May be on a bike soon...help me decide
 

ETA: I bought a brand new V-strom, no further advice needed :D

Original post:

Ok, i can`t afford a new Vic or Harley right now, but the Vic dealer has a 2007 650 V-Star classic with 5500 miles or a 2006 V-strom 650 with 7200 miles. I`m going to ride both and may buy one of them. Both are $5k. I will be making field calls for work with all types of road surfaces from dirt to interstate. I need the ability to lock up case files and a laptop, but both offer that ability as hardbags can be added to either. what do you guys think of each bike?

I'll let you know about the V-star next week. I'll be down in your area on Tuesday with it as I'm riding home from FL.

Two totally different bikes.

I like the V-star but it certainly isn't a fast bike. If you are going to be doing any long distance highway riding, I'd probably lean toward to V-Strom.

For what it is worth, my dad has about 5 bikes; everything from an HD Ultra Classic to a Buell XB12S, a jap inline and a metric cruiser. His V-Star 650 is his favorite of the bunch.

V strom I would think is the more flexible of the 2, offering the ability to comfortably go on those rougher roads, whereas I would be somewhat leery of taking a straight cruiser style on them. That and think how much fun you could have riding that Vstrom all over the place (at least thats why I want one :wink:)

Im excited for you, keep us posted!

Vstar 650 is vastly underpowered. The choice is obvious and it is NOT the Vstar. JMHO...:)

I would think if rough roads and possible unpaved surfaces are a possibility you would want the V strom. although if looks plays a part I would vote v star over v strom.

strom

Lies. I dont believe you.

V-strom might be great on unpaved roads, but its ugly and too tall.

V strom... it grows on ya... and actually look pretty cool to me when they've got a set of knobbies on...

Strom - I'm biased toward the motor (I love the V-Twin 650 that it shares with the SV) even though it's geared differently.

You will totally love the ride of the thing

For what you are doing, I think the Vstrom would be the better choice. Solid power plant and more flexible abilities. Only downfall is the taller height.

Go with the VStrom. Yet another bike I will never ride due to my midget status :lol:

V-strom for sure.

No, marko, I'm not lying. I've been waiting entirely too long and I'm tired of "waiting till next year." 99% sure that I will have a bike sometime within the next 2 weeks and 75% sure it's going to be the v-strom.

I also went to the Suzuki/Yamaha/Honda dealer today and looked. A brand new V-strom 650 starts at 7500 (8k if you want ABS, which wasn't offered till '07) and they're offering 2% financing (if you qualify). I checked kelly blue book and retail on an '06 V-strom is 4200, so I plan on offering the Vic dealer 4k (maybe even 3800), after really looking the bike over.

I sat on the V-strom and it doesn't seem to be too tall, even with my 5'7 height. Sure, it's a small stretch, but nothing extremely uncomfortable. I intend to ride both bikes tomorrow at lunch, weather permitting.

The thing I like about the strom is that I can, as Rae said, ride it damn near anywhere. I also talked to a guy in the parts dept at the local dealership who has a 650 strom and absolutely loves it. Says it's good on highway and fun on dirt roads at good speeds, without getting squirrely.

Bags can be found on twistedthrottle.com for them.

Can't wait to ride it tomorrow.

Big con on the V-Star is valve adjustments every 4k miles...$$$. It's a decent bike but old design.

Of the two, I'd go with the Strom.

I can't wait to hear your ride report tomorrow!

V Strom.

you said that already numbnuts

Ulysses. find a bargain, V twin does it all.

Serious? That's fucking pathetic.

V Strom

Put up a poll That would be easier than listening to everyone. but my vote is V-Strom

good call

At 5'7" he'd need a fucking ladder to get on a Uly.

:lol I had no idea! Strom! I think the 650 has lower seat height and he prolly wouldnt miss the extra weight or power of the 1000 off road...

Hmm. Really? I had mine (1100) for a little over 30,000 without a problem. Was this just on the 650s?

Yes every 4k on the 650. Don't know if the 950, 1100, and 1300 are the same.

One of my more stupid moves was selling my V Strom .. You owe your self a ride on it.

ugh, typed up a long reply, only to have my cell phone clear it out.

short version...didn`t like V-star, going with V-strom. also found out strom is `07, so kbb retail bumps up to 4585. However, bike has scratches on handlebar ends on both sides and scratches on left side rear grab bar like it was laid down in very low speed get off. will try to talk dealer down. applied for loan, just to see what numbers come back, but could buy outright if i take a little money out of roth ira. going to talk to dealer after work

SWEET! Pic's or ban

Fucking awesome.

Game on!

