The 83yr old Matriarch of my family informed me recently that there was a certain ride report missing from my website and that said report should be included since it is, according to her, "historical." I voted it was too goofy and not really a ride report but the Matriarch said her vote should be counted twice since she's, well, the Matriarch.  Since 2-1 wins the report is below.  I guess there is some validity to the "historical" part since it was indeed the very first thing I ever wrote about my experience on a motorcycle.  I originally posted it on the V-Strom forum of which I am a member and did so at the time simply because my very, very mechanically savvy CCS racer friend bribed me to "write a ride report" in my own words.  Well, the members of the forum seemed to really enjoy it based on their comments….. so maybe someone else out in e-land will enjoy it as well.

Before I begin, here are my "specs": 33.5" inseam, 5'11", 145lbs, gear in men's sizes are: Large gloves, 10/45 boots, 46 jacket, Medium helmet.  My riding history is this... licensed for 10+ yrs, riding year 'round for the last several years.  I've never ridden off-road (at least not out of a plan!) and I have *only* owned sportbikes (have a pair next to the V-Strom now)--yes, I can do 500+ mile days on a crotch rocket and have managed to average a least 35k+ miles a year on them.  Zero tickets or accidents (knock on wood).  That being said, I am a mechanical moron.  Yes, my mechanical/technical knowledge would rival that of your favorite vegetable.  Keep this in mind while you read since you may notice an absence of technical lingo, jargon, etc. 

Anywho, on to the new big V-Strom aka "Strom." I bought the bike from a private party who, after 250 miles, decided that the bike was "too much" for him and promptly went and bought a new Harley of some kind.  I wait for this exact scenario to present itself (buying a brand new bike with almost no miles) to acquire my motorcycles since I am very anti-dealership (aka "stealership") and will avoid them at all cost. 

I somehow persuaded a non-riding friend to go with me to pick the bike up which was 450 miles away.  After a preflight inspection and mounting my GPS to the handlebars (thankfully the Magellan mount that fits my mountain bike also fit the Strom) and my throttlerocker thingamiggy, I pulled out of the guy's driveway and headed to the nearest open parking lot I had picked out en route to the bike.  Here I am leaving the guy's house:

Once I reached the chosen parking lot I did my impression of a MSF Experienced Rider Coach (especially panic stopping/avoiding, etc).  First impressions were this bike is definitely tall (a good thing) and the height makes it seem a different type of heavy than I'm use to---kinda top heavy or something versus low center of gravity Hayabusa heavy.  The handlebars had a bicycle feel to it; seemed my elbows were inside the line of my wrists versus the aggressive riding style of a rocket where wrists are always inside of elbow (this may make no sense to anyone but me).  As I did the drills I recall thinking "dang I feel like I'm on a geyser glider" (no offense to geyser glider owners) with my arms up in the air, back straight.  I had this feeling that it must look like I'm ballroom dancing (which I've never done-go figure why that came to mind) but to hell with what I look like, the bike felt comfortable while in motion to the point of unnerving.  Remember I'm use to riding sportbikes where the slightest input, shift of weight, etc., commands a significant response.  The V-Strom seems very forgiving and though I would NEVER endorse a liter bike as a first bike I can see why the V-Strom has such appeal.  It feels more nimble than it looks but I'm not calling it nimble if that makes sense.  As I rode in this parking lot my level of confidence soared MUCH quicker than I expected.  My biggest adjustment was (and still is) the ergonomics (more on that later).

So, feeling strangely comfortable, I headed out of the practice parking lot to find a place to refuel before starting the journey back to my own garage.  While at the gas station this guy walks by and says "what is that thing" and I replied "I'm not sure, I'm still trying to figure it out." Fully fueled and ready I pulled onto a major CA freeway and, of course, there was traffic.  I sat in traffic for about .057 seconds and thought to hell with this, new bike or not, weekend afternoon traffic or not, I'm doing what comes naturally to me... lane-splitting.  I had a previously agreed upon plan with my chase vehicle (friend) should we become separated so off I went.  This is where the height of the Strom and the riding position really scored serious points with me.  Field of vision just super which inspired more confidence.  This is also where I really noticed the green neutral light momentarily coming on while up or downshifting to 1st gear.  This drives me NUTS! It's highly distracting since my peripheral vision picks up on this green light and I think I've left a turn signal on.  (I've since covered the dang thing up with a piece of tape--I don't need to be told where neutral is anyway).  The other ergonomic issue for me in the must fix category involves the shifter peg.  I wear JR Hard Drive boots and it doesn't "fit" with the peg/shifter angle--my boot keeps getting caught because of the weird angle or I have to keep it at such an angle that it's not comfortable (which defeats the purpose).  The other strange ergo issue is that I can't operate the clutch while simultaneously using the turn signals (turning on/off).  My hands are plenty big mind you.  I use my turn signals all the time and especially when making multiple changes (like lane-splitting); this became my most despised issue (which I still can't solve-yes, I've adjusted the lever).  I prefer two finger shifting which doesn't fly on the V-Strom.  Clutch is very stiff feeling, not smooth, very slow.  This is on the top of the "Must Fix" list for me (though I have no idea how-remember that's not my specialty).  Only other issue is the mirrors are too square for me; not in terms of aesthetics (I could care less) but merely from a functional standpoint.  I need a wider versus taller view since I'd prefer to see traffic behind me instead of the view of my own jacket.  Despite these quirky things I was riding down the road thinking I can't believe I'm on a new bike in heavy CA traffic and I feel this confident with it.  However, it didn't take many miles for me to become irritated with the coughing/bucking fuel-injection issue of the Strom in low rpms that is commonly reported by owners.  When I'm lane-splitting I certainly don't need any hesitating.  So, when I got into LA I pulled over and found a phone book trying to convince myself there would be a Suzuki dealer who would say "Well, sure ma'am, bring 'er on by right now and we'll get right to 'er." I swear I'm not making this up...that is exactly what happened! Suzuki of Van Nuys is run by a DL1k owner himself who did a remapping and oil change for me.  WOO-HOO!!

