Potential Strada owner, couple questions

[mundanedave]

Hey folks,

First, Hello and I hope I'm not being rude by posting here before any kind of welcome area...

as per title, I think I want a Strada, but I have a few questions!

But first a little about me - kind of a new rider, with about 30k km mostly on a ninja 250 over two years. A mate of mine has gotten himself a DR650 and hopes to do some exploring. I hope to tag along also. All my riding has thus far been pavement based. I don't like fast sweeping roads, but really like tight technical areas I tend not to gas it on the straights, too.

At the moment, I'm tossing up between a Versys 650 and the Strada. Either way I'll be doing a mix of unsealed and sealed roads, with potential for more exploring (4 wheel drive tracks and more). Either way the bike will need to be:

Daily commuter (no car!)
fun for tight twisty roads
suitable for 2up touring, possibly a few nights camping (also 2up).
reasonable 2up comfort. (approx 50% riding 2up)
have ABS
Easier maintenance is a real bonus as I'll do most things myself.

The reason I like the Versys so much is because it'll probably be close enough to a sportbike as I need for twisties and offers some unsealed exploring capacity, and that if it turns out I don't like going offroad I maximize my road tyre choices. I hesitate because the road/off bias is heavily on the road side of things. If I like offroading, then a Strada will fit the bill, but still have some unknowns:

My biggest concern is if I'll have the same fun in twisties on the strada as I am on the ninja. Also,
how well does the strada handle 2up?
How much will a better weight distribution and lighter package of the Strada offset the larger front wheel? - basically will there be a huge difference in handling for the Versys and Strada.
Can i get luggage rack (sides+top) and bags at around $500 AU? (soft or hard)

From what I've read the Strada handles twisty ashphalt pretty nicely, but its difficult to know what the reviewer is using as a reference. Any chance somebody used to own a ninja 250 and tell me how it handles? It must be pretty nimble if it was considered against the Duke 690, its just difficult to get a practical sense of what its like.

Unfortunately I can't really test ride one as I'm buying used and there aren't many in my local area.

TYIA!

- Dave

 

[duibhceK]

I can share my experiences with both bikes, if that helps.
The Strada I don't have a lot of experience with, as I'm currently only riding it as a courtesy bike while the Terra is at the dealer's for maintenance. So I can only judge based on the limited time I've had on the bike. And the currently 12000+km on the Terra, of course.
The 650 Versys on the other hand I did a lot more kilometers on and had a lot of fun doing it.

Handling-wise I'd say the Versys and the Strada are pretty much on par. The front wheel size of the Strada is easily offset by it's relatively small rake, low weight and low center of gravity.
The engine on the Versys I found slightly nicer than the Strada, especially when you get the revs up. The little Versys engine howls and reacts more like you'd expect from a 4-cyl sports bike. It does get very hot though, just like its ER6N en ER6 Ninja relatives.
Protection from the elements is also slightly better on the Kawa, but that shouldn't come as a surprise
If you plan to do a lot of 2-up riding I'd say go for the Versys. The engine and the front brake will handle it slightly better and the passenger comfort will be better. But if you only occasionally ride 2-up just go with whichever bike your heart tells you to.

 

[Chopperbob]

I tried riding my wife on our Strada, and it was a NO-GO for her. She found it to be most uncomfortable.
I've put 7,500 miles on my Strada and have found it to be the most comfortable single cylinder bike I've ever owned, but for SOLO riding only.

 

[wferrari]

What Chopperbob said. The Strada is pretty much for solo riders, but works fine if you need to bring around a passenger for short rides. My wife said that the V-Strom was a sofa in comparison.

 

[Ogre_fl]

I had a Versys that I recently sold after having the TR650 Terra for a while.
I have the Strada cast wheels on mine for commuter and touring duty, so I assume the handling is pretty similar to the Strada.

I concur mostly with Duibhcek's post above.
While overall handing might be similar, the Versys is much more planted feeling and the steering is more precise.
That is particularly true at speeds over 80 mph. The TR's gets wiggly over 80, the Versys is rock solid up to its max speed.
I never had any heat issues with my Versys, while not bad at all I do pick up heat from the TR's mufflers.

In general road riding I find the TR is a very pleasant bike to ride, the Versys is a very fun bike to ride.
Something about the Versys makes it very engaging to ride and the TR is missing that something.

