It's been 6 months since I picked up my Strada at Bill's Husky in Salem. I put 1k on it the first week, and and it's taken the balance of that time to get to 3k. Some observations: The bike was a mess below 4k RPM when I first got it. It ended up being the guinea pig for the MOSS setup at Bill's, and once that all got sorted out it was transformed into once of the best running bikes I've ever owned. My rear fender broke, it was promptly fixed under warranty. Bill's replaced the big metal license plate mount with a smaller lighter one. I've got my fingers crossed. I've not had any other significant issues. I can go on and on about this engine, I'm really addicted to the power delivery. I ask, it responds. It's very predictable, and It pulls in an intoxicating way. Plenty of power across the RPM range. Freeway work at Oregon speeds (65 max) is more than sufficient. Transmission is clunky relative to Japanese bikes, but it gets the job done. The five speed combined with the power delivery of the 650 'just works.' Low speed work, terrifying before the MOSS fix, is now uneventful. Early MPG was high 40s, lately it's been high 50s. The range is good enough, while not having a massive tank on the front of a small bike. On pavement, it's just plain fun. The combination of engine, handling, and weight make my favorite twisty roads beg to be ridden. And ridden again. The Tourance EXPs work really well, plenty of grip for me, and very predictable. The bike is really neutral, it more or less disappears. I don't think about the bike when I'm riding it, I think about line selection, entry speed, the boundaries of the speed limit. We've got a lot of gravel here, and the bike works well for that too. If I was going to do a lot of gravel I'd get different tires, but I don't want to give up the road side of things. My bike is more or less stock. I switched to a Terra front fender for radiator coverage and looks. I've been trying to decide what if anything to do for luggage. The stock seat is excellent, but I'm looking for more height, so I'll likely go custom there. At 6'4" 280, I think getting rid of the scoop in the seat will open things up a bit and make the bike even more comfortable. That said, I've had a bunch of 5-6 hour saddle stretches and find the bike really comfortable. I'm debating the skid plate options, but haven't decide which way to go. The airflow management on this bike is excellent. I'm running stock, and with my Arai Quantum in completely clean air I run for hours at 60 and get off ready to go again. I'm not going to do many huge mileage days, I suspect I'll leave things as they are. I've found 'the zone' at speed that uses forward lean to neutralize the back pressure. Bottom line, I feel guilty riding this bike. At this price I should be compromising on many fronts, but I'm not. The bike is a pleasure, I can't ride it enough. This forum has been a big help, lots of good information. Finally, I can't say enough about Bill's Husky in Salem. They've been great! Ok, off to ride.
Good report krussell. I do agree about the clunky tranny. It will be a very hard thing to get use to. Call me lazy but I sure miss clutchless shifting like I did on my 510. Still the bike does beg to be ridden.
Hmmm, my tranny is a pretty good shifter. The only thing I get is a false neutral (rarely) between third and fourth (I think, since usually I'm not paying much attention to what gear I'm in). Thanks for the report krussell - I feel the same way about my Terra.
Congrats and thanks for the report on life with the 650. It's a great platform that's for sure. I have to say my trans works great and my engine out of the box purrs nicely. Glad Bill's got your engine fueling correctly. I have the motosportz skid and it's a very nice item and protects the bottom nicely as well as reinforces the open engine cradle very nicely.
