Triple disappointment

[KZDon]

The present owner of the well loved and lightly used Tiger I had lined up decided not to sell after all. Sorry Toz.

However, the exit of my KZ on Thursday should be well offset the same day by a particular Suzuki that needs some love.

I know, I know, the green paint won't even stick to a Suzuki, but it looked so forlorn with those big puppydog eyes I just had to.

More later.

[Canada Dan]

Enough already Don...

I keep checking back here to see if you've added anything only to find you're still holding out. What's the deal?

You keep this up and we'll find you in contempt or something.

Dan.

[Rocking Couple]

Well Dan, there's only one bike that Suzuki makes that is sorta similar to the Tiger, comes in two dif engine sizes. I won't bother mentioning the name since Don seems to be having fun with this.
Originally, for some reason I thought he'd go retro, comfy ergos etc. so is why I thought a Bonneville in some guise. So did someone else on here. The he revealed it was a Triple, so that narrowed the choices considerably. For some reason I had forgotten altogether about the Tiger. I still haven't seen the new generation in the flesh anywhere. I wonder if anyone else has? Are they real?

But this time around, I'm pretty sure I know what he is waiting to finalize a deal on, but i'm through guessing when it comes to size.
Hope he'll like it but it will never have the character any of those triples would have had. Nor the spunk of that Tiger, even if it's the 'big' one. I feel bad for him that his original deal fell through. That sucks. Especially since there aren't alot of them to pick from when doing a search.

[John]

Ain't nothin' wrong with a "Wee" - been there & did that. They're great. Period. Would pass on the original as the smaller brother proved the concept for me.

John.

[Canada Dan]

I don't know guys, he speaks of it "needing some love" and "green paint not sticking to it".

Makes it sound like a restoration project to me - the Stroms shouldn't be needing that yet, unless they've had a rough life...

[KZDon]

Thursday went almost as planned, with a few minor snafus along the way. Goshdarnit cell phones are a handy way to solve minor snafus.

I left home just after the kids got on the school bus for their last day of school, rode to St. Catharines to see the V-Strom, confirm it was what it was held out to be, hand over the $$$, and pick up the ownership and certification.

The bike was being sold out of St. Catharines Motorcycle Centre (www.scmc.ca). Owner Shawn was selling it for a friend. If you have any reason to be in the area, give him your business, and his daughter sells a fine glass of lemonade.

The first snafu was the ownership for V-Strom was in fact an ownership for a red Pontiac -took about twenty minutes to sort out - which wouldn't have been a problem but for the very tight timelines I was trying to maintain.

Then I hopped back on my KZ to deliver it to its new owner in London. I made it back onto the QEW and realized I hadn't been given the safety certificate for the V-Strom, and wouldn't have been able to switch the ownership at the MOT. Back to SCMC, got the certificate, back on the road, another half hour behind.

I arrived in London only an hour and twenty minutes after I'd planned, where the prospective KZ owner and my driver to get back to SCMC were happily chatting in the Chapters' parking lot over my KZ buyer's vintage Beemer. We spent about an hour chatting and getting the KZ parked safely for the buyer to pick up later, then back on the road, this time in a Mazda, on the way to the MOT office to get the KZ plates transferred to the V-Strom....and....apparently I picked the only MOT office in London that closes at 4:30, rather than 5. Our first hint was the CLOSED sign on the window at 4:31.

Watching the clock, mindful of the 6pm closing time at SCMC, and knowing that it would take 2 hours to get from London to St. Catharines, I called ahead, where SCMC owner Shawn made arrangements to have the V-Strom and keys sitting with friends nearby. I called Primmum and arranged for the change of insurance (very handy - they emailed me the new insurance slip before I got to the bike). I called my wife to let her know I probably wouldn't be there for dinner...by a long shot. I called my office to see what things I needed to think about for Friday. I called my driver's new girlfriend to take the blame for him being late for their date...

Rolled into St. Catharines. The bike was right where it was supposed to be. Screwed on my licence plate - not yet transferred, but at least the insurance was sorted out - and headed for Toronto.