EFI is the one place where the Versys trumps the TR's.
It is perfect on the Versys.
At every temp range, altitude and every rev range. It never stalls, it never stumbles, it never surges, it always starts at the touch of the button.
The TR unfortunately is far from perfect.

2 up is a funny thing.
I had a Corbin seat on my Versys and have a seat concepts tall on my TR.
My wife actually prefers the TR, but we haven't done any real long distance on either.
The engine/gearing on the Versys hauled our load better.

Off pavement is where the TR really comes into favor and why I have it over the Versys.
Even with street biased tires on the cast wheels the TR is MUCH better than the Versys.
The 17" wheel on the Versys tucks under or plows on you in anything soft and the suspension is much less compliant.
Ground clearance is also MUCH better. I can hop a downed tree on the TR, would not even try that on the Versys.

 

[Norton120]

I have a Strada and my riding buddy has a Versys, and we sometimes swap during weekend rides. He also keeps the Versys in my garage and we do all the maintenance on both here, so maybe my 2 cents will help.

Comparing maintenance from one bike to the other, the Versys has the Strada beat hands-down. Just ask anyone who has done an oil change on the Strada how much fun that top drain block is to mess with. Working on the bikes the Strada feels much more like a dirtbike to me. The Versys is happy with a standard UJM-friendly tool box, while the Strada really wants special tools (like an extra long skinny torx wrench bit for changing the oil filter). The Strada also feels more finicky than the Versys as the miles rack up - I've had to flush air bubbles out of my radiator several times, and I have found bolts around the frame that have nearly worked themselves off.. this is typical stuff when riding a dirtbike lots of miles. In the same time period (and largely the same roads) the Versys has kept itself together without any help from us.

Off-road there is no comparison. The Strada is a ballerina compared to the Versys. A competent rider can make either one work, but when the pavement ends I always make sure I am on my bike and not my buddys'.

like Ogre_fl said the Versys feels much more planted at speed. And the Strada runs out of speed relatively quickly on the highway - I am always playing catchup on the open roads. The Versys has enough juice left at 60 to quickly pass a slower car, not always the case with my Strada. In very tight technical riding they are close, but I do find the Strada to be a little more competent (that could just be my personal bias).

The wind protection on the Versys is a big plus for longer rides (especially highway commutes), and I will admit I'm significantly more fatigued at the end of each ride than my buddy is.

If you love someone, don't ever put them on the back of a Strada. My wife tried it once for 1/2 an hour and didn't speak to me for 2 days. Compare the seat on the Strada to an RMZ450 and yes, it's plush... but up against the Versys it's a torture rack. Fantastic for short, sporty rides, but not very friendly over the 300mi mark.

definitely make your own decision, but my advice would be to consider the Strada a big dirtbike and the Versys a standard/UJM with a dirt bias - and purchase accordingly.

 

[Greg Jetnikoff]

Raced an ER6N and own a Strada.
As I had the road version rather than the Versys I will only comment on the engine. The Kawka engine is a gem. smooth and responsive. Fantastic at idle and smooth and ridiculously torquey for a twin. EVEN BETTER with a power commander dynoed to the bike with a proper set of pipes ( std pipes are too small internal diameter and actually too long to the header joint for the cams. The Versys is cammed differently and may actually be a better match than the ER). The Kawaka is and feels very heavy. A properly tuned ER motor is absolutely fantastic to ride on wet roads as the power delivery is so predictable, something that cannot be said for the Husky motor.
However for the road I feel the Husky is the best most rideable motorcycle for the road I have owned in 40 years of riding and racing. So smooth for a single, fuel efficient, responsive ( AFTER adding a Booster plug or equivalent) and brilliant braking feel. It is not good at being pushed hard into corners on the road and the 19" wheel is a fight to turn in once the speed is up. Tyres are adequate for the road but not up the the standard that good 17" road tyres are and they are just acceptable off road ( squirrely on loose stuff). The Husky feels much lighter though and not as tiring to ride at legal speeds. I also own a BMW F800R, and since I bought the TR, I have to make myself take the BM out rather than ride the Strada, just so the BM gets some use. The TR seat needs to be changed to a Seat concepts or similiar though. The std one gives you burny bum after a short while. I am riding 2500km to the MotoGp at Phillip Island in October and I am taking the Strada and looking forward to it.

