so heres the deal

[Pokey]

I agreed that the wee was the best bike for cheap ADV'ing. To say it's a better bike than the KTM is ridiculous. It's not even close.

The Strom650 is a great bike' date=' but there have been others listed that are [b']far superior.

Strom are better "all around bike" for the majority of riders, yes KTM's excel OFFROAD because as a company that is what they are known for. Saying other offerings are far superior is a stretch, maybe superior in price and headaches. On road and all around reliability, ease of maintenance, cheaper ownership, dealer support......much better option with the Japanese offerings. If the Wife would let me, I would order a new Tenere Monday......someday sooner than later though. I am am function over fashion kind of guy, no interest in the gourmet bikes.

[sturg]

Strom are better "all around bike" for the majority of riders, yes KTM's excel OFFROAD because as a company that is what they are known for. Saying other offerings are far superior is a stretch, maybe superior in price and headaches. On road and all around reliability, ease of maintenance, cheaper ownership, dealer support......much better option with the Japanese offerings. If the Wife would let me, I would order a new Tenere Monday......someday sooner than later though. I am am function over fashion kind of guy, no interest in the gourmet bikes.

Take a look at that thread link I posted from advrider. There are a cornucopia of poignant opinions from seasoned riders.

It boils down to what you want and the type of riding youll be doing. I'm betting that ill find the wee inadequate for what I'm going to do. By no means does that make it a bad bike, only just an impropper fit. Terms like "best all around" are easily lost in translation.

[sturg]

Other than the summer I prepped bikes to be taken home at Ask I havrnt ridden a shaft driven bike...I wonder how that would feel in the dirt?

[Pokey]

Are we talking about ADV bikes' date=' or commuting bikes? If we're staying strictly to paved roads, then stop at the WeeStrom. No argument. If we're taking the bike off the beaten path and into the wilderness, you're going to want to bust out the heavy artillery and reholster that Suzuki.

Regardless, KTM isn't a "gourmet" bike. KTM is a "purpose-built" bike. There are 2 990 ADVs for sale near me for <$12k, brand new. Considering the cost of other actual, capable machines, that isn't very expensive. I'd rock the KTM over that ginormous Bavarian GS, any day.

I hear you on function over fashion. Have you seen my bike?

I, too, have been eyeballing new ADV bikes. That 1200 Tiger really strikes my fancy. Just not sure about the shaft drive in a woods environment. The baby Tiger is something I'd get down with, but not enough to sell my beloved boutique MTS.[/quote']

Go to ADVrider and see the pics of Stroms in action offroad. The shaft off-road works awesome from what I hear, friend of mine has a Tenere and says that bike just continues to impress him. Ewan and Charley have shown just how capable the big shafties truly are off-road, just allot more to keep upright and allot harder to pick up when down. The Tiger 1200 sounds like it is more of an on road only bike than a Strom, but say on the slab it is fabulous. That Tiger 800XC is a bad boy for sure, wouldn't mind one of those in my garage either. I am still not sold on a KTM, they are for sure off road purposely built but just don't have my trust for long trips or day in and day out usage.

This bike makes me cum a bit in my pants just looking at it.

[sturg]

Ill see your Creamed Tenere and raise you the KTM ANAL EXPLORER

Edited February 24, 2013 by sturg

[imaposer]

Man, I went down this path about a decade ago. I wanted something I could hit the slab for 4-6 hours after work on Friday to get to the mountains, spend the day Saturday exploring the forest service roads and trails, then hit the twisty two lanes for a full day getting home on Sunday. Here's how my journey went.

DRZ400S. Great on Saturday, Friday was miserable, Sunday, not any better. Sold it for a-

BMW GS. Worst bike I ever owned! I could not get rid of the horrible turbulence on my helmet, certainly couldn't ride it on anything beyond easy gravel roads, and felt like I was piloting a barge on the back roads. Sold it for a--

DR650. Friday and Sunday were better than the DRZ, but Saturday was worse. Sold it for a-

XR650R. holy hell, what a beast. No idea why I though a street tagged XR was a good idea. Sold it for a-

DR650. This one was fully decked out for a round the world type adventure. Didn't help. Not much of an improvement over the stock one I had. Sold it for a-

