Bittersweet day. Traded in and got a Wee-strom adventure

[sfalexi]

So it was a bitter sweet day today in my household.  I have owned the Victory Vision for about 19 months, and just turned over 14000 miles.  Great bike, really comfy, but a lot of the reasons I used to buy it have slowly disappeared.  Speakers?  Not since I got my SENA headsets and use podcasts/audiobooks.  Extra alternator juice?  Haven't bought heated gear yet, and don't see it in the foreseeable future.  Comfy for the wife?  Well, for the past year and a half and the next few years, she works about every other weekend so that back seat sits empty most of the time.

Essentially, it was way more bike, and way more payment/debt than I needed for what ended up being me solo riding on a Sat when she was working, and commuting back and forth to work.  

So We figured, even though we'd be upsidedown and have to finance negative equity, it would make more sense to get a smaller, cheaper, more cost efficient bike that is still suitable for two-up riding.  ESPECIALLY since we qualified for 0% APR.  With the APR saved, lesser cost of bike, and all wrapped up, we shaved about 5k off what we currently owe, and cut our monthly payments by half, which means we can pay other stuff off sooner (by applying that half payment to the principle of other stuff).

The trade in value was "ok", the adventure bike was MSRP stock 650 adventure bike + a free aluminum topcase, and no setup or freight (it had a little mileage...apparantly some big wig suzuki company guy came buy for a few days and said, 'I'm riding that one while I'm here.  You can list it as a demo when I'm done and on to the next dealer')

Only rode it home from the dealer, but so far my initial impression is     Although I'm sure after break-in, I can see the impression going to  

I missed my FJR, it was a great bike, but was more bike than I needed.  I think this bike will suit me and my wife very well.

Alexi

[NoGear]

Sweet ride Alexi!  

[TBone]

That's a cool bike, I've been giving serious thought to selling my Speed Triple and buying one.

Congratulations on the new bike!  

[2RR2NV]

I must say... that is a saaa-weet color!   grats.

[ConPilot1]

Nice Strom! I like the matching factory boxes. Very practical. Are those boxes pretty sturdy??

[Cablebandit]

Nice Strom! I like the matching factory boxes. Very practical. Are those boxes pretty sturdy??

No, the aluminum cases will self destruct the minute they hit the ground.  I guess the upside is you can pound them into shape.  The Pelican / Hardigg / etc cases make much more sense on an ADV bike.

[Rincewind]

Nice bike!  The Wee-ADV bike was high on my list as well.  I like the included TraX cases.  

[sfalexi]

Nice Strom! I like the matching factory boxes. Very practical. Are those boxes pretty sturdy??

No idea.  What cablebandit says seems like it'd ring true.  Its just aluminum.  Lightweight, but its REALLY light, seems thin, and probably looks a lot tougher than it is.  Well, it came with luggage and a rack.  I'll use em till i break them (hopefully not any time soon), and at thta point will look into something tougher to replace them.  Probably pelican cases would be tougher.  But for now, my riding is 99% road until i start to feel comfortable enough to try some dirt roads.  And when something breaks, i'll replace that part with something sturdier.

Alexi

[ConPilot1]

Well I wouldn't weep over the Victory Vision too much. You've got 10 times the fun and a much better looking machine right there.

That'd be a sweet day to me minus the bitter factor.

I think that VV was one of the ugliest sons-of-bitches that ever rolled off a motorcycle production line.  

[Oxblood]

There are many days I miss my WeeStrom. I had an 07. What a hoot to ride.  Enjoy it, you will love that bike.

[Cablebandit]

There are many days I miss my WeeStrom. I had an 07. What a hoot to ride.  Enjoy it, you will love that bike.

 

At least when I sold mine it was for almost what I paid for it 38,000 miles earlier.

[LENSMAN]

I have an 04 SV650 naked. I put handlebars from an XR100 and a windscreen for distance runs.   I don't like the look of the Vstrom, or the different gearing. I had mine reshocked by Traxxion Dymanics in the forks- big difference. Go with the emulators if you can afford it. They're great touring bikes. Some tour two up, but I'd rather have a bigger bike for that.  Don't flog it for long- it's not designed for triple digit speeds for long periods of time- get the DL1000 or an I4 for that.  At medium speeds ~75, 48-50 mpg is typical.  

[stromgal]

Congrats!  

I'm very interested in the 'new' Wee Strom; haven't been able to test-ride one to assess the difference in the re-design. Looking forward to your thoughts as you rack up some miles.

[Justin]

Congrats - that looks like a well setup Wee, and should provide lots of smiles  

Now get out there and drag some side cases!

[Oxblood]

 

At least when I sold mine it was for almost what I paid for it 38,000 miles earlier.

I did almost as well. I bought a used 2007 from a local dealer, with only 1380 km on it. They sold it to me for 5600.00 plus taxes. In 2010 I went back to the same dealer, and traded it in against a 2010 GSX 1250 SEA. The list on the new bike at the time was a little over 13,000.00. My Wee now had 48,000km on it. The dealer gave me 4400.00 trade in, and sold it 3 weeks later for just shy of 6K.

Great little bikes.