephen. I have two van vans at our training lot and they are holding up very well so I would definitely buy more to train more students on the build quality is good. The hard part is just finding them.
Do you have a link for the crash bars? I got a vanvan myself and wouldn’t mind putting some on. I also have a rack in the back and wondering about good ideas for hard case or so
@@leeridefar thanks. Not planning on dropping it, but better safe than sorry. My vanvan came with a rack. Any suggestions for a hard case I can put on?
Thanks! Lee... SO Helpful to learn of this... Fragility... Planning on the TATrail... As you kindly say, I better get the TW200 (though only 15 pounds heavier?/less fragile?)... (Or even Honda's Trail 125 has already done the TAT, unscathed)...
The comments about the VanVan being frail are, frankly, ridiculous. It's as if the vids producer felt compelled to say something...anything...so he made something up. His comparison of the VV with the Grom is just silly. Re the "Honda 125" you spoke of...Are you referencing the CT125 "Farmer". Those are great bikes for slow going where you may be down to walking speeds due terrain or topography but remember these are only a 4 speed transmission so can get a little buzzy on the road.
The VanVan in my opinion would be better since the EFI can adjust for elevation changes. The carburetor on the TW cannot. I do not think the VanVan is fragile. The TW just seems to have more dirt worthy bodywork.
@@myname1234ist 100% agreed ... this dude is thoroughly clueless. I don't care how many of these he's got in his parking lot, I'll take the decades of off-road abuse these things are put through in Europe & Asia as proof of their robustness. Dude rides his around some pavement and thinks he knows what's what 😅
I like Suzuki bikes .....they put a lot of thought when designing them .... I used to have an ER185 two stroke model .... Which was possibly more powerful than the new (4 stroke ?) .....If commuting on sealed roads the bulky off ride tyres tend to skid more and can be dangerous especially in wet conditions. so I had two sets of tyres .... I am 84 in a couple of weeks and ride Buell firebolt, BMW gs650 of/on road bike, and my favourite one (in my pic) is a 1984 GSX-R 400cc four stroke which is a dream to ride in every respect.I have aso owned a GS 500cc bike which handled like a super sports bike on bends etc, yet was a cheap bike sometimes used by parking meter staff employed by local government.... GO SUZUKI 🏍🏍🏍🏍🏍
Where in the world did you find a VanVan? They stopped importing them years ago and I've been looking ever since. I wanted one for trail riding in the mountain fire roads and general commuting around the city. I also considered it for the TAT because of the EFI, but they stopped importing them before I could buy one. As for fragility? No way. Don't know what you've been doing to your bikes, but I've seen videos of what the folks in Europe put these little guys through off-road and it's easily comparable to what we in the States put the TW200 through. If I can find a VanVan before I find a TW, the VanVan just might win.
They imported them into Canada for three years. I’ve got two in the school with crash bars and they have been great! I’d buy 3-6 more if I could find them. They’ve done well as learn to ride bikes.
You do realize that Suzuki is rated number 2 in the world rite behind Yamaha for reliability. Honda is 3rd, Kawasaki is 4th, Harley. Is 5th etc. Suzuki is the king of real world motorcycles.
I now have three Van Van 200s and looking for more. These bikes are really proving themselves in the training lot! They sure don’t make many Suzukis in North America
The narrator is on pretty thin ground claiming that the Suzuki's build is in any way frail because of the dimensions of the swing arm or the look of the gear shift lever. In fact if he's an instructor of impressionable young motorcycle student learners he should probably be given a mild slap. Is the Suzuki VanVan world full of bikes with bent, buckled, broken or corroded swing arms and/or shift levers? A: No, no, no, no and noooooo! PS - Is the Honda Grom a silly little motorcycle designed for gawd knows whom to do gawd knows what?
We’ve used Suzukis before in the fleet of school bikes and they just don’t hold up like Hondas do. But nows the time to give them another try. With the cage we put on them. They are holding up better so far. We have two of them now and I definitely want more but it’s too early to see how well they will hold up. The Grom and z125 is one of our best learning bikes. Great to get anyone started so they can move up easier to the bigger bikes. The Grom and z125 save the larger bikes from falling over.
