Incredible riding! Proves to me that the Vstrom can handle some nasty off-road conditions, Combined with the fact that it’s super smooth on the tarmac, and priced remarkably low, I do believe it’s the bike for me 👍
This video shows that it's the rider mostly, not the bike, that limits going offroad with the VStrom 650. As a just starting motorcycle rider, I'll just stick to paved, graded gravel and decent fire roads, thank you!
Yepz. The Stroms do NOT hop or travel over ANYTHING but they DO bulldoze their way through nearly anything as long as, like you show really well, you keep on the GAS! Its like you take off from home and leave the brakes behind. They may not be pretty but the WILL go just about anywhere. I roll with my Vee that I have set up more for dirt running parts of a BDR checking sections after storms, complaints, etc. I use the orig "crash" bars but supplement them with bar bags that keep the tank and upper fairings from making contact with the dirt...mostly, plus soft pans in the back. I carry a hardware store with me in case a rider has issues on the trail, but have the bags quick detach if she takes a nap so Im not lifting that weight too. When riders try my bike they are surprised how planted and consistent the Vee is BUT as long as you use that heavy front end as a battering ram instead of a technical scalpel. Yes my bike is not pretty after 6 years of banging through stuff but it also been reliable, rarely breaks and is a bike I can run to the store, run some dirt and then head out for many hundreds of miles on the slab. I love it. It IS pretty stout to pick up and friends are nice to have but I still ride a LOT solo as Im retired and can ride all week days and have weekends with my wife, and sometimes she lets me go play. Im an old guy with bad injuries where it hard to walk but riding helps me in so many ways. Been doing it for 50+ years in MI, Alaska and now the midatlantic area where there is amazing adventure/dual sport/back road riders that work getting people together for awesome rides no matter what you like to do, and its all about riding! Thank you for the great vids you are putting out that really show that most bikes can be "adventure" bikes and they can go more places than thought! Take care and be safe my friend!!
impressed :) Looking at buying a new 650xt strom myself but was worried about how it went offroad occasionally in pretty much exactly the same conditions your on (not any worse) your video puts my mind at ease (assume I just need to replace the stock tyres, get a skid plate and crashbars and barkbusters?) have you still got the bike?
well, thanks.. wanting to move from cruisers to ADV and was debating between a KLR and a Vstrom, klr lacks power for road riding, didnt think the vstrom could do too many trails..looks like it can.. definately leaning towards the suzuki
That is indeed the indicator for TC: Off :) You can disable ABS by pulling fuses or putting the bike on the center stand and running the rear wheel, but I can't offer advice on that for liability reasons ;p lol.
@@RaggedRoadsMoto-y1m yes!! I did that, center stand, second gear and go off. But is really annoying doing all this process each time you enter into a trail. However what worries me the most was the clearance, I was scare all the time that eventually some rock will hit the carter… anyway I’m happy with the vstrom, it is possible to off road light version. I will improve the skid plate so I can go more relax :) Great videos, I can see you take your vstrom to the limit!!
Nice video... Great to see what the Wee can do... I'm currently contemplating what bike to get for future solo long overland journeys that may involve all kinds of surfaces... Current shortlist is the 650xt, and a Honda CB500X. I'm about 175cm, 61kgs. What are your thoughts....
I'm definitely biased towards the V-Strom 650XT, I've actually done some overlanding on it (See the True North East Playlist) and the fuel capacity mixed with reliability lead me to think that you can't go wrong choosing it as your overlanding weapon!
@@RaggedRoadsMoto-y1m thank you for the input...the two areas where I see the CB having a slight advantage is the lighter weight and even better fuel frugality.... The XT seems better in most other aspects... Will watch the video you mentioned.... Many thanks
@@therollingpebble2138 hey man so what did you do eventually? I'm between the same two bikes and have the same body stature as you. The V-STROM seems like a handful
Great stuff! Too bad this is all far away from Spain. Would've loved to ride with you guys. Many times taking my Strom off-road here in the south of spain, it's awesome and a bit heavy it you have to pick it up hehe.
Just an update. Outback Motortrek did replace Colin’s bash plate with one sporting an updated design. It’s stronger than ever and although it hasn’t seen quite the abuse version 1 saw it has taken some good wacks and it’s holding up. It will see even more abuse over the next summer’s riding I’m sure and we’ll continue to update. Outback Motortrek is not a paid sponsor just a great company putting out quality stuff, if your in the market check them out.
I was using the Shinko 804/805 combo (essentially a 50/50 tire) for the longest time, but once COVID-19 drove the price of everything up I changed to a set of Motoz Tractionator Adventure tires. Definitely on the more aggressive end of things. Better lateral traction and wear, but if the price of the Shinko tires comes back down it'll be a hard decision to make going forward.
Of course! :) It really depends on the tire, every one has it's own sort of oddity to it. This is pretty much the standard with a dual purpose tire. You'll find some folks complain that it absolutely ruins on road handling: it doesn't. That being said, it's not going to feel like a strictly road tire either, there is always a trade off. So far the Motoz handle really well on road. They can feel a little vague at times in terms of feedback, but I haven't had any issues with them. The Shinkos wear into a flatter profile relatively quickly so you have to keep the steering input steady when you're in the lean. I hope that answers your question? Haha.
"Looking for detailed off-road maps? Backroad Mapbooks has you covered"; Well, no. Not right now anyway. Do they have a plan to cover la belle province?
I was mistaken Pierre, for some reason Quebec does not show up on the list by default. It appears their website is down for maintenance now but here is a link for later. bit.ly/3kQhxtK Let me know how you make out!
The only thing I've changed is the rotation of the bars. I rotated them back slightly for a more comfortable standing position and then adjusted the angles of the levers/mirrors/switches to match. All original levers.
@@RaggedRoadsMoto-y1m great, thank you. I practice with vstrom a-lot these days when here lockdown again. Also notice the level angel is twisting my wrist when standing . I will try adjust as you suggested. Another thing is that I get small hand, I am afraid I can not adjust the clutch because currently it will hit my litter fingers and I can not adjust further because the limit of hands. Let’s see.
