Author Topic: today's the day  (Read 6744 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline Brockett

  • Member
  • ***
  • Joined: Nov 2011
  • Posts: 8348
  • Bike: 2022 Moto Guzzi 850 V7 special in blue, 2022 850 V7 Stone in darkest black, 1998 XJ600n in red
  • Location: Tendring in the Far North East (of Essex)
today's the day
« on: July 09, 2015, 08:44:17 »
As I set off to pick up ( not literally) my new Tracer, I feel the shadow of 'traitors gate' fall upon me. The legend " Abandon all hope ye who enter here" weighs heavily as I betray that happy band of brothers and sisters who remain loyal to the V-Strom.
This doesn't last forever, so do it while you can.

Offline MartinW

  • Administrator
  • Member
  • *****
  • Joined: Jan 2012
  • Posts: 12741
  • Bike: DL650 K4 Blue
  • Location: Swindon
Re: today's the day
« Reply #1 on: July 09, 2015, 08:46:34 »
Enjoy the Tracer.

We still let Mr Diver in, so you should be OK.
Tall, Dark and Handsome (In 1987) - Just tall now !!

Chief Stasi


Offline mr_diver

  • Ride Coordinator
  • Member
  • ****
  • Joined: Oct 2010
  • Posts: 8077
  • The Rantings of a Crazed Lunatic
  • Bike: 'onda Varadero XL1000v9, 'onda CX500ec '83, GSX14 '06, DL650 K6 (Blue) R.I.P,
  • Location: Port Talbot
Re: today's the day
« Reply #2 on: July 09, 2015, 08:58:29 »
Be careful though, I'm hanging on by my finger nails... it's sooooo boring over on the Varadero forum.

Enjoy the new ride mate. Give us a nice write up when you've done a few miles.



Ride Coordinator

Offline UK_Vstrom650

  • Member
  • ***
  • Joined: Jun 2012
  • Posts: 6580
  • Bike: DL650A L2
Re: today's the day
« Reply #3 on: July 09, 2015, 10:51:48 »
Enjoy! Looking forward to read everyone's thoughts on the Tracer when they've done a few thousand miles/tours. It's currently at the top of my list for the next bike.

Offline Fat Rat

  • Administrator
  • Member
  • *****
  • Joined: May 2008
  • Posts: 17419
  • Bloke/Geezer/Fella
  • Bike: DL650A L6, K8 DL1000 & Tenere 700
  • Location: Carmarthenshire, West Wales
Re: today's the day
« Reply #4 on: July 09, 2015, 16:29:12 »
Give it a fortnight and I'll sell you mine (I thought I'd get that in before anyone else did)  :)
*** Bikers Campsite in West Wales ***



Learn to spell! There's a big difference between knowing your shit and knowing you're shit

Visit the V-Strom.co.uk shop today!

Offline Mr Nick

  • Member
  • ***
  • Joined: May 2012
  • Posts: 3234
  • Certified Fisher Price trained technician
  • Bike: 1979 Suzuki TS185ER, 1979 Moto Guzzi V50, 1989 Moto Guzzi SP3, 2010 KTM 990 Adv
  • Location: Fife
Re: today's the day
« Reply #5 on: July 09, 2015, 17:39:30 »
Quote from: "mr_diver"
it's sooooo boring over on the Varadero forum.
Could be worse - KTM UK forum is seemingly populated by 12 year olds who like to slag each other off. :text-datsphatyo:

Quote from: "Fat Rat"
Give it a fortnight and I'll sell you mine
That almost makes it a keeper for you doesn't it????  :eusa-doh:
Seems pearl asbo orange is faster after all....

'Don't believe all the quotes in forum signatures' - Aristotle

'Ehh, good enough' - Mediocretes

Orange Bikes Matter!

Offline UK_Vstrom650

  • Member
  • ***
  • Joined: Jun 2012
  • Posts: 6580
  • Bike: DL650A L2
Re: today's the day
« Reply #6 on: July 09, 2015, 18:15:52 »
Quote from: "Fat Rat"
Give it a fortnight and I'll sell you mine (I thought I'd get that in before anyone else did)  :)

Cheers FR, I think I put first dibs on it when you bought it  :lala:

Offline Brockett

  • Member
  • ***
  • Joined: Nov 2011
  • Posts: 8348
  • Bike: 2022 Moto Guzzi 850 V7 special in blue, 2022 850 V7 Stone in darkest black, 1998 XJ600n in red
  • Location: Tendring in the Far North East (of Essex)
Re: today's the day
« Reply #7 on: July 09, 2015, 22:16:54 »


I have added:
Rack and Givi V46 top box
Yamaha soft luggage
QD supports for soft luggage
SW-Motek engine bars
Front mudguard extender
Oxford hot grips
R&G radiator guard

Coming soon:
Rear mudguard extender.

other wants:
mirror extenders
shorter screen


I collected the bike today and did 120 miles. Consumption was shown as 62.2 MPG.
I could have done more but I was with friends who wanted to eat and drink tea etc.
First impressions
Steers really well, quicker in the turn and much more planted than my Glee.
Brakes are very good and there is no unsettling fork dive when stopping
Seat is narrow enough at the front to take the sting out of the high ( to me) seat height and I can get both feet flat on the ground. Seat is V shaped ( in plan) and gives good support and is long enough for some wiggle room. It is firm as a new seat always seems to be with more padding than my SX although not in the same league as a strom.

