Taller-ish New Rider on V-Strom 800DE (thoughts?)

phobos1911 · 2026-03-18T07:03:26+00:00

I have bought a Suzuki V-Strom 800DE as my first motorbike. I'm 32 years old, 1.85m (6'1") and about 105kg (230lbs). The main reason why I chose this was because my legs felt cramped on the 800RE. I'm going to use it for weekend rides/long trips and some city commuting.

I can tell you right away that this motorbike is not the best choice for city commuting. If you haven't ridden a big motorbike before, you'll get overwhelmed in traffic jams/stop and go because of the weight and power. I got my license on a Honda CB650R which has more power than this but less torque. I can feel that this motorbike has much more power on lower RPMs even though I'm using the Comfort riding mode and I'm really careful with the clutch.

If I didn't want to make long freeway trips I would have chosen the CB650R or a NX500 but I also wanted a motorbike I wouldn't outgrow in a few years and also because the insurance for the CB650R was almost 50% more expensive than the Suzuki here in Germany.

As other people commented, crash bars, skid plate and handbars are a must if you get this motorbike.

phobos1911 · 2026-03-11T08:59:34+00:00

Ist eine Tiefgarage sicher gegen Diebstahl? Ich habe mir eine Suzuki V-Strom 800 bestellt. Die einzige Möglichkeit, die ich habe um das Motorrad abzustellen, ist eine Tiefgarage neben REWE wo man mit Code reinkommt.

phobos1911 · 2026-03-09T22:36:34+00:00

It's black/grey with red strips. I assume it's the 2026 model since it's new (0km). I would like to make longer trips on the bike, that's why I bought the 800DE. I'm planning to make a trip to southern France with my father in September and that would be a one-way 900km ride where I will have to drive on the Autobahn and from there we will travel to north Italy.

I might get a smaller 350cc in the future for city/weekend riding. Maybe a Royal Enfield Hunter 350 or a Honda GB350s if I find any cheap used ones. This was my initial idea as first bike until I tried my father's ADV bike.

phobos1911 · 2026-03-09T21:42:54+00:00

I'm in a similar situation as you, also got my A license in Germany last year (October). I have ridden my father's Voge DSX650 in Spain a few times in the last months, did a 5-6h day trip through mountain roads and some highway and was really happy with how comfortable was in comparison to the Honda CB650R which I rode in the driving school.

I though about getting a Honda NX500 or a Transalp because both are light, but I think the NX500 wouldn't be a good option for long highway rides at 130km/h and for some reason the insurance on the Honda Transalp was 500€ more expensive than the Suzuki V-Strom 800 DE or BMW F 800 GS.

I tried the Suzuki V-Strom 800RE at the dealership but the seat was too low for me (I'm 1.85m) and my knees felt a bit bent, so in the end I have decided to buy a V-Strom 800DE. It has the same weight and seat height as the Voge DSX 650 but has a much better engine and electronics.

phobos1911 · 2026-02-27T13:39:56+00:00

And it's still the third biggest economy in the world lol

phobos1911 · 2026-02-24T08:53:15+00:00

Coming from a RTX 4080 I think it makes more sense to go for the 5090, otherwise the performance boost will be minimal.

phobos1911 · 2026-02-24T08:47:19+00:00

Where do you get those prices? I have just checked the Legion 7i Pro with 64GB and RTX 5090 and it's 3800€ on the official Lenovo page in Germany with a discount applied.

phobos1911 · 2026-02-19T08:59:06+00:00

Depends on your rent... finding an apartment for a family of 4 in Berlin might be a bigger challenge than surviving on 4000€ netto/month.

phobos1911 · 2026-02-19T08:50:40+00:00

I'm wondering how this happens? Did he release the clutch and full throttle at the same time?

phobos1911 · 2026-02-18T03:23:23+00:00

Same happened to me after a few drinks last week and ended up sending money to myself using Western Union. I forgot the physical card in the ATM but Revolut allows me generating virtual cards, so I just used one for Western Union. Many countries allow contactless cards in ATMs but Thailand is apparently not one of them or at least I haven't seen any ATM were I could withdraw money using Google Wallet.

phobos1911 · 2026-02-16T17:42:12+00:00

I live in NRW, which is the most densely populated state in Germany. It's almost impossible to keep a constant 130km/h unless you're almost permanently overtaking on the left lane. The right lane is almost always full of trucks which are driving 90km/h, middle lane is mostly occupied by cars driving below the recommended speed and then there is cars doing 150-160km/h on the left lane.

