What have you done with your V-Strom today?

[Rusty Nuts]

Waiting for somebody to invent windscreen wipers for a zoom lens, presumably. 

[NeilM]

Went for an overnight camp, to try out a tent I recently bought on the bay. I also wanted to try out my shiny new Camping & Caravanning Club membership so booked into the CCC site in Verwood.

Really nice ride down as the sun was out and I saw 14 degrees on the air temp gauge. I went up and over the Mendips to Frome, across to Longleat then down the excellent A350 to Shaftsbury. From there I trusted in my Beeline nav to wind me through the lanes, which included the climb away from Cann Common up Zigzag Hill, where I ran seriously wide on one of the very tight left handers... lots of fun and being a Wednesday afternoon... no traffic.

After my overnight, from Verwood I whizzed over to the excellent Sammy Miller museum... what a mind blowing collection of bikes. Fifteen quid to get in, but really worth it if you are an 'old bikes' nut. I then treated myself to breakfast in the cafe on site, very friendly staff and the breakfast was  extremely tasty.

Left Sammy's and rode through the New Forest then picked up the A36 into Salisbury. The weather was still dry, but cooling and the air temp showed as being 12 degrees.

One silly shower as I ran around the outside of Salisbury, then off towards Warminster, Frome and back over the Mendips to home.

Just a smidge over 200 miles, perfect for a camping try out just before the start of the season proper.

Next trip should be Scotland (again) via Yorkshire (up and down).

[graingerblaze]

Very good effort there NeilM… we have glorious sun but a thick frost this morning in Cumbria so glad I’m not camping. This time last year I was at Fat Rats excellent campsite and remember being woken up by my shivering. The frost on the tent told me April is still too early in the year, so well done for braving the cold 

[Barbel Mick]

Loaded it up & headed home after a few great days oop North.
Great ride home on the warmest day of the week. Just a little hold up on the M6 due to driver forgetting where his/her breaks were & ran into the rear of another car in the outside lane. 😖
Just to finish the week off we stopped at a café just up the road from home for a Full English. 😋

[NeilM]

Grainger, April in Wales last year was cold!

I was in North Wales last Easter, fortunately, not camping, as instead of the 12 to 14 degree temperatures the forecast had predicted, it snowed!

I got one half days riding in the day before it snowed and then grabbed a dry afternoon to scoot back home again.

Planning on being back in September, as me and North Wales have unfinished business.

[nigel s]

Drab ,damp, lackluster sort of a day, where I couldn't be bothered to get off the sofa.
About midday the misty rain is falling and I go down to the bike and head out ........'cos whatever.......
10 miles in and I'm thinking "wet out, give it another 10 miles and see "
I would like to say the rain stopped and the sun came out drying the road ........
No such luck.
But the 650 is easily the best wet road bike I have had and got into it eventually and ended up doing 150 miles , glad I went out.

[NeilM]

On my way back from Dorset last week, I got a slight feeling that the clutch cable wasn't quite right. I couldn't say exactly what was amiss, but after 20,000 miles together you kind of get a gut feel. Also, the front brakes have had a very slight squeak to them for a while when moving the bike around in the garage.

So, yesterday I disconnected the clutch cable, in situ. The cable was moving OK without the telltale feel of broken strands. I cleaned up both exposed ends and put some lube in the top end of the cable and turned my attention to the level. This I removed completely and gave a really good clean. I greased the pivot bolt, and reinstalled the lever which now had a much slicker feel.

Cable reconnected and switch checked it all feel a lot nicer now.

Brakes, I just pulled the front calipers off. Plenty of meat on all the pads but a bit of a buildup of dust in the wear slot on one pad. Nothing on the disc to indicate why, so a good clean there too. I pushed both pistons back a little, both to make reinstallation easier but also to make sure there was no binding / sticking. Both calipers were then reinstalled and the brake lever pumped to get all the pads back in contact with the discs.

Hopefully I'll get a chance to check everythings OK with a ride this week, but the weather is not looking too hopeful.

[graingerblaze]

Just had the wettest ride ever on my way to the MOT garage. Dropped the bike off (Lloyd’s Honda in Carlisle) and walked round the corner to work… got in and looked an absolute mess! Dry underneath but I looked like a drowned rat. Hopefully it will pass easily as always and I can look forward to an even wetter ride home 

[graingerblaze]

Yes! Another successful MOT, not that I was worried but always nice to see. The bike has a flawless record, now its 17th MOT with still not one advisory. Shame its raining though as its filthy now, but will ride home happy.

I must do better with my mileage, only 3k since May last year which is poor for me. perhaps this summer will be better, only two months till the ABR festival so that will help add a few miles 

[ThunderStrom]

About 2 weeks ago, I went for a ride along the blooming tulipfields. Made some nice pictures!



Things were good and it was nice riding with the twin... until the weather turned...

It went from 12C to around freezing in minutes and the wind picked up massively with heavy rain and hail. I saw a bit of rain on the radar before I left, but I wasn't prepared for this.

It took me an hour to get home, cold like a popsicle.

I've heard the UK has seen it's fair bit of rain since september, and here in the Netherlands it has been the wettest winter in years. And still we get a lot of rain the last weeks.

I really hope for a dry summer. Makes it a bit more enjoyable on the bike.

[graingerblaze]

It’s been the wettest winter on record here in the UK. I wouldn’t be surprised if the same for the Netherlands and many other European countries… shame we don’t get their heat waves mind as I could do with some sun and heat 

[Upt North]

It's so wet I did this.
Can you tell what it is yet....buzz, buzz.

[graingerblaze]

Givi connection piece on the crash bars… not the best bit of design but it does seem to work for some. I machined a replacement out of Delrin so I could get a closer fit, good luck 

[Upt North]

I might need it.
Upt.

[graingerblaze]

I fettled for over a year and never got them to stop buzzing. However, others have never had an issue with the Givi bars, they seem to work well for some. No idea why… I just changed them for a different brand in the end. 

[Upt North]

I noticed a buzz at around 5000 rpm when I made the changes last winter.
I researched it and from what I read it would probably be the bars rather than everything else I had changed.
Then before the recent MOT I checked er over and found the two Givi O'rings were nowhere to be seen and the joining piece was loose. The O'rings are useless as they just push into the openings and rip in the process.
So back to today, what to do on a cold wet Northumberland afternoon, I didn't feel like a nap so I dismissed that idea. Probably a mistake.
I've replaced the O'rings with thick plumbing washers, mira I believe. They're a very good fit and can be seen on picture.....just.
The connecting bolt is longer and rubber and steel washers have been added together with a rubber sleeve on the bolt that passes through the spacer.
We'll have to wait and see.
Interestingly when I saw the sleeve was loose prior to the MOT I gave it a twist and it went tight, the vibes also disappeared.
Upt.

[nigel s]

I have the givis.
The o rings are key , to vibes or lack of.They should sit at the shoulder and not in the tube.
Mine have been vibe free for 20,000 miles so far. I think if it is vibrating then that means movement and that could mean damage to the o rings so I leave it all in place
If it ain't broke...........

[Upt North]

This the finished job.
Tightened the engine mounts to 17 lb/ft as per discussions on here. Well I didn't actually. I tightened them by feel with Loctite normal liquid applied. Then checked with the wrench and they were already at over 17 lb/ft. Which surprised me as I'd only tightened them with a T Handle Allen Key. I'll have to cut down on the weetabix!
The front bolt was tightened until the new O'rings were under light pressure and then a nyloc added to the new longer bolt as a just in case.
Not ridden yet.......now what's next?
Upt.