Author Topic: What have you done with your V-Strom today? (Read 1782760 times)

nigel s · « **Reply #13580 on:** October 05, 2025, 19:49:16 »

Walked past it today , don,t know about the largest in England claim though

Glad it was an off shore wind, going back down the hill into it was hard work , going up into it would have been 'orrible . Even the dogs were getting blown about , though hard to tell with those that were already half mad with excitement in the wind

I do like a windy day by the sea...bracing stuff...

Ho Hum

graingerblaze · « **Reply #13581 on:** October 06, 2025, 18:08:45 »

Might be adding a little too much light

Still, they can’t say they didn’t see me

timangus · « **Reply #13582 on:** October 07, 2025, 20:56:27 »

Today I have said goodbye to my V Strom of 11 years. It has been fantastic, with the added bonus of you all to bounce ideas off, and get good advice. New owner Chris is aware of his obligations to join, and I took the excuse to ride it to him via the Cotswolds for one last ride. I am feeling slightly bereaved at the moment but am hoping my CF Moto 450MT allows me to keep riding in my 70’s. Thanks to you all - you have been great.

NeilM · « **Reply #13583 on:** October 08, 2025, 06:51:25 »

You are welcome to join us down in Traitors Corner with your CF Moto.

2112 · « **Reply #13584 on:** October 10, 2025, 09:08:20 »

Yes, expect a warm

in traitors corner. I hope the 450 is everything you require

Barbel Mick · « **Reply #13585 on:** October 10, 2025, 11:50:23 »

Yesterday ........ deb & myself had a nice ride out, covered just under 100 miles, dropped some paper work off to the undertakers for mum's funeral, visited two cafes for food & drink and fed some ducks.
Surprisingly mild & stayed dry all day.
A few photos to prove it happened ..........

UK_Vstrom650 · « **Reply #13586 on:** October 10, 2025, 22:40:12 »

I rode a grand total of 24 miles to the local office over the past two days. Bit of a waste of time going into the office but was nice to be back on the bike, even if only riding through traffic.
Am starting to think I may need to go the long way home next week...

nigel s · « **Reply #13587 on:** October 11, 2025, 16:01:32 »

Cool out, heated jacket next time.......
250 odd miles scuttling through Norfolk / Suffolk trying ( an excuse for a ride ) to find a good way to cut across / out ...the hated , awful A14 on backroads............some success ....but is it just me or is there an awful lot of road closed signs about

And they seem to be putting them like 5 miles before the actual closure these days.....don't know.
Nice autumn ride , stopped at Creeting St mary church , an odd place , up a gravel lane off a b road so feels remote , but taking my lid off realised it is 1/2 a mile off the unseen A14 with the noise that brings..and a Mill on the way back..

Aside 1 .....can anyone recommend a good bike resistant flask for keeping a brew hot ( must be getting old )......could have done with it today

Aside 2..I would put this in strom spotting but

...... tagged onto a group of 3 bikes heading towards Sudbury before I turned off onto my inevitable b road

, the well ridden tailender was on a orange Kawasaki / Strom 1000 copy........number plate ..SI KLV ..nice..

Ho Hum

UK_Vstrom650 · « **Reply #13588 on:** October 11, 2025, 19:49:45 »

Was supposed to go out on the road bike but ended up abandoning it for a rescue mission on the Strom after receiving a call the car had broken down. Turns out the coolant needed topping up by about 2 litres. Good job I had a load left over from the valve clearance inspection on the Strom...
Disaster averted, came home and installed the new Givi plate bought from Tim. This should make it much quicker to convert the Strom to cycle carrying mode, as instead of 12 screws/bolts to remove, am now down to four.

graingerblaze · « **Reply #13589 on:** October 12, 2025, 16:06:59 »

Replaced the coolant… yes I did make a mess! The 650 had a nice M10 drain plug, but the 1050 doesn’t. If it does I could not find it and nothing in the manual, so just took off the lowest hose and sprayed it everywhere. Flushed the system with distilled water as I have a sneaky feeling it’s never been replaced by previous owner. All topped up, run and ready to go.

I also finished my electrical project. Installed an Aoocci C6 Pro, Oxford grips and two sets of auxiliary lights, all mounted with custom brackets to try and make the handlebars look tidy.

Need to get everything back so I can hopefully ride at least a few times next week as the weather is supposed to be good. I can’t ride Monday as my car goes in for a major service, then Tuesday I’m running my wife’s car in for four new tyres… a very expensive month. A ride will help me forget the bills,

.

