So Sunday I didn't hear from anyone about a ride so I jumped on the ol Vstrom and cruised down through town then on over to the coffee shop. Usually this is a strictly sport bike crowd and they give me a hard time if I show up on one of my old Hondas instead of ready to go on my Aprilia. So today I decided to just kick back and ride the Vstrom down to see if anyone was hanging out at the shop. So I get there and a couple guys were getting ready to ride up to Monterey on some back roads. So I just bought some Joe and hung out for a while. Then all the sport bike dudes start pulling in one after the other. Oh boy now it looks like everyone had riding on their mind! Luckily a buddy pulled up on his BMW GS so I had a fellow dual sport touring bike to ride with out of the crowd.
Anyhow it turned out to be more of a spirited ride and the Vstrom was definitely impressing some sport bikes that day. I really put the bike through it's paces and I can now report on it's traits after a long day of riding in different conditions.
- The brakes WILL fade on you after 3-4 corners at speed
- When go off the road as a result of this DO NOT lean the Vstrom over as it is too top-heavy
- The stock tires suck and there are many alternatives that are better
- The engine really revvs good and mid to high RPMS are ideal to keep up the pace
- Everyone will be begging for fuel at noon and the 650 Vstrom will run one whole day on 1 tank
- NEVER USE THE FRONT BRAKE IN A TURN for any reason unless you have super skills at recovering low-side type front end slides
- If the front end does start sliding let off any brakes immediately and give the bike throttle ASAP to take weight off the front end so the tire can have a chance to regain traction
- Lots of people will admire your strange looking bike and ask questions
- Tires must be at a minimum of 35 rear and 36 front
- More pressure for a 185+lb rider but not much because your traction will decrease and I wouldn't recommend more than 38 / 40psi
Notice the skid marks on the outside edge of the front tire. That was a half second fight to keep the front end from sliding out as I was fighting a GSXR750 through a turn. I lost that corner but I won the fight against the pavement! 
