vara or vstrom?

[Treadtrader]

Maybe you should post the question on www.v-strom.co.uk to get a more balanced view.

[richie]

Maybe you should post the question on www.v-strom.co.uk to get a more balanced view.

That would make sense, but on this side....

Honda, well built corrosion free, powerful engine and good handling...

Suzuki, made out of cheap rusty steel, nice power but no better than the Honda..

No brainer...

[Treadtrader]

That would make sense, but on this side....

Honda, well built corrosion free, powerful engine and good handling...

Suzuki, made out of cheap rusty steel, nice power but no better than the Honda..

No brainer...

I've had two Africa Twins that suffered corroded rims.

Two pals have Varas, i have recently bought a Strom. Build quality nothing to choose. Another pal has a Caponord, build quality as the others.
Depends how you maintain them?

[richie]

I've had two Africa Twins that suffered corroded rims.

Two pals have Varas, i have recently bought a Strom. Build quality nothing to choose. Another pal has a Caponord, build quality as the others.
Depends how you maintain them?

I don't want to argue my point, but....

I had a chat with a guy here on the west coast of Ireland a few weeks ago with a 06 Vstrom. He lived in the city 140KMs further east than me and not on the side of the ocean, I can guarantee you that his bike was in a bad state, especially compared to my 01 Vara parked outside 700meters from the ocean... I don't spend too much time looking after mine, in fact I rub it down after it's been raining. That's as close to cleaning it as I get...

[davsato]

my vara is a year older than my mates strom, but his looks five years older than mine. its a more modern design, with a mildly more powerful(but rougher) engine, but id still prefer the vara.

the caponord is a cracking ride, but dealer backup, spares availabilty, general reliablity, all worth serious consideration.

[rlkat]

Picked the Varadero up from Aberdeen today.... Wow. Exactly what I was wanting. A torquey, powerful mile-muncher. Perhaps the A90 wasn't the best road to try out a new bike... with its 10,000* speed cameras putting a halt to any 'experimenting'!!! aaarrrggghhh. I was laughing inside my helmet as I found loads more over-taking opportunities compared to the Transalp. Oh yes. I'll get some pics uploaded soon.

rob
ps. should have bought one sooner.
*seemed like it

[Tony Varadero]

told ya u were gonna love it.....! Ah dont forget that the more u ride it the more u want to ride it....! well I do....

[afk40]

Depends how much money you want to spend. The Varadero is a brilliant mile muncher no two ways about that in every respect. BBBBut if you looking to buy new or pre-registered (hate to say it) the V-Strom maybe better if your planning on keeping it for a while. Build quality and finish does seem to be better on the Suzuki than the new Varadero, which always seems to happen when production at Honda shifts to the Spanish factory.
If you only looking at spending £2-3k then it doesn't really matter which one mines a 99 carbed model which is smoother than the early EFI models but they have slightly better mpg figures (so i'm told) finsish on the early ones is far superior to the later ones can post photo's as evidence if required. NOt had any major drama's with mine a rear shock did pack up only to be expected and the rest is just wear and tear i.e. tyres, brake pads

at what mileage,,did yer shock pack in...? mines has 42k on it...i think it could be doin wi a refurb...what kinda money wid a be looking at tae get a new shock,,or even a good send hand one.?....cheers

[jasonbc]

at what mileage,,did yer shock pack in...? mines has 42k on it...i think it could be doin wi a refurb...what kinda money wid a be looking at tae get a new shock,,or even a good send hand one.?....cheers

It was around 26k miles a new one from Honda at the time going back about 4-5 years was around £460 for the direct Showa replacement, i got it from DAvid Silver on the 3-4 week wait ad paid £240 new. DAvid Silver does 2 prices for everything, over the counter and 3-4 week wait that price is normally 1/3rd to 1/2 cheaper at the time with the money i saved i did all the suspension linkage bearings and rollers aswell. Made sense to do so while it was all in bits.
If i was to replace the shock now i would probably put an Ohlins unit or a custom build Hagon with remote preload adjustment on the bike as sometimes when 2up and fully loaded it can squat abit, but those occasions are few and far between so not a huge issue really...

If you want yours serviced, rebuilt and custom setup use these people fantastic service and can do anything you ask for,and can advise they've done my XR and EC and the difference is obvious really like chalk and cheese about £100 for service setup and postage.

http://www.k-tech.uk.

I've said it before and stand by it, the finish on the newer and lastest Vara's are not as good as the older bikes, same thing happened to the Africa Twin, as soon as Honda knows that the model is coming to the end of its lifespan production gets shifted tothe spanish factory and quality goes down, not much but it does and i hate to say that as a huge Honda fan. If you put a brand new V-strom and Vara side by side the V-strom will have a better finish and Suzuki have never been known for there finish it' sad really. But the money gets invested in the new outcoming models. Personal opion is that i don't like the look of the V-Strom


WHY HAS ALL THIS TEXT BEEN UNDERLINED???? AND WHY AM I UNABLE TO TURN IT OFF, ONLY DONE IT SINCE I PUT THE WEB LINK IN ???????????????
ANSWERS ON A POSTCARD PLEASE

[afk40]

yea.. mines at the squatting stage when theres two people on it....