Caponord or V-Strom

[cccpull]

This thread is to get some usefull information, not for bashing one bike or the other.

I'm trying to decide between these 2 bikes for 2-up long-range touring, mostly good roads, some badly paved roads, and some gravel/dirt, such as West Canadian type roads. I do not live in Canada, that is just an example of the roads. These roads can be traveled with almost any motorcycle, but I would like to have a more confident feel.
Having read some of the posts on this and the V-Strom forum, I see neither bike is perfect. Doh!

The V-Strom pros seem to be price, great engine, lighter weight (although taller, it feels light when sitting on it), adjustable fork pre-load, hand-guards, cheaper accessories and amount of dealerships.

Then negatives are the windshield, taller seat height(for me a negative), lack of weather protection (I know it's a motorcycle), possible clutch problems, aluminum rims(as opposed to wire/debatable?), smaller fuel tank, weaker alternator for adding electric grips/vest and muffler shields seem easy for passenger to get burned.


The Caponord pros are also a great engine, better windshield, better fairing/weather protection, higher output alternator for electric accessories, bigger fuel tank, lower seat height (for me positive), wire rims and the exhaust is very well shielded.

The negatives are more expensive, heavier( although lower seat height, the stock side-stand puts the bike at an angle which makes it very heavy and difficult to get on), no fork adjustments, expensive accessories, and less dealerships (I worry about dealer availability a lot).

I have not been able to test ride either bike (just sat on them).
Have any of you compared, ridden or considered the V-Strom before deciding on the Capo and why did you go with the Capo?

Thanks.

[johnmanh]

I own a 2002 Capo (since Jun 2002). This spring I traded rides with a co-worker's v-strom. I think the v-strom has the better engine. It has better low-end /midrange. It also has less vibes due to the 90 deg. engine. The stock seat is better on the v-strom also.
The capo has better suspension and handling, and looks way better. I think the engine sounds better when getting a nut. Even though non of the adventure tourers are really offroad, the Capo should be better on dirt roads.
I also own a '95 BMW R1100gs. If I had to choose I would keep the beemer. Since I don't have to choose, these two are great stable mates.

[mtrionfo]

When I bought my Capo on February of 2002, I had looked at both the Capo and V-Strom, but I had not ridden either one. My thoughts at that time were:

- The V-Strom looked and felt like it was assembled from other bike parts. I don't want to say it looked cheap, but the fit and finish were definitely lacking in the model I sat on. The Caponord made a much better first impression on me, even if heaving it off the stock sidestand nearly threw my back out!

- The V-Strom had cast wheels, no hard luggage option (at the time), and road tires. All of the other big adventure tourer types (GS, Tiger, Capo, etc.) had more flexible wire wheels, integrated hard bags, and used a big trailie style tire.

- The V-Strom was certainly a lot less expensive than the Capo, something like $2K at least. However, I had decided that the V-Strom shouldn't really be compared to the other big trailies because it lacked the wheels, bags, etc. (Was that a slick rationalization on my part? Probably.)

That said, I bought the Capo and have put a very satisfied 10K miles on it. And after riding a V-Strom back-to-back with my Capo earlier this season, I'm still satisfied I made the right choice for me.

My buddy bought a V-Strom back in May and during a daytrip in eastern Pennsylvannia we swapped for about an hour. We were on mostly backroads, and not very smooth ones either, so it was a great place to compare the two bikes.

I liked the V-Strom motor. The Suzuki's engine feels totally different from the Capo. It has MUCH more low-end and midrange, and has very significant engine braking. This combination allows you to shift and brake less; just roll the gas on and roll it off as it always seemed to be in the right gear.

The Capo engine, spins up alot faster, and at higher rpm feels more like a multi-cylinder sportbike motor. It also likes to be kept in the 4500-5500 range if you want some punch when exiting a corner. Finally, the torque-back limiting clutch greatly reduces engine braking and can feel a little weird at first. (This was one of the first things my friend commented on when we stopped.)

Some things I definitely did not like about the V-Strom were:

- I still think it looks like a parts-bin special;

- the vibration in the bars, which was quickly numbing my hands;

- the windnoise off the windshield was really bad, much worse than the Capo's stock shield (my friend has since fit a Laminar Lip and says it's a little better);

- the ride was somewhat harsh at the both ends, with the front being the worse of the two;

However, both of us found the other's bike easy and fun to ride. My friend said the Capo felt like a very comfortable sportbike, while I said the V-Strom felt like a BMW twin, albeit one that had alot more power and less weight!

Not sure if this info will help you at all, but just my own experience.

Good luck! Marty