Footrests are set back further than the Glee but are low and so I had no knee discomfort.
Bars, more comfortable than they first seem. I had no pains or numbness.
Screen. Hopeless.... I hope to find or fabricate something much smaller that will protect the display and a Sat Nav and leave me in clear air. The OEM screen starts too low to ever be high enough to offer anyone over 5'8" much in the way of protection. It is a variable position screen  but set low it causes buffeting to the neck and chin and at the top position it provides a jolly good wind hammering to the helmet from the visor up.

17" wheels front and back with road only tyres which have no pretentions to being "off road" make me  wonder why it is dressed up with rather large and overly complicated hand guards. Their shape dictates the cut outs in the front body panels and the silly screen design.
They may be good at protecting hands from the rough foliage through which it will never pass on those tyres, but they are nowhere near as good at keeping out the weather as the Glee's basic looking but quite effected offering.

 
Yamaha seem to have done all they can to not have a front end like a Strom or the Versys.
What they have produced is very attractive but utterly useless.  Of course it's only my view and I like frontal weather protection.

What could have been a class leading bike has been cocked up by a committee of "stylists"
I think they got engineers to design the bike and a bunch of hairdressers to design the front end.

Clutch is light and progressive
Lights seem to be LED all round although I have not used it in the dark yet.
Display / dash - easy to read and holds a lot of info in its menus
Digital rev counter and easy to read speed, gear indicator, petrol gauge etc.

Running-in limit is a maximum of 5600 for 600 miles this is well over 70mph
Motor spins freely but does not 'run away with itself'.
Gearbox, selecting 1st is like throwing a hammer into bin of hammers. Selection thereafter is a bit crunchy   but this may be due to being "sharp edged new" and it may wear into a smoother unit in time.

All in all it is a really good ride and I am sorry to say that trading the Strom for this Tracer is the best move I could have made. Maybe the strom could feel as good if it was fitted with 17" wheels with improved braking and USD front forks.
This doesn't last forever, so do it while you can.

Offline Mr Nick

  • Member
  • ***
  • Joined: May 2012
  • Posts: 3234
  • Certified Fisher Price trained technician
  • Bike: 1979 Suzuki TS185ER, 1979 Moto Guzzi V50, 1989 Moto Guzzi SP3, 2010 KTM 990 Adv
  • Location: Fife
Re: today's the day
« Reply #8 on: July 09, 2015, 22:31:48 »
Welcome to the naughty step fellow traitor: glad you're happy with your purchase.

I'm not a fan of 17" wheels on even a pretend adventure bike - that probably put me off the Versys 1k more than anything else.

Personally, I'd have it back at the dealer to get that bent swingarm straightened out under warranty....  :grin:
Seems pearl asbo orange is faster after all....

'Don't believe all the quotes in forum signatures' - Aristotle

'Ehh, good enough' - Mediocretes

Orange Bikes Matter!

Offline Brockett

  • Member
  • ***
  • Joined: Nov 2011
  • Posts: 8348
  • Bike: 2022 Moto Guzzi 850 V7 special in blue, 2022 850 V7 Stone in darkest black, 1998 XJ600n in red
  • Location: Tendring in the Far North East (of Essex)
Re: today's the day
« Reply #9 on: July 09, 2015, 22:57:15 »
Silly front end. But also shows SW-Motech engine bars and R&G rad cover

This doesn't last forever, so do it while you can.

ProfG

  • Guest
Re: today's the day
« Reply #10 on: July 09, 2015, 23:00:02 »
And people say the V-Strom is ugly

 :crazy:  :crazy:  :crazy:  


Offline petestrom

  • Member
  • ***
  • Joined: Aug 2010
  • Posts: 1051
Re: today's the day
« Reply #11 on: July 09, 2015, 23:04:17 »
Lovely bike, love the colours. :auto-dirtbike:
Pete

Make someone's day, it'll come back to you sometime.

Offline MartinW

  • Administrator
  • Member
  • *****
  • Joined: Jan 2012
  • Posts: 12741
  • Bike: DL650 K4 Blue
  • Location: Swindon
Re: today's the day
« Reply #12 on: July 10, 2015, 07:15:57 »
Lovely bike, hate the colours. :auto-dirtbike:

A slight difference in wording from me. The Tracer is the only other bike that interests me at the moment, but I could never live with the blue wheels and forks. I would have to go for one of the other colour schemes.

