New member/rider with 650 V-strom (Blue)

[Joel Batts]

Hi Everyone,
I'm Joel Batts, the new member to this forum and rider, first year. I just bought a blue V-strom 650. I'm going to pick it up tomorrow morning...well around 11am.

Being a new member and rider, I have lots of questions for all you veteran riders out there, and I'm looking forward to your words of wisdom. The first thing I want to take care of is the insurance.

Any recommendations? I'm going to call Progressive, AIS, Geico and All State tomorrow morning. Did I leave anyone out?

How much, approximately, per month/year should I be expecting to pay for the insurance given a new bike with no previous ridding experience? By the way, I have completed the motorcycle class and have a motorcycle license issued by the DMV of California. I'm in my mid 30s and living in Northern California, north of Sacramento.

Thank you for all your help in advance. I'm looking forward to your words of wisdom!

Regards,
Joel

[Gixxerdale]

Your insurance should be much less than this!

http://www.suzuki-bikes.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2290

Your age and the type of bike should net you a reasonable rate.

[Uncle Bob]

So many variables involved it's impossible to give you a price. But as mentioned since it's not a supersportbike and you're no longer 18 it shouldn't be too bad.

Question, if you're picking it up tomorrow why haven't called for quotes on insurance yet ?.

I may be a little "anal" sometimes but when buying a vehicle I check insurance costs even before I sign on the dotted line to buy it.

Oh well that's just me , Welcome to the site.

[SoldierSteve]

Welcome to the site.

[tlwisner]

also check www.bike-line.net for a good rate. I use Progressive, but it looks like Bike-Line is very competitive.

[Joel Batts]

Thanks, everyone, for the inputs and suggestions. Got the insurance through AIS for $488/Yr, full coverage with towing up to $250 per tow.

Picked up the bike and drove around, around and home. Love it! This is my first bike so I can't compare it to anything else...sorry. Engine is very quiet and shifting is very smooth. Wanted to ride around some more, but had to get back to work. There's always tomorrow!!

Next question: Are there any seats out there for the V-Strom 650 that can lower the current seat another inch or more?

Uncle Bob, I wasn't planning on buying the V-Strom the other day. I was still in the research and testing mode. I tried them all, including Triumph Tiger, Ducanti Multistrada, BMW 650 CS & GS and Suzuki Bandit 1200S. Been doing research and testing for 3 months and the other day my wife had enough and wrote the deposit check for the V-Strom. I guess she got tired of going bike shopping with me .

Thanks again everyone.

Cheers,
Joel

[Uncle Bob]

Wife wrote the check !

Lucky man !

[tlwisner]

Originally Posted by Joel Batts

Picked up the bike and drove around, around and home. Love it! This is my first bike so I can't compare it to anything else...sorry. Engine is very quiet and shifting is very smooth. Wanted to ride around some more, but had to get back to work. There's always tomorrow!!

Everytime I go to the Suzuki store, I look at the Volusias, but then those blue V-Strom 650s call from the other side of the showroom. I really like the F650 BMW bike, and the V-Strom is from a similar mold - and I suspect owning the V-Strom would be a bit more economical. The only bad thing about the V-Strom 650 is that as a new model, there aren't any used ones for me to buy.....

Maybe next year.