Grr. Went over after work and talked for a bit. Mentioned kbb retail is 4600 and that bike has been down on both sides (looks very minor, but still...) Offered 4k flat, expecting counter-offer. Salesman simply said no way they'll take 4k. "Ok, what will you take?" "Sales manager isn't here, but there's no way he'll take 4k. Took it in on trade for Victory and had it originally at 5400, but came down to 4999. there's no way he'll come 1k off price."

"uh, retail is 4600 and bike has been down"

"yeah, it's a used bike"

"uh, I can go over to local suzuki dealer and get brand new bike for 7500, probably less, and finance at 1.99% for 5 years."

"yeah, I can offer you good financing on a new Vic"

"uh, I can't get a new Vic for 7500. These are completely different bikes. Why would I pay 5k for a 3 year old bike that's been down, with kbb retail price of 4600, when I can go get a new bike, same model, even has engine cage on it, for 7500 or less, with better financing. It doesn't make sense. there is no way I'm paying 5k."

"well, last I heard is 4999 is the price, but I'll take your number and have sales manager call you tomorrow."

Gave him my number, but that's just ridiculous. I'll go buy a brand new v-strom, probably for 7k, get a warranty and get 1.99% financing for 5 years before I'll pay 5k for a used v-strom that has been down, even if it was a fucking driveway drop. It has evidence of being down, I don't know the owner and know nothing more about the bike. My credit score is 740, so I highly doubt I'll have any problem qualifying for the 1.99% rate.

I can finance 4500 on the 2007 v-strom at 7.99% for 3 years (already approved), so payment would be 141. OR, I could finance new v-strom (say 7500) for 5 years at 1.99% and payment would be 131. Insurance is 200 more per year on new v-strom, which works out to 16 per month more, so I'd only pay $6 more per month for a brand new one, although it would be for 2 more years (if I don't pay off early, but why would I at 2% int?)

I'll wait for sales manager to call me tomorrow, but the absolute most I will pay is $4500 out the door. Otherwise, it's a new V-strom for me.

I wouldn't think twice about it and go get the new bike. Lord knows what else could be wrong with the bike that was laid down.

I cant wait to see what happens! In all the years I've known ya, you've never had a bike! Hurry up, the anticipation is killing me! :lol:

Guaranteed they don't have that in it. I would go for the new one just to thumb that salesman in the eye, much less have a cherry bike to make your own.

Wow, has it really been that long? I thought I had the R6 when you were on the other board... I sold it in July '05. Ugh, it's been almost 5 years since I've owned a bike!!!

I agree they don't have that much in it. Salesman said Victory gave them 1k toward accessories, but they sold bike for sticker, minus trade in. Uh, accessories have insane markup AND you got sticker? No way you have that much in the Strom. I'm thinking about very much just buying new. Going to see what sales manager says tomorrow, but won't argue very long at all with him. I'd go down to other dealership tonight, but have my daughter and it's impossible trying to buy a bike with a 5 year old in tow. :lol:

Strap her to the tank son, get'er done!

Awesome... honestly... I'd just buy the new one... dude wants to dance around about it... cool... KEEP the fucker.

Go buy the new one man, you will be happier in the end.
Dealerships that don't deal aren't worth your time.

Call the manager directly....or go in and see him. Fuck that sales guy. Work with a different one if you go back in.

That dealer sounds shady.

Buy the new one. Piece of mind, warranty, no previous damage, the same cost(minus a big mac meal).

Win-Win.

Looked up invoice on a 2009 with ABS, as 2010 models aren't out yet. Dealer cost, including assembly, is 6960 and MSRP is 7999. Also, dealer has 3% holdback on MSRP, but they don't receive that money until september. I'm getting ready to call larger dealerships in Indy to see if they'll quote me an OTD price on a new one with ABS, so I have some info before going into the local dealership tonight.

The sales manager of the Vic dealer was supposed to call me today, but haven't heard from him. I'm not about to call them. If they want to sell the bike, they can call me. I'm thinking along the lines of just getting a new one, but will see what kind of OTD price I can get. Problem is, nobody has the ABS ones in stock (called yesterday just to get a VIN to get insurance numbers, but nobody had one on their floor) so I may be hard pressed to get a good price on one.

I'll keep this updated.

Wow, nobody has any ABS v-stroms here in the midwest. Best deal I can get OTD (so far) on a non-ABS is 7960 (MSRP is 7499). Nobody wants to cut deals on them at all. Maybe it's because it's spring, maybe the V-stroms are very popular...i don't know. But even at that price, with the 1.99% financing, my payment would still be 140. Insurance would cost me 16 more per month. I'm sure registration will be a little bit higher on an '09 than it is on an '07, but can't imagine it much higher.

Oh, and suzuki basically stopped production for 2010, since bikes weren't selling that well.

I will most likely go with an orange bike, as it probably has a little better visibility to idiots than the gray one would, since I imagine gray will blend in with the road and surroundings a bit.

