This "little" 650 is the best urban riding machine I've ever had the pleasure of piloting. It's quick, it's very nimble, and positively parsimonious on fuel.

I've already added several modifications to my Wee-Strom, as the 650s are known, to make it more commute-worthy and to make it handle better on the occasions that I take it off-road: Givi E52 Maxia tailbag, Suzuki hand protectors, Battery Tender plug, a small air compressor that runs off the Battery Tender plug, a Garmin eTrex Vista GPS, a SW-Motech centerstand, and a Loobman chain-luber.

There's many more items I plan to add to the Wee-Strom, including: GPS/Camera RAM mount, DL1000 seat (extra 1"), Stebel air horn (like my big Sabre had), electric grip heaters, volt meter, electric outlets for electric jacket liner, SW-Motech radiator guard (purchased, but install needed), SW-Motech bash plate, MadStad adjustable windscreen bracket, Givi sidebag mounts, Givi sidebags, and a 4" diameter tooltube mounted to the inside of the sidebag mounts for carrying additional tools.

Nov 2006: I suppose I've ridden my V-Strom to some shockingly high mileage this year. I bought it in late May of 2006, and I rolled 11,000 miles the day after Halloween. It's a pure unabashed joy to ride, and one that makes me want to go buy an SV650 so that I can enjoy that lovely 650 twin even more.

Dec 2007: It's been awhile and a very long year, but my DL is doing great. I've gone through two chains and a set of brake pads in the past 30,000 miles. Too much of it commuting, but that's life I suppose. Had a small accident that banged me up pretty badly, but the V-Strom came through with flying colors. The SW-Motech radiator/engine guards and the left clamshell took the brunt of the accident leaving no mechanical problems, and I would've been able to ride it home if I hadn't broken my arm hitting the ground.

This is the big brother to the little Sabre. It's a serious motorcycle by any measure. The bike put down 101hp at the rear wheel and is good from 20 to 105mph in 3rd gear, with 2 more (plus Over-Drive) to go still faster. I purchased it from a good friend on the Wetleather mailing list, as he didn't ride it much anymore and wanted it to go to a good home. It has all sorts of modifications and additions to it: blinking rear LED brakelight, locking tail box, luggage rack and adjustable driver backrest, Travelcade aftermarket seat, heated grips, gel-cell battery, authentic Harley-Davidson highway pegs, fork brace, color-matched Bates fork-mount fairing, the extremely important Oil line modification to prevent cam pitting, modern sintered-metal brake pads, Throttle-meister cruise control, and stainless steel brake lines in front. A very nice and budget-conscious sport-touring bike that is also shod with Avon ST radials. And with approximately 63,000 miles on the bike, the rock-solid 1100cc V4 has many, many miles left in it. I plan to remove the fairing and replace it with a National Cycle Plexifairing 3 for better protection than the shorty shield on the Bates, remove the rack and bag and replace them with Givi Racks and a E52 on the tail, pull the 80s-style headlight and purchase a custom modern Xenon lighting system with low and high beams. In doing so, I'm hoping to regain the stock look of this beautiful and under-appreciated musclebike, yet have a sport-touring motorcycle with modern hardware and amenities.

Lots of information on the Sabre and Magna lines can be found at The Compleat SabMag Links.

This little bike is a riot. I bought it dirt cheap, about $800, and it needs a bit of TLC. For starters: rather rich jetting sorted out, new air cleaner retention bolt(done), new gear selector shaft(fixed), new coolant hoses(done), and probably needs its drum inspected. Mostly, it's something I can cut my teeth on for learning basic home garage repairs without my wife having a coronary about breaking it. =)

It's just the thing for getting me the 4 miles to the train station and safely returning me home each evening. The little v-4 moves really nicely until I start having problems hanging on at 75mph and the wind stream starts pulling at me. It's so tractable around town in 2nd at 5500rpm that I don't bother shifting up unless I'm in a neighborhood that the SuperTrapp megaphone would bother folks. It's not one of those new disk-type models, it's just a big f'in loud (semi-)open megaphone. And probably illegal as all hell to boot. Got to do something about that. One of these days.