My new (to me) 2004 DL650 V-Strom, in the faster matte silver colour, was a complete joy to ride. It had about 9000kms on it - now just over 10,000, and clearly hadn't been ridden much, but also hadn't been well cared for. There is some surface rust in a few places that should polish up easily enough, and it generally feels like everything needs some TLC. The engine sounds perfect. After riding my KZ head-to-wind between St. Catharines and London, it was great having a fairing.

So, I'll start farkling it up very shortly. A centre stand and hard bags are on the list. Later on will be heated grips and hand guards. I'll give some thought to a different windscreen as the head buffetting everyone complains about on V-Stroms is rather annoying, and the Sargent seat on my friend's V-Strom is an improvement on the stock seat.

Now, someone help me out here. How do I fix the speedometer? It seems to always read 140.

[RB1]

Speedometer adjustment can be done easily with just your right hand.

Congrats on the new bike.
Pictures?

[hank]

My son just bought a 2004 Z1000 (lime green), just wondering KZ how many coats of black does it take to cover that god awful colour or does it just keep bleeding through!

[KZDon]

Kawi green gets into your blood and stays there. It must, because it's about my colour most mornings.

[John]

Right on Wee-Don! You have chosen well, Grasshopper. I recall getting a set of Givi roll-bars plus a SW-Motech centre-stand that worked like a charm - a little narrow but performed flawlessly. Came with the factory heated grips (rip-off!) plus the grip guards (not a rip-off!). I loved the thing. My wife did not & it was the Wee or the FJR. Was a tough choice for a little while but in thrust we trust. I can't praise them enough - with the noted exception of the losy wind screen. Yes, dump it fast (screen that is). The bike worked best with it removed entirely, to be honest. Seems Givi screens are popular.
I didn't lose much on the deal & really enjoyed it for a couple of years. Those things corner on invisible rails, I swear... Seemed to love fleet oils like Rotella T 15w-40 or the Delo equivalent. Inexpensive lubricant that can be swapped out frequently w/o breaking the bank and clutch-friendly.
The one that we had was silver & black w/ the blacked-out frame. I think the things look great, particularly when you are ridin' one of 'em but I fear that mine is a minority opinion... Stare at a picture of a Versys for five minutes & the Wee makes sense.
Oh yeah, I didn't, but that exhaust needs to be hogged-out to let out the overly-restrained lovely twin noises. Enjoy thoroughly.

John.

[Canada Dan]

Ah crap!

As I have all my life with women, I have once again read too much into something.

Suzuki is a good place to be though Don. Here's to many great years with the new bike.

Dan

[Rocking Couple]

Ya picked the best size by long shot Don. Check with Max cuz he knows quite a bit about what works best when accessorizing (i just hate the term farkle, who the hell ever came up with that I wonder...I first saw it on ST forums but suspect it's roots came from the GW camps) your 650.
Excellent choice even if you did become traitor to Kawi's own Versys...;)

[KZDon]

Ya picked the best size by long shot Don. Check with Max cuz he knows quite a bit about what works best when accessorizing (i just hate the term farkle, who the hell ever came up with that I wonder...I first saw it on ST forums but suspect it's roots came from the GW camps) your 650.
Excellent choice even if you did become traitor to Kawi's own Versys...;)

Max's V-Strom is history. He decided he could have as much fun on his GS650 without risking as much of his licence. I'm guessing his speedometer kept reading 140 too.

[Rocking Couple]

Actually, his ride is his old Seca now.

But he could still advise you well with what works and what doesn't on your new pride and joy.

[KZDon]

I stand corrected.

[Hayabusa]

This thread is screaming for the This-thread-is-worthless-without-pics smilie...

[KZDon]

...in the day to upload, download, load up pictures, along with everything else that needs doing.

Please find enclosed pictures of one V-Strom in my driveway with new Kappa bags installed, and the same V-Strom again, with Kappas and the installer installing herself.

[TimP]

You might want to invest in a centre stand, if one is available, just to keep the chalk marks in the driveway from getting gruesome. (You brought back memories of my little "Can I take a picture of your bike?" episode on the 401).

Sweet ride, I'm sure you'll have a blast!