I think that with a touch of irony the V-strom is probably a better GS than the GS. (should I duck?). The GS is an amazing bike to ride but dogged with a few little fault that spoil the bike. They're omin-present on the continent and always clean and spotless. You see a lot of Stroms and to be fair, it's them carrying luggage, beaten up fairings and bearing foreign plates. I've rarely seen an R1200gs outside its home turf which is a shame but it's nice to the Stroms getting some real use.
Talking of which... are we sure they're budget bikes? I piked up my BMW G650 for £3000 a year ago but I've seen them go for £2k now, granted they're a second hand bargain. It's an 07... how does that compare to the VS? I mean to compare to BMW you're looking at a F650gs? I reckon the VS is in the ballpark of the same money or am I blowing smoke outa my arse?

just looked up the price of the BMW F650 GS (800cc) with the same spec as mine, its 7700 new, the strom is 6900, the strom comes with panniers and top box, with the BMW you thenm have at least £1000 more for boxes. so the strom is cheaper but maybe not a budget bike...

One of the more common bikes I've seen around Europe is the GS500. Now that's a budget bike (great little bike). The VS is relatively cheap but I don't think it's fair to call it a budget machine. You buy an R1200GS and your wife divorces you and your banker offers you free blowjobs so maybe it's not in that league but even so... I'm a budget biker. I bought a nice machine and made it good for less than a VS.
I guess cheap is subjective.

tight arse

Ugly! My arse
 

:thumbup1:On my 2nd Wee Strom. Love every aspect of the bike. Handling , appearance , versitility , economy, reliability, and easy to maintain. What else do you need? Me and the strom are off to the Arctic soon . 6 weeks together. Ill let you know if the love affair is still on when I get back .

V-Strom ...
 

Hi, have a DL650AK8 :funmeteryes:- 45K kms - cross Canada/USA, Yukon, BC, AB... Love the bike, am 6'2" and yes OEM screen is poor. immediately replaced with x-large Suzuki V-Strom DL650 / DL1000 Windshields
busted it in'10 and tried the N20212 VStream which still had too much turbulance so have another Calsci. Moto handled well enough on dry Yukon/AK/AB gravel roads. Trying Heidenau K60s.
Planning a RTW in 2012. - Safe Riding & C U in Nakusp :-)

nice one, good luck with that trip... look forward to hearing how you get on... :clap:

Awwww. VS riders are so nice... BMW riders... not so much

shut up, bloody BMW rider.... doh

:blushing:

Hmmm. For now. Looking at all the shiny road bikes zooming about comfortably while I wallowed about on my little single two up in the black forest today made me feel like I had turned up with a German girlfriend somewhere in the south of France.
Then, to add insult to injury a really mint R1100gs turned up and she said, "you should get one of those, they look nice." This made me wonder what the extradition laws are for UK citizens in Germany.

dl650
 

ok you show yours I show you mine:thumbup1:http://hendikaf.smugmug.com/Motorcyc.../DSC0184-M.jpg
http://hendikaf.smugmug.com/Motorcyc.../DSC0189-M.jpg

Mine

http://i56.tinypic.com/fnec8y.jpg

Nearly done 30k Miles on her... getting her prepped for a RTW starting May 2012

Couldnt ask for anything more in a bike

Cheers
Geordie aka Will

nice, i like the spots on the forks...

RTW... good luck, and nice to see it being well used... are they Hepco Becker Juniors you have there?

Nope there Storm cases very similar to pelican

Made my own brackets to attach to an ebay purchased givi frame.

My cooking table is a piece of ali that sits between the 2 cases.. simples lol

Cheers
Geordie aka Will