Good honest review Brockett  :thumb:
Tall, Dark and Handsome (In 1987) - Just tall now !!

Chief Stasi


Offline S2Rgar

  • Member
  • ***
  • Joined: Aug 2013
  • Posts: 434
  • Bike: DL1000 L9 Black - DL650 AL5 Red (SOLD) - DL650 AL3 Grey (SOLD) Suzuki GSX-S1000
Re: today's the day
« Reply #13 on: July 11, 2015, 11:28:14 »
+1
Quote from: "ProfG"
And people say the V-Strom is ugly

 :crazy:  :crazy:  :crazy:  

Colour scheme obviously approved by the David Blunkett School of Paint.

Offline Fat Rat

  • Administrator
  • Member
  • *****
  • Joined: May 2008
  • Posts: 17419
  • Bloke/Geezer/Fella
  • Bike: DL650A L6, K8 DL1000 & Tenere 700
  • Location: Carmarthenshire, West Wales
Re: today's the day
« Reply #14 on: July 11, 2015, 12:59:23 »
Brockett,

Get a Tail Tidy on there sharpish  :)

My rear carrier hides the massive change the Tail Tidy makes in this image.



Also, I fitted Mirror Extenders. My shoulders are lovely but I don't need to have them in full view when riding





And a mount for my Garmin


*** Bikers Campsite in West Wales ***



Learn to spell! There's a big difference between knowing your shit and knowing you're shit

Visit the V-Strom.co.uk shop today!

Offline Brockett

  • Member
  • ***
  • Joined: Nov 2011
  • Posts: 8348
  • Bike: 2022 Moto Guzzi 850 V7 special in blue, 2022 850 V7 Stone in darkest black, 1998 XJ600n in red
  • Location: Tendring in the Far North East (of Essex)
Re: today's the day
« Reply #15 on: July 11, 2015, 22:17:04 »
Yes tail tidy and mirror extenders are on the list.
Where did you get yours?

Yamaha do that type of extender but at a fierce price and (IMHO) their tail tidy looks worse than the OEM.
This doesn't last forever, so do it while you can.

Offline Brockett

  • Member
  • ***
  • Joined: Nov 2011
  • Posts: 8348
  • Bike: 2022 Moto Guzzi 850 V7 special in blue, 2022 850 V7 Stone in darkest black, 1998 XJ600n in red
  • Location: Tendring in the Far North East (of Essex)
Re: today's the day
« Reply #16 on: July 11, 2015, 22:38:37 »
That screen really is NBG for me low or high I just get severe buffeting.

I took it off and cut a shape out of aluminium sheet. Four holes and a my last scrap of edging for a quick trial run. 140 miles today in clear air blast and no buffeting. Now I'll have to set to make something neat.

This doesn't last forever, so do it while you can.

Offline Fat Rat

  • Administrator
  • Member
  • *****
  • Joined: May 2008
  • Posts: 17419
  • Bloke/Geezer/Fella
  • Bike: DL650A L6, K8 DL1000 & Tenere 700
  • Location: Carmarthenshire, West Wales
*** Bikers Campsite in West Wales ***



Learn to spell! There's a big difference between knowing your shit and knowing you're shit

Visit the V-Strom.co.uk shop today!

Offline Brockett

  • Member
  • ***
  • Joined: Nov 2011
  • Posts: 8348
  • Bike: 2022 Moto Guzzi 850 V7 special in blue, 2022 850 V7 Stone in darkest black, 1998 XJ600n in red
  • Location: Tendring in the Far North East (of Essex)
Re: today's the day
« Reply #18 on: July 11, 2015, 23:15:59 »
FangQ Mr Rat


:thumb:  :thumb:  :thumb:  :thumb:
This doesn't last forever, so do it while you can.

Offline Juvecu

  • Member
  • ***
  • Joined: May 2009
  • Posts: 13454
  • Eat, Sleep, Ride, Repeat
  • Bike: '11 Versys 650 & '05 TT-R250
  • Location: Ryton-On-Dunsmore
Re: today's the day
« Reply #19 on: July 20, 2015, 09:11:09 »
Brockett, can you give me  a link/tell me where to look for the QD supports for soft luggage?

I have no buffeting, no matter where I set the screen, try another helmet?

Also, I find weather protection to be good, the hand guards keep my hands dry better than Strom guards, with the Strom one the top of my hands were always cold/wet. The fairings, though small, do the job, in the rain my legs stay mostly dry and I don't get the masses of water hitting my chest and finding its way down to my crotch area. The Dunslips tyres though, they are atrocious in anything but dry, warm weather.
Members Map                                                    Juv's Strom "Restoration" (sold to Mad Phil)
Juv & Locky's Morocco Trip Report                   Juv's Blog