Dirt_Dad
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I had an opportunity to ride a 2012 DL650 (Glee) for about 130 miles on some of my most familiar WV twisty roads. I definitely had an opportunity to form an opinion of the new little Strom.
Wow, what a hoot.
I have to admit, I had a blast on that thing. To me, and my 3 year old memory of my wife's last Wee, it's a huge advance over that one. What a fun bike to ride. Very quick, excellent acceleration.
It was a very strong crosswind day today and I was surprised by how stable it was. Nothing like my memory of the sail in the wind (exaggerated some) old Wee. It was rock solid. At one point I slammed it into a corner at a pretty good clip. There were lots to shadows and I apparently missed seeing some massive pot hole that shook the handlebars so violently that my right mirror ended up swinging around and facing the wrong direction. Bike shook it off like a champ. I screwed the mirror back into position and it never missed a beat.
I was able to ride that thing as hard and fast as my Tenere on the twistiest of roads. I have over 35K miles of Tenere experience that allow me to achieve that performance. I have 0 Glee miles, but the bike was absolutely confidence inspiring and so easy to ride at high speed in the good stuff.
Acceleration was far better than my memory of the old Wee. Passing was a breeze, not the debate session I used to have on the Wee.
The old Wee had a torture rack for a seat. 30 miles and I was wanting off the bike. The Glee seat is very nice. Probably the most comfortable stock seat I've ever experienced.
Overall, really impressive bike. Romney told me it was their number one selling bike last year, and it's heading that way again. I get it, that little thing is a blast to ride. I kept finding another way to make it a longer ride before getting off it.
I've been wanting to get my wife a bike that is a better fit for her. I really thought this was going to be a candidate. She rode her S10 around for a while, then she got on the Glee. She probably did about 6 laps around the large parking lot, then she parked next to me. Basically she looked at me and said, "nope." Then she got on her bike and I heard "ahh" come across the bluetooth. Oh well, so much for my ability to predict what she wants.
The Glee is a very fun bike, but it's no Tenere. If I had endless cash I'd probably add it to the fleet. But I don't have any bikes I'd give up for it, so that is the end of that.
Wow, what a hoot.
I have to admit, I had a blast on that thing. To me, and my 3 year old memory of my wife's last Wee, it's a huge advance over that one. What a fun bike to ride. Very quick, excellent acceleration.
It was a very strong crosswind day today and I was surprised by how stable it was. Nothing like my memory of the sail in the wind (exaggerated some) old Wee. It was rock solid. At one point I slammed it into a corner at a pretty good clip. There were lots to shadows and I apparently missed seeing some massive pot hole that shook the handlebars so violently that my right mirror ended up swinging around and facing the wrong direction. Bike shook it off like a champ. I screwed the mirror back into position and it never missed a beat.
I was able to ride that thing as hard and fast as my Tenere on the twistiest of roads. I have over 35K miles of Tenere experience that allow me to achieve that performance. I have 0 Glee miles, but the bike was absolutely confidence inspiring and so easy to ride at high speed in the good stuff.
Acceleration was far better than my memory of the old Wee. Passing was a breeze, not the debate session I used to have on the Wee.
The old Wee had a torture rack for a seat. 30 miles and I was wanting off the bike. The Glee seat is very nice. Probably the most comfortable stock seat I've ever experienced.
Overall, really impressive bike. Romney told me it was their number one selling bike last year, and it's heading that way again. I get it, that little thing is a blast to ride. I kept finding another way to make it a longer ride before getting off it.
I've been wanting to get my wife a bike that is a better fit for her. I really thought this was going to be a candidate. She rode her S10 around for a while, then she got on the Glee. She probably did about 6 laps around the large parking lot, then she parked next to me. Basically she looked at me and said, "nope." Then she got on her bike and I heard "ahh" come across the bluetooth. Oh well, so much for my ability to predict what she wants.
The Glee is a very fun bike, but it's no Tenere. If I had endless cash I'd probably add it to the fleet. But I don't have any bikes I'd give up for it, so that is the end of that.