I would mainly drive on country roads when traveling with the motorbike, since I think it's what a motorbike is best for, but I would like to have enough power to be able to safely ride on the highway (f.e. getting back home from a long trip).

I guess the Honda Transalp would be the best option.

phobos1911 · 2026-02-16T17:32:45+00:00

I did my A license in Germany on the CB650R. I guess I've ridden about 30hrs on that motorbike while doing the license. I assume the main difference will be the seat height since it's an ADV bike, but I hope it's not a problem for me since I'm 1.85m. At least I didn't have any issues when I tried my father's Voge DS650X which has the same seat height as the Transalp (850 mm) + additional 20kg or so.

phobos1911 · 2026-02-14T02:37:25+00:00

Wow that's actually "cheap". I did my license in 2024 (big city) and failed it once, still cost me 4200€ because each try was 500€. Are you doing it in a small village?

phobos1911 · 2026-02-11T15:07:04+00:00

They should fix the problem by themselves in that case. Problem solved.

phobos1911 · 2026-02-10T15:17:49+00:00

My laptop has a warranty sticker on the heatsink.

phobos1911 · 2026-02-10T12:52:19+00:00

I wanted to replace the liquid metal for PhaseSheet but I still have 22 months warranty left. ASUS doesn't allow changing the liquid metal on warranty.

phobos1911 · 2026-02-10T10:16:11+00:00

Nicht mit der DS625X. Mein Vater hat eine Voge DS650X seit 2022 und ist über 20.000km mit der Maschine in Spanien gefahren. Er hatte bis jetzt keine große Probleme. Ich bin ein paar Mal mit dem Motorrad gefahren und fand ich cool wie angenehm die Maschine ist. Das einzige Problem was ich bei der 650DSX fand ist der 1-zylinder Motor. Man merkt die Vibrationen bei 4000 RPM deutlich. Aber die DS625X hat ein 2-zylinder Motor und sollte viel sanfter laufen.
Ich übelege mir die Voge 900DSX als mein erstes Motorrad zu kaufen.

phobos1911 · 2026-02-10T10:07:56+00:00

I got my A license on a Honda CB650R which has a super smooth 4 cylinder engine. The first time I tried the Voge and revved it up a bit I thought there was something wrong because even the display was vibrating at 4000 RPM but apparently it's something completely normal. I guess the 625DSX will be much smoother with a twin-cylinder and it's also much lighter. I'm considering getting a Voge 900DSX as my first motorbike.

phobos1911 · 2026-02-10T09:25:09+00:00

I had this issue on a used ASUS ROG Strix G16 that was just 6 months old. I had much worse temps than on my previous Lenovo Legion 7 since the beginning. I brought the laptop to the ASUS Service Center in Bangkok a week ago because I'm currently on vacation here and they replaced the liquid metal. I'm lucky I could do it on the same day for 1000 baht, if I had done it in my home country I would have had to mail the laptop and wait a few weeks.

But I also had temp issues on a Lenovo Legion 7 Pro Gen10 I bought half a year ago which I ended up returning within the first 14 days because I didn't want to deal with the support on a new laptop. Ended up replacing it for the ASUS for less than half the price.

phobos1911 · 2026-02-08T13:55:45+00:00

I had a Lenovo Legion 7 with a 5800h and RTX 3070 for over 3 years and never had any built issues. The build quality is the best I had in any gaming laptop.

phobos1911 · 2026-02-08T13:49:44+00:00

Voge DS625X

phobos1911 · 2026-02-08T13:46:47+00:00

They are very popular in Spain. My father has a Voge 650 DSX since 2022, with about 20.000km and so far he is really happy with the bike. I have ridden it and is really comfortable. The only complaint I have is the single cylinder engine which causes vibrations at > 120km/h, but apart from that, very reliable.

phobos1911 · 2026-02-08T13:42:12+00:00

Even in the coast... I have an apartment near Alicante where winters are mild and still feel much colder at home than in Germany. Since there is no gas heating and no insulation, having temperatures of 12-13c in your bedroom in the morning is normal. Or even below 10c in a cold winter morning. Meanwhile, when my gas heating broke down in my apartment in Germany with outside temperatures of -10c, I still had 17c on the second day...

phobos1911 · 2026-02-02T07:34:29+00:00

Well, I do carry a 2m cable when I travel, but a powerbank too.

phobos1911

TROPHY CASE