Hi All

We're thinking of doing some European and USA trips on a bike (2 up) and the bike we want to get is a V Stom DL 1000.

We were hoping to get an 07 model, but they are still a bit pricey and maybe a bit above our budget for now. The question is, is there a particular year of manufacture we should avoid which had some known problems? I would prefer to get a bike no older than about 4 or 5 years with as low as possible kms obviously.

Thanks
Pumbaa

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www.seeyouwhenwegetthere.com

The early bikes [ probably just the first two years of production ] had a problem with the clutch basket , most were replaced by Suzuki .
After that there don't seem to have been any major problems .
Just go with a good condition low mileage model and don't worry about what year it happens to be , because they really haven't changed significantly .

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Blessed are the cracked, for they let in the light. - Spike Milligan
"When you come to a fork in the road ,take it ! When you come to a spoon in the road ,take that also ."

Being an owner of a 2003 Dl1k i can tell you the clutch chutter issue is more about the sound it can make then any real issue with the bikes operation. Mine is approaching 50k miles and I dont have an issue. It will make a racket at times under heavy load and low rpms but i have just learned to think of it as an audible low rpm indicator.

The only thing I prepared for on a trip to Alaska was the possibility of the clutch slave cylinder leaking. It did on the trip but it is something you can manage and clean up and keep going. It however is only a 60 dollar part and I even considered bringing a spare in my pretrip planning, i just failed to follow thru with my planning. If I had to do it again i would have gotten one as it cheap and small. It is about the size of a small apple and can be changed out in less then an hour on the side of the road.

I did buy one on the road which ended up costing 150 dollars in canada but you pay for the right part in remote locations. My cleaning and maintanance kept me on the road the whole trip and I did not end up changing it till i got home.

If you do decide to get one as a spare the new model has an improved seal so it wont be an issue. Just drop it in the bottom of your pannier and you probably wont ever need it.

One issue I do want to bring up however is that on poor fuel with a lot of water the bike will not run well. It does not keep you from moving down the road but it will be real low on power you will enjoy when the bike is running properly. Also the fuel filter on the bike is very odd. Buy one before you go and take one with you. It is very expensive for a filter. I think it was like 118 bucks US but you will not find one on the road. I have seen a mod that lets you change to external fuel filter but It is easer just to change the current one and keep a spare.

I hope that is helpful to you. The big strom is a great bike. It is very capable on road and is good on bad surface, dirt and gravel road.

That is my two cents worth anyway.

Coop

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Robert "Coop" Cooper
Alcoa, TN
03 Vstrom
00 KLR650

No bike will run very well with water contaminated fuel.
Add a small amount of methyl hydrate [ methylated spirit ] in the fuel to dissolve the water and then the bike will run better .
If you use a Trangia camp stove [or similar] you will already have some in your kit.

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Blessed are the cracked, for they let in the light. - Spike Milligan
"When you come to a fork in the road ,take it ! When you come to a spoon in the road ,take that also ."

Thanks for all the replies.

I've heard about the noisy clutch on the earlier models, but my understanding was (and now confirmed by some of you) that it wasn't really a problem except for the noise.

Looking forward to getting a bike again. Haven't been riding for the last 2 years, so definitely time to get on again!!!

Cheers

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www.seeyouwhenwegetthere.com