The Concours, or affectionately 'Connie", is what was considered a serious sport-touring motorcycle in the mid-eighties. The Concours was quite powerful for its day, and still have the largest OEM saddlebags on the market. The Concours is a wonderful motorcycle especially well suited to 500 miles days.

The Concours has a shaft drivetrain powered through a 6-speed transmission by a 998cc inline-4 engine. The engine produces 68ft/lbs and nearly 90hp(@8500rpm), giving it a reputed top speed of 125mph with bags and 135 without. With a single downshift from the almost overdrive top gear, the Connie can show a clean pair of heels to anything with 4 wheels sold in America today.

Even more astonishing for a bike of this class is the fact that in a measure of top-gear acceleration, a well-cared for late '80s Concours has a quicker time than a late '90s ZX-9 open-class racebike.

The Connie is certainly not a beginner bike, and is very much a Big Man's Bike. The dry weight is 595lbs, and when loaded with coolant, oil, full saddlebags, and 7 & 1/2 gallons of fuel nears 700lbs.

The Concours is an extremely comfortable ride. The seat is arguably the best stock seat made today, and the semi-sport riding style allows for persons over six feet to fit the bike very well. Another aspect of the Connie that enamours many of its owners is the Connie's combination of low-rpm docility and high-rpm performance. Opening the throttle on an open stretch of road can be quite the eye-opener, for when the tachometer hits 6000rpm, something beautiful happens. The water-cooled KZ1000 engine that is the Connie's direct ancestor lights up and roars down the road.

Why did I sell her, you ask? Unfortunately, due to health problems, I cannot currently handle the weight of this fine sport-tourer. As the Concours is a big man's bike, you need the strength to handle her. Something I could no longer do, with much regret.

For more information about the Concours, try the Concours Owners Group for more information.

This bike never let me down. I bought it for $750 in mid-October of 2001 and sold it in April. I put over 6,000 miles on it between Halloween and Easter. A good set of Metzeler Bias-Plys, and it handled like a new bike.

I purchased it from a co-worker at Downtown Emergency Service Center, who hadn't much of an opportunity to ride it. He had taken it out of storage in April of 2001, where it had sat for at least 3 years.

The story of this bike is like that of many of the bikes that were imported prior to the 'Tariff Years' when Reagan was conned into putting a punishing tariff on import motorcycles over 700cc. This bike sat in Cosmoline preservative until well into 1985. The first owner told me about the DOZENS(!) of other CX500s still sitting in crates in the warehouse 3 years after they were imported. Honda must have lost their hat during those years.

It is reputed that Honda borrowed the concept, if not the engine design itself, from gasoline engines it had designed to power water pumps in the Saraha. While it may sound strange, it stands to reason that these pumps would need to tolerate a fair bit of environmental abuse, infrequent maintenance, and long stretches of hard work. One of my fellow WetLeatherites owns many different examples of the CX500 and can personally attest that a CX500 will operate reliably above 8500rpm all day long, without damage or other adverse consequences. (roughly 80mph on this motorcycle)

Otherwise, the Honda is a rather blandly efficient motorcycle. It had no great strengths other than it's rock-solid dependability. It has a 9750-RPM redline, almost unheard of among era mid-size V-twins. Its front air-forks are sadly out of date, and tend to bounce about when rounding bumpy corners. It had a tiny gas tank and needs refills every 105 miles, even at 55mpg.

A good beginner bike for larger riders, or one for riders who do not ride frequently. These flaws and others fueled my purchase of the next bike.

The photo of the gauges are clearly not from my particular bike, but serve as an example of the cockpit layout. I don't recall where I found the image of the gauges, if you do know, please email me so that proper credit can be given.