Cagiva Gran Canyon. Finally! This was the perfect bike! Seriously, it did everything I wanted in a bike. But, I found myself riding more and more challenging stuff on Saturdays. Till one day I was riding by myself in W.Va, and had one of those 'ah crap' events where I was expecting a cross road about a mile in on a forest service road, and there wasn't one there. There was no way I could go back up the "road" I came down, and I was uncertain what I was getting in to by keeping going down the mountain. I really had no choice but to continue, and thankfully, found my way out without much worse than some serious clutch abuse. I then realized the folly of my loner riding ways and decided as a maturing, responsible family man, I had to knock that crap off. So, I sold it for a-

Vstrom. Pretty good all around, Saturday was really limited, which I wanted but the bike was too much japanese car like to me. It didn't do anything wrong, it was just boring to me. Sold it for a-

Nothing. I went a few years without a daily rider bike (I've always had my ducati in the garage as well) until last year when i bought the Uly thinking I would start getting back in to it some. It hasn't worked out that way, so it's for sale now as well.

Now, what was the question?

I'd say if that's what you really want to do, go for the KTM. It was on my list to replace the 'strom, but I was fully aware I would end up in the same situation I was in with the gran canyon if I bought it. I realized that I'd rather have a bike that makes me stop before I get too far in and find myself doing something stupid, so that's why I went with the Uly. It would be a great Friday/Sunday bike, and Saturdays would have to stay on the boring side, which is probably in my best interest anyway. The strom works perfectly in this capacity as well, but like I said, it just felt boring to me, and I don't ride bikes unless I like them.

My next move? Sell the Uly and get a track bike, and/or a 250 dual sport. Truck/trailer to somewhere fun to ride for a day with other people instead of continuing my loner ways. At this point, my boy is only a few years away from riding with me on trips like this. I've got to start getting the ball rolling in that direction soon.

[stxtcy]

I've got nothing but love for my 990. Rode my first in 06 when the 990 was first introduced was'nt looking for a replacement for my current ride but infatuated just the same. Two years later my bike was totaled and I had the opportunity to make the jump. Crazy cool extremely charismatic and a total hoot to ride on or off road. If you want a giant dirt bike that can cover reasonable distances at a good clip there is no better. Jumping a street bike never gets dull. Rode Wayne with my buddy on a wee I can still hear the clunk behind me in my mind. Wee is a price point bike. The triumph is the closest out right now. G800 is not in the same league and the tenere is meant to compete with a ms or gs.

[sturg]

Thanks for all the input boys, keep it coming. I'm vaca and without a computer for a few days but ill write up my thought process thus far.

[Pokey]

ill see your creamed tenere and raise you the ktm anal explorer

Ouch, use some lube next time would ya!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[sturg]

The question was raised...does it say "anal explorer" or "anal explored" :-X

[sturg]

I loled. And then I thought of the rusty trombone

[LINK]

I am new to this style of riding, so I went with a V-Strom.

I wanted a Triumph Tiger bad, but for the money, the Glee just made more sense to me.

This is what I really want though...

http://assets1.triumphmotorcycles.com/images/motorcycles/2013TigerExplorerXC_Khaki_Green_RHS.jpg

[Tpoppa]

I've come to the realization that the Suzuki 650 twin is one of the finest motors to ever be bolted onto 2 wheels. Seriously.

Edited February 26, 2013 by Tpoppa

[mike884]

For the $, my vstrom 650 has been the best bang for the buck. I've gone from mild off roader to light tourer and it just keeps impressing. It won't scare the bejesus out of you, but it is certainly not slow and I concur it has been as solid as an anvil, oil - gas - go. I tried the 1000 and while it did seem a bit quicker, the extra weight, lumpiness under 4k and the power that borderline exceeded the brakes/chassis just put the vstrom's mojo all out of whack for me. YmMV

Edited February 26, 2013 by mike884

[mike884]

Yea wee strom isnt near a 990...and neither win any pageants. That I can agree with

[stxtcy]

I concur there is no true beauty in the category. Nothing can be said bad about either strom. Ridden both love them both but find a deal on a ktm and your golden. Love my katoom but the resale sucks which is great for a prospective buyer.