So, out the door I went and back to the traffic--oh, geez, what a difference with the remapping! My confidence skyrocketed.  Once I cleared the traffic and had more open road and full gearing available I thought I was going to cry.  Yes, cry.  I was very disappointed in the torque (plz don't send me hate mail-this is my report remember).  I had read so many posts about how the bike was super fast and torque-laden I was prepared for something else.  What the big Strom is NOT is this... it is not a sportbike by any stretch.  I wouldn't exactly call it fast (Busa is fast, R1 is fast, V-Strom is...er, um, not my definition of fast).  It definitely has some ponies but it's different from what I'm use to.  Again, everyone's experiences are different and this is simply mine, not right or wrong/good or bad, simply an opinion.  Here's the best analogy I can offer for my experience.... a sportbike is like a race horse.  Exhilarating.  Super focused.  Wicked speed like being shot out of a gate, highly trained/equipped, the slightest inputs and micro adjustments to any given part of the reins, shift in weight, etc., and there's an immediate and commanding reaction.  The ride has nothing to do with comfort.  You ride with a constant edge and you dismount the race horse with arms raised and whooping "fookin-A this rocks!!" as your bones are still rattling from the speed and power.  The V-Strom is like riding a pleasure horse bareback.  Loads of fun.  Constant smile.  Go anywhere and do it very comfortably.  As I ride the Strom I just want to hum or say "weeeeeee" with a piece of straw coming out from my helmet.  Dismount and say "Gee, that's just such fun, I could do it all day."

So, I'm on the interstate and start to consider perhaps I've made a mistake in my choice of bikes as I was really missing my passion-inspiring sportbikes, but then I started going over the reasons I wanted the V-Strom to begin with... something I could do 700+ miles on day after day after day if I wanted, something I could 2-up or load down with gear if desired, something I could explore a hard packed dirt road with, etc.  I think it was around the 300 mile mark that the "comfortable" aspect to the Strom became glowing.

Ok, so some of you are thinking I can't believe she rode this new DL1000 on a highway during the break-in period.  Well, steady cruising would be the most inaccurate description.  I rode the living snot out of the bike.  I can't imagine there's many Stroms out there that were broken in harder.  I rode it like it will be ridden during it's life with me.  Let me say at this point that I've found things like this (how to break-in a bike), oil types, best tires, chain care, etc., are highly debatable in the motorcycling community; they are kinda like discussing religion or politics.  That being said, I do what I have found to work and is also endorsed by those I esteem to be bike gods (bowing to Kent, Glenn, Jim).  Your experience may be otherwise so I'll support whatever decision you make about your bike too.  So, I ran through several heat cycles and I had the bike all over the tachometer.  Constant rpm's never exceeded more than a few minutes.  In order to stay near my chase vehicle I exited dozens of times rode a bit then reentered the hwy.  In fact at a gas stop a man in a truck came over and said "You've passed me at least 6 times and I saw how you were riding so my only guess is you're breaking that bad boy in." I think this was just after I met a Ducati who Escorted (pun intended) me a bit.

There was one point when I was passing a big truck and the bike shook violently to the point I was sure I had a flat.  At the next stop even my friend said "what the hell happened to your bike back there with the shaking." I've yet to figure it out.  I tried to recreate it thereafter (exact speed, passing trucks, etc) to no avail.  Maybe it was a desert crosswind combined with wind from the trucks.  The bike doesn't feel as firmly planted as I imagined.  In fact, the bike feels very flighty to me just in a straight line above a buck five (GPS indicated) and my tops of 118 (GPS) definitely was not confidence producing.  Maybe it's the tires, I'll find out since my Metzeler's just arrived.  Certainly wouldn't want to be in the twisties with this flighty feel.  I'll say here that the seat and windshield issues are nonexistent for me.  Don't forget though I'm accustom to be blasted with wind on sportbikes and those seats are definitely not made for distance.  I will say that the Strom seat seems enormously wide to me.  Like I was sitting in a real western cowboy saddle or something (see, I warned you there'd be a lack of technical terms!).

That night I pulled into my garage having logged 467 miles for my first ride.  It was the easiest 467 miles I've ever ridden and I felt like I could easily turn around and go back if I needed to (though it would have been rude to not buy my chase vehicle dinner as promised).  I'm still shocked at how I felt physically--like I hadn't even been riding.  This is very different from the post-flight sportbike feel.  Sometimes that feeling is exactly what I like, kinda like the good fatigue after working out and the relieved stress.  But sometimes I want to go ride and get there (or back) and *I* have a full tank physically.  She's a keeper, no doubt.  We just need more bonding time, some slight adjustments.

A super big thanks to "KC" for being the best chase vehicle a gal could ever wish for (the Hot Tamales & Smarties were great!), and a very special thanks to Officer "T" for his understanding that wheelies really are a very important part of the break-in process! (btw, I was in the middle of desert on a remote road)

AGirl 

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Webmaster note:  Exactly one year later AGirl racked up 56,318 miles on the above motorcycle… and has written quite a few ride reports doing so.

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