Orange FTW...

Paying over MSRP is bullshit. Don't do it.

I put 25k miles on a V-Strom 1K in about 6 months back in 2007. I loved pretty much everything about that bike except for the looks...but after a couple of rides I didn't even notice anymore and grew to love it. It is the best all-around bike I've owned out of around 10 different street bikes. It did everything well from railing twisty roads, to holding tons of luggage and off-roading. I caught air off-road quite a few times with my Strom and it just held up.

I wrecked it, dropped it, abused it and did things most people would never do on a street bike. It always started and always ran smoothly. In that 25k miles of HARD riding I only had one service done one it. Absolutely rock-solid.

I'd still be riding it if Moira's Goddamn Ducati hadn't shot oil on the road in front of me! :lol:

Found an 07 Vstrom 650 with all the hard luggage on it already, 10,600 miles for $4,999 at my local dealership. Road trip?
I'm sure you could talk them down a little.

Here's the link.
http://www.wheels-inc.com/new_vehicl...89&pov=1637778

Just throwin' it out there. I realize that it's a long ways away

ok, confirmed that nobody has a v-strom with ABS. the local dealer is giving me the best price. 7890 OTD on an orange one that already has engine guard and handgrip guards. told them i will be down tonight to sign paperwork. now i just hope i qualify for the 1.99% financing, but i shouldn`t have any problems with a credit score of 740.

already called insurance to set that up. if all goes well, i`ll have it home tonight. :D

Congrats. that's not bad OTD with the accessories on it.

:dribble::tremble:

Wow. Congrats man.

Got it!!!!! Brand spanking new. Not a mile on it when I bought it. :D :D :D

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-..._1686157_n.jpg

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-..._6125171_n.jpg

Fucking awesome Capt! Now enter the mileage contest


now you have no excuse not to come to the rally!

I need to look at rally dates and make sure I could get time off, then find someone to room with, but good point!!

I've been on TWF (in one form or another) since '06 and you've been talkin about getting a bike... I think the whole time... Congrats yo, you've gotta be shitting elephants you're so excited.

Comgrats, CM..

Funny thing about Vstroms, 650's or 1000's; they hold value (around here anyway) way above book. Those 05-06's are commanding 6K pricetags with beaucoup miles (Like 20K+). Suzuki had so much 09 inventory, they basically didn't ship much 10 stuff.. So now everything is scarce and dealers aren't dealing....which is helping ME out tons..........

Enjoy the ride , man.......

Congrats! Nice to see a picture of you too :)

Congrats man. Glad to see you're finally back on two.

I got you Bro!!! I'm sure that Gas Man would be cool with you as a roomie!!!

rally is weekend of my dad's birthday. Will have to see what I can do, but will let you guys know for sure if I decide to make it.

you can room with me and Trip. Push comes to shove... Ill have my tent and ill give up the bed. You need to show... You're 4 years overdue. Congrats again

Congrats man, lookin good! Glad you finally got back on 2.

congrats on the purchase. best choice.

love the orange, oh and where the hell is your gear? LOL

:lol: Gear is in the front seat of the Vibe sitting next to my bike. My dad drove me down to the dealership so I could ride the bike home.

And Ebbs, I agree that I'm definitely overdue for a Rally, but at least I've hung out with you guys in Indy! Will do my best, but can't make any promises just yet.

you are coming to the rally. It's settled, you have no choice.

Yeah, seriously - used ones around here go for almost the same as new (just a bit less).

I hear ya... but still... You're coming...

Hey, Brandon, let's just go get the bastid!!!:lol:

Aw your Dad has birthdays all the darn time, the rally only comes once a year, dude!!!

no shit!

yeah he's had at least what... 40 of'm....

this is only the 3rd rally... and YOUR first! goddamn Virgins... always Frigged.. :lol:

D
For shizzle!

Haha, salesman called me and said he was out sick yesterday, but the manager is willing to work with me to get me on the bike if I can go down there today. Too late, suckah!

The VStar 650 and 1100 both have valve adjustment intervals every 4000 miles. They may not actually need adjustment but they call for a check.

The 1300 and 950 are more reasonable, 10 or 12K if I remember right.

How convenient that he was sick.... I think you made the right choice.

What did you say to him?

Truth!

This!

He left me a voice mail. I just called and said I bought a new one. He said ok and hung up

What a dick!

should have played with him some more. Seen what kind of deal you could get, and then tell him you bought the new one cause he is a moron and sucks at life.

YES! That woulda been great. Or atleast tell him you were ready to buy that day but they were douches.

Vstrom

little late... :skep:

I think he's trying to be clever. :lol:

key word highlighted :lol:

Vstrom? :lol:

Fail... again.


Typical ebbs.