Barbel Mick · « **Reply #13590 on:** October 12, 2025, 19:10:48 »

Yesterday I spotted a notice on FB that the site for 'On Freedom's Wings' (https://www.bombergatewaytrust.co.uk/about/) was open to the public today (& next Saturday 18th Oct) so we had a run over to have a look.
It was a very foggy, damp & quite cool morning when we set off at 08.45 & the conditions didn't get any better until we were a mile from home on the return at 13.30!
The piece of art is a full-sized representation of an Avro Lancaster Mk1 Bomber & it is a wonderful sight. Unfortunately today we couldn't see it from more than 50yards away!!
If you are interested in such things it is well worth a visit but will not be fully 'open' for visits for a little longer yet. If you do go, the visit will only take you 15/20 minutes to have a look & walk around it, so if you travel any distance have a think about visiting another place or two whilst in the area. One example would be Newark Air Museum, just a few miles down the road. An interesting place which also has a very nice café for refreshments.

A few photos & a video to prove it happened ..........

MilozFolly · « **Reply #13591 on:** October 13, 2025, 10:16:16 »

Nice Mick! Yesterday sae what could possibly be the last nice, weekend day of the year so I met my best mate Tony who travelled down from Manchester in Crossways (mid-Wales) for a loop of most of the best bits. We tried some accidental off-roading which, ultimately, saw us turn around and go all the way back to the "road" and have to fix a puncture on the XR (BMW build quality eh

but it was a long. stonking day. FYI - do not order the Mega Breakfast at Crossways unless there are about 3 of you..........Pics below hopefully

mr_diver · « **Reply #13592 on:** October 13, 2025, 10:32:30 »

We lover the Abergwesyn pass on here.

Regularly we'll take a run out that way on the August bank holiday meet, but this year we switched to the Elan Valley as it's been a few year since we all went that way and the reservoirs were very low at that point.

Asmith61 · « **Reply #13593 on:** October 13, 2025, 16:47:20 »

Cheers Mick great photos & Video. Loved the way you were all making your way up the path then all of a sudden you could just about see it through the fog

MilozFolly also great Photos looked like a beautiful day and fun was had

Rixington43 · « **Reply #13594 on:** October 13, 2025, 17:00:15 »

Graingerblaze
1050 Service Manual confirms no coolant drain plug. Suzuki say to remove the inlet hose from the oil cooler which is the lower of the 2 and I suspect the one you have chosen yourself. Less mess and more drainage if done at the oil filter end but it means bash plate off sadly.

graingerblaze · « **Reply #13595 on:** October 13, 2025, 22:01:43 »

Thank you Rixington, I did wonder if I should remove the bash plate but… I couldn’t be bothered. I got it done so all good, I just want to ride now as I risk spending more more time tinkering than riding

graingerblaze · « **Reply #13596 on:** October 16, 2025, 16:57:17 »

Really sad and I can’t believe I spent 2 hours doing this, but I changed the boot up image on the Aoocci unit. So many better things to do, but I saw a YouTube video on it and thought that would be quick to do… not straight forward but done now

Ordered all new linkage bearings from MSP. No rush to do them but as play was mentioned on the MOT advisory, I thought I best replace them then I know all sorted. A winter job, which is good as they advised 3-6 weeks delivery.

MisterDavey · « **Reply #13597 on:** October 16, 2025, 17:51:54 »

That's really smart, and not "sad" at all.
I rushed into buying a Zumo XT2 without realising those units were coming onto the market.
I'm also impressed with how well organised those bungee cords are

MisterDavey · « **Reply #13598 on:** October 16, 2025, 18:22:02 »

A month ago, the front of my bike was damaged whilst on the side stand. Another rider caught the panniers, and as my bike fell towards his, him not realising what was happening kept going, and literally ripped my screen off. This also snapped both screen brackets, an indicator, the cage that holds the dash and the headlight, the clutch lever, the clutch assembly bracket which also holds the mirror, and my little ol' heart (ahhhhhh).
He was an honourable chap, and paid for the parts.
Yesterday the last part arrived and I completed the rebuild by 22:00. Today I gave her a good scrub, tomorrow night it'll be some kind of polish, maybe ceramic and some metal protection type spray.
Stupidly, I ordered the dark tint screen instead of the light tint, I'm not a fan, but it's going to stay on the bike until next summer, it might even grow on me.

graingerblaze · « **Reply #13599 on:** October 16, 2025, 18:43:01 »

That must have cost the chap a fortune, the LED headlight unit alone must have been a fortune. Glad you got the parts and great job for fitting it all, so many wires up there it’s a minefield. Bike looks great

I wonder what a dark tint screen is like a night? I guess if you look over the top then it probably makes no difference, but as I’m a short arse I tend to look through the screen. Will be interested to know how you get on with it, as dark tint does look stealthy and so good in my opinion.