 

[mundanedave]

Thanks for the (very) detailed responses,

Its good to know there isn't a huge difference in handling at moderate speeds, as the bike will only really see speeds exceeding 120 km/h for overtakes - Highway patrol over here is somewhat unrelenting, and I like my cash+license.
Given I've never done what one might call adventure touring (99.9% sealed rural roads thus far) I think the position I'd want to avoid is where I find out I quite like where the dirt / other roads take me but its not so enjoyable on the Versys. I've never really tried this sort of riding before it seems to make sense to me to get something that gives me a fighting chance of enjoying anything more than a fire road. The hard part is knowing which compromises to make. I think compromising slightly on road performance to have a ballerina in the dirt (by comparison) is the smarter option.

As far as comfort goes - is it effectively limited to hard seat + no windshield? I'm happy to sink a little more cash into those areas if I have similar experiences. I've found even basic stuff like cycling underwear helps with those sorts of issues.

Thanks for the heads up on the oil change - somewhat more involved indeed! Think I can live with that. saw the adv rider thread.

Some issues that I'm really concerned about are about the Fuel Injection and overheating problems that people seem to be having.

As far as overheating - Any news from the Husqvarna as far as a recall / permanent fix for the radiator problems? Based on what I've read here, the fix varies greatly. 'just burp it' fix, replace the cap, all the way to replacing the radiator and thermostat. Any Idea the percentage of TR's affected? one in ten or more? If I periodically have to burp the radiator to prevent it spewing all over me and am forever doubting the temp reading I'll be sorely tempted to ride the thing into the side of a truck. Every time I have to send it to the shop for this kind of an issue is 5 tanks of fuel I could've otherwise burnt..... (remaining warranty is an issue if used)

Do updates in Fuel injection software largely remedy stalling and stuttering problems? I appreciate that the on/off throttle response may still be a little abrupt given emissions requirements, and that this may still be present.

By the way, I'm looking at getting a used example - probably from interstate involving a 1000km ride home. I've found an example which has roughly 1300 km. What are the chances this guy is suffering from the above problems and wants the bike to be somebody elses problem? Says he wants a different style bike.......

Thanks again,
Dave.

 

[run-it]

Hey folks,


Daily commuter (no car!) = Versys
fun for tight twisty roads = Either
suitable for 2up touring, possibly a few nights camping (also 2up). = Versys
reasonable 2up comfort. (approx 50% riding 2up) = Versys
have ABS = Either
Easier maintenance is a real bonus as I'll do most things myself. = Versys


The reason I like the Versys so much is because it'll probably be close enough to a sportbike as I need for twisties and offers some unsealed exploring capacity, and that if it turns out I don't like going offroad I maximize my road tyre choices. I hesitate because the road/off bias is heavily on the road side of things. If I like offroading, then a Strada will fit the bill, but still have some unknowns:

My biggest concern is if I'll have the same fun in twisties on the strada as I am on the ninja. Also,
how well does the strada handle 2up?
How much will a better weight distribution and lighter package of the Strada offset the larger front wheel? - basically will there be a huge difference in handling for the Versys and Strada.
Can i get luggage rack (sides+top) and bags at around $500 AU? (soft or hard)


- Dave

Versys - Enjoy your new bike!

I can't answer if you'd enjoy the Strada as much as the Ninja in twisties, in tight turns I'd imagine the light & nimble Ninja would be a hoot. Like you said, everything is a compromise.

Video is a poor representation of what a bike is or is not but fwiw you're welcome to virtual ride mine ...

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQKAskzFCaQ

You did your research - the overtemp issue I'd guess affects something well less than 1in10. There's also a clear plastic line running from the overflow bottle to the radiator that gets kinked b/c it's too short and/or its routing. Something as stupid as that causes some percent of the reported cooling system problems- I've never had any issues.

Daily commuter (no car!)

I think you could stop right there & have your answer! We all want to have fun with our bikes but you NEED to get to work on it! Heck, a lot of us have these as a second bike PLUS our cages so a daily road-worthy bike isn't mission critical. Love the Strada but it's not for everyone!

 

[mundanedave]

Thanks again for the advice - very nearly parted with my $$$ for a Strada, but just now put a deposit on a (soon to be mine) Versys - just ticked too many boxes to pass up .