Well, obviously I'm prejudiced towards the Wee-Strom (see pics below). As always for a lot of discussions regarding 'Stroms, go to
www.stromtrooper.com. It's a great forum until you get sick of the guy called "Sittingduck" who is absolutely WRONG about everything. Ignore his comments altogether. The rest of it is pretty good. ADV Rider is a good place to go for comparison opinions also.
The Wee-Strom is great on the road, not so good in the dirt. Hard-packed logging roads, etc., it does OK. Some really good dirt riders can treat it like a dual-sport, but it is really too heavy for sand, mud, etc. If you really want to go in the dirt, and off-road, you'll need a more dirt-oriented machine, KLR or maybe a DRZ 400 or 650, or the like. But obviously they suffer on the pavement.
Since I got my 2007 ABS Wee, I have ridden it probably 75% and the Connie 25%. The Wee is great on the twisties, and good on the highway if you stay below 80 MPH or so. It is NOT a speed bike. Farkles are virtually unlimited. I get about 55 MPG and I usually cruise around 65-70. There are a ton of luggage options, I have a couple sets of Givi bags, along with the trunk box I swap from bike to bike. The Wee will easily carry a couple of hundred pounds of camping gear, etc. It will haul anything you'd carry on the Concours. I have done several 400-mile days without any fatigue or problems. Also, it is available with ABS, if you like that sort of thing. I do.
The new 2012 models are changed a bit, but are getting good reviews. The engines on the older models are derived from the SV650 and generally considered pretty bullet-proof. I have 31,000 on mine without trouble, (except for a broke chain at 12,000 miles, which is pretty much unheard of on these bikes). I just got done with the 2nd valve check, had to reshim a couple. That's a little hassle, since it is shim-under-bucket, but a good mech can do it in a weekend. Generally after one adjustment they tend to stay OK for a long time if not forever.
Wee pics below
