Back in July the engine in my ZX14 failed suddenly and unexpectedly. Not sure what happened, but long story short I returned from a road trip on it to Tennessee/North Carolina to ride the Tail Of The Dragon. Pulled into the drive when I got home and heard a tick. Changed the oil and there was bearing material. Fast forward a few weeks and I was out riding when it started knocking and eventually seized. I knew it was coming...oh well.
I had already been thinking of buying a second bike, something a little more comfortable for trips. While down in NC with [MENTION=4838]1MEANGT[/MENTION] we were talking about adventure bikes. As some know, he ended up buying a new Honda Africa Twin adventure bike not long ago. That got me thinking about an adventure bike again. When the engine let go on the 14, I decided to look for something. After doing some research on adventure bikes, I liked the Suzuki VStrom, a 1000cc V Twin. I looked for a couple weeks, and ended up finding a pristine 2002 VSTROM with only 14k at a small bike dealer in Janesville WI. I ended up bringing it home about a month ago and absolutely love it. I've been riding the hell out of it, and Mike and I already took them off-road on the ATV trails at Bong Rec Area in Wisconsin, and they did exceptionally well for big bikes. Here's a couple pics.
I had already been thinking of buying a second bike, something a little more comfortable for trips. While down in NC with [MENTION=4838]1MEANGT[/MENTION] we were talking about adventure bikes. As some know, he ended up buying a new Honda Africa Twin adventure bike not long ago. That got me thinking about an adventure bike again. When the engine let go on the 14, I decided to look for something. After doing some research on adventure bikes, I liked the Suzuki VStrom, a 1000cc V Twin. I looked for a couple weeks, and ended up finding a pristine 2002 VSTROM with only 14k at a small bike dealer in Janesville WI. I ended up bringing it home about a month ago and absolutely love it. I've been riding the hell out of it, and Mike and I already took them off-road on the ATV trails at Bong Rec Area in Wisconsin, and they did exceptionally well for big bikes. Here's a couple pics.
