[Kenneth_Moore]

WOw! Although it was pretty scary buying a bike I'd never ridden, and I was filled with doubts about selling the Low Rider after 15 years, I the DL1000 has made it all worthwhile! This bike is frikin AWESOME! It feels like a small dirtbike, it rides like a big touring bike, it has power and torque to spare, and "that certain part of a man's body" is now 33% larger!

I'm thrilled, I'm excited, I'm taking off tomorrow and all of next week to ride the wheels off of this thing. Also, I take back all the nasty stuff I said about the dealer...ok, I'll mitigate it. Even though they weren't straight up about what they had available, they did pay to have a trucking company bring the bike from Tampa to S. FL today. And I can't WAIT till morning so I can go out and ride some more. Two downsides: it took 45 minutes to peel all the damn warning stickers off, and I have to get 500 miles on the bike before I can wail on it.

Let the accessorizing begin!!!!!

 

[longride]

Cool man! Looks like you have a winner on your hands. See, it didn't take too long to forget the old Low Rider. Somehow, I bet you get another one in a few years though. They grow on ya like a wart!

 

[Kenneth_Moore]

Cool man! Looks like you have a winner on your hands. See, it didn't take too long to forget the old Low Rider. Somehow, I bet you get another one in a few years though. They grow on ya like a wart!

When I'm rich and famous I'm going to make Leno's bike collection look trivial. AND I'm going to buy cool bikes for all my friends!

The icing on the cake: the temps are in the 50's, going up to only the low 70's, there isn't a cloud in the sky, and as soon as I take care of some work crap, I have the whole rest of the day to play!

 

[pushrod]

Ken,

The guy with WAY too much time has a lot of good info on the 'Strom.

Suzuki V-Strom DL1000 / DL650 Info and Accessories

This is the guy that did the analysis of all the different oil filters. He has a huge amount of info on his site.

Enjoy the bike! A good friend has an '04, and absolutely loves it. Other than it's too softly sprung.

Call me if you are passing through this corner of the state!

 

[vermicious]

Congratulations on the new wheels, guy.

 

[The_AirHawk]

Congrats on finally makin'-up yer mind there, Maytag!

Don't wheelie it - I've heard that motor doesn't do well when it "runs out" of oil (front oil pickup). Other than that - it's a Stone. Warm it up good, then RIDE it - the "500/600/1000-mile Break-In" has been proven a Myth over an over again.

 

[longride]

Congrats on finally makin'-up yer mind there, Maytag!

Don't wheelie it - I've heard that motor doesn't do well when it "runs out" of oil (front oil pickup). Other than that - it's a Stone. Warm it up good, then RIDE it - the "500/600/1000-mile Break-In" has been proven a Myth over an over again.

I spent quite a bit of time on the rear wheel of my TL 1000 S and it didn't seem to have a problem. The bike had other problems, but no oil starvation.

 

[The_AirHawk]

I spent quite a bit of time on the rear wheel of my TL 1000 S and it didn't seem to have a problem. The bike had other problems, but no oil starvation.

I don't actually know - I was warned by a trusted friend to avoid wheelies on one like the Plague.

 

[Kenneth_Moore]

Ken,

The guy with WAY too much time has a lot of good info on the 'Strom.

Suzuki V-Strom DL1000 / DL650 Info and Accessories

This is the guy that did the analysis of all the different oil filters. He has a huge amount of info on his site.

Enjoy the bike! A good friend has an '04, and absolutely loves it. Other than it's too softly sprung.

Call me if you are passing through this corner of the state!

I can't get off this bike! Damn it's fun!

That is an amazing website. And Stromtroopers.com is another wealth of information.

If I recall from some earlier posts, you commute from the Tampa area towards Orlando? I'm going to be up in Cocoa Beach for XGiving and XMas; taking some time off from work. Shoot me a PM with your number and I'll call for sure. I'm sending mine as well.

 

[Kenneth_Moore]

A couple of photos

I was going to get the black, but I'm glad they didn't have it. This is a really nice blue.

 

[Kenneth_Moore]

Just a couple more

My Dad used to make us watch his slideshows for hours. Thanks to the internet I can inflict the same pain on total strangers!

 

[seruzawa]

I can't figure out....

My Dad used to make us watch his slideshows for hours. Thanks to the internet I can inflict the same pain on total strangers!

... why you are hanging around here instead of riding it. Are you ready for the initial oil change yet? It's been two days.

 

[longride]

Nice bike, but who is the ugly guy posing with it? Get that man a beer, will ya??

 

[Kenneth_Moore]

Ask a MoFo

... why you are hanging around here instead of riding it. Are you ready for the initial oil change yet? It's been two days.

Dude, I have to stop to eat! And, the kid needs food at some point. Actually, I won't get to really ride it a lot till later next week. I'm a single Dad 50% of the time, and although the youngster likes to ride, he doesn't have the same passion for it we do (yet!).

Hey, here's an somewhat embarassing question: I've never had a bike in all these years that had an adjustable front suspension. Well, the Concours has an air suspension, but I never really mess with it. On the DL1000, the rear suspension adjustment is simple enough; raise or lower it, depending on weight load. But the front forks have a "pre-load" adjustment; turn clockwise to increase pre-load, counter clockwise to decrease. Is that simply a matter of making the forks feel firmer by increasing the pre-load, and softer by decreasing, or is there more to it than that?

 

[longride]

All the pre-load does is compress the spring for firmness, and decompress for softness. No other feature of the fork is changed. Seruzawa rides 24/7 because I don't think he has kids........unless you count the compound attack dogs.

 

[seruzawa]

It's 10pm on Sat.....

All the pre-load does is compress the spring for firmness, and decompress for softness. No other feature of the fork is changed. Seruzawa rides 24/7 because I don't think he has kids........unless you count the compound attack dogs.

.... and I just got back from a ride downtown and around. And it's the freaking 17th of November! Man, this global warming is great!

 

[Kenneth_Moore]

All the pre-load does is compress the spring for firmness, and decompress for softness. No other feature of the fork is changed. Seruzawa rides 24/7 because I don't think he has kids........unless you count the compound attack dogs.

I suspected as much, but better to ask than not be sure. Thanks.

Zawa, do your dogs ride? My friend Glen has a dog who rides on the tank of his hardtail Sporty chopper. She jumps up on the tank and hangs on for dear life. It's amazing.

 

[Kenneth_Moore]

Nice bike, but who is the ugly guy posing with it? Get that man a beer, will ya??

Even I look good riding the Suzuki DL1000! And, the V-Strom 1000 makes that certain part of the male body up to 30% larger. Your results may vary.

 

[longride]

.... and I just got back from a ride downtown and around. And it's the freaking 17th of November! Man, this global warming is great!

Hell yeah! Chicago will be the new Miami beach in 50 years!

 

[seruzawa]

Eff him...

Nice bike, but who is the ugly guy posing with it? Get that man a beer, will ya??

.... get ME a beer!