What have you done with your V-Strom today?

[650alang]

2nd time out on the little fella.
Another 40 or so miles around the mid Cheshire roads
Still getting the feal of it although to be honest, it's that forgiving you just ride it.
 At least I could 'open' it up 😄
Sits at 70 fine, took it up to 80 but your not getting much more
Optimum by pass speed I'd say 65-68. Gives you a little bit to make a planned overtake. Engine doesn't feel too hard worked at 65.
Did a small stretch on the M56 but the side winds were shocking on the exposed parts so only did a couple of junctions. Bike held it own though. Felt planted.

By god it's windy out there though
Roads dried out great eventually but the side winds were really strong.

[Barbel Mick]

Yesterday ....... the forecast of a break in the wet weather was correct so we managed to get out for a ride.
Just 80 odd miles into Derbyshire sticking mainly to the 'A' roads yesterday as the lanes we first tried were still wet & greasy & some covered in soil/mud. 
First stop was The Old Smithy, Monyash & despite it being a dry & reasonably mild day there were very few bikes there, 3 came & went for the hour we were there.
A coffee & then up to The Yondermann for a bowl of soup & another coffee. A few more bikes at The Yondermann.
A lovely day out, a fair bit of sunshine but as 650alang mentioned the wind in places was quite strong later in the day.

A couple of photos to prove it happened  ..... 

[graingerblaze]

Finally got some time free so started stripping the brakes down for a good clean and replace the brake fluid. Forgot that the front calipers on the 1050 (and 1000) are four pots, so getting the pistons out is fun and games. Bought myself a piston removal tool, so going to wait for its arrival next week before venturing back in the garage. Snow in the forecast so I don’t feel like I’m missing out 

[nigel s]

Been to Sebastopol...........no not the war torn one in The Crimea....the one in Norfolk   
Found it on the Green Road Map , you won't find it on Google Maps , an hour ish away , and thought I would have look 
The first entrance was private...OK ..more than one way to skin a cat , so scuttled up a bit , across some dirt tracks and Bingo...Sebastopol...
It was named after the Crimean War as a tribute 

Also found an abandoned church , next to a real one ...the tin one is the real one , they were having a service as I poked around .
And a bit of fording ......fast flowing but not slippy..

Four hours out and my head is now free of Novichok...

Ho hum

[NeilM]

Finally.... I have managed to get out for the first time in 2026.

A combination of terrible weather or helping a mate shift the contents of his garage business from one side of W-s-M to the other has meant I just have not had a chance to ride... until now.

This morning was wonderful, 13 degrees and warm sun WARM.... SUN! But I could not get out until after lunch as I had the farrier coming to shoe my horse, who then needed to be ridden. Never mind, the forecast for the whole day was dry and warm.... but forecasts lie.

So with temperatures falling and clouds gathering I thought 'sod it!' and went out anyway... straight into one of those silly showers where you can't keep your visor open, but where it's not raining enough to blow the rain off the visor.

Undaunted, I rode on.

From home I headed out, over J21 of the M5 and onto the A370, a cut across country took me to, and over the A38 and on to Burrington Combe. The Combe was a little wet but... you know, first ride of the year.

Up onto the Mendips and a meander about looking at the weather, enjoying the road and seeking out a place for a photo to show the conditions.

Cheddar Gorge is still closed, they must be dislodging large rocks, it would make sense as they have only just resurfaced the entire road, bottom to top, so it would seem like a sensible time to drop tons of rocks hundreds of feet onto the road.... I mean, Councils!

So instead I headed over to Charterhouse, past the Roman mines and then swung a left down a tiny little road to Tynings Farm where I took a photo looking over towards Wales. Then it was down to Shipham, onto the A38 and down to Brent Knoll. A quick double back to W-s-M, along the sea front and a shot of Birnbeck Pier in the sunshine. Then home.

Only 50 miles, but, you know, first ride of the year!

[Peile]

Got a good spin in the Spring sunshine here yesterday, love this bike,
I modified the Givi winglets so now I have the Givi air flow screen, winglets and headlight protector all installed together, had to cut away a small portion of each winglet to get them to fit with the headlight protector.
Also recently installed spotlights from Ali express switched with the high beams, brilliant lights now when high beams are on.

[Peile]

Picture of modified winglet etc.

[purplebikeunicorn]

First time out since November (life gets in the way eh). Great start, *click* *click* battery flat. Showing 10.6v so possibly dropped a cell. Luckily 30 mins on the charger put enough in to go out, but out we went without any more bother!

At this point I've figured out that the V-Strom suspension, unless it is because mine is old, is totally one-rated for its total payload capacity. Had SWMBO on the back for the first time and felt like I only had 50mm or so travel left in the suspension, a very very odd sensation, and that was with it cranked up to the max. Will have to explore that in a few months!

[graingerblaze]

Spent the last hour fighting with my front brake callipers… watching countless YouTube videos to understand why I couldn’t get the pistons back in. Looked at MSP for any clues, then finally one YouTube video mentioned that the pistons were not all the same!

 

Didn’t know that on each side they had a lead piston, so ever so slightly larger. So the 4 pot callipers have two large are two small, one of each on both sides. I feel an idiot but glad I didn’t force anything.

Every day is a school day 

[pstm]

Finally a break in the rain and a restorative few hours out on the Strom. Newly fitted rack and top box didn't fall off either 

[pstm]

Both bikes given a little clean up. Mucky before the trip to TTT motorcycles yesterday and after a couple of homebound navigation faux pas they ended up proper filthy.

[nigel s]

Thank You Stommers on here  ......and GT85 .......

Mot day today , no problem , I checked it all over last weekend , all good bar the front park light bulb gone  . Damn , means getting that ( lovely  ) gen 3 fairing nose/ clocks off  Double checked the owners manual ...yep , needs to come off.
Getting good at this , 10 mins to get in , bulb in , 10 mins back together.
Later , laying down under the bike cleaning around the head stock  ( with GT85  ) , what do I spy .....the park light bulb fitting just there .... there ....spitting feathers I was  No need to pull anything apart ...bloody manual.

Anyhoo , back to today , Mot and it fails on the dreaded Licence plate bulb ( which was ABSOLUTELY  working when I checked )  " did you want to try to change that now " says the man with an evil smirk , knowing full well what a rusted out mess and associated problems that can be on these , HOW many posts about just this !

Here is where the big thank you to the forum comes in  . Armed with a 1/4"  10 mm socket ( and fore knowledge from here about how it can rust , so had been dosed with the GT85 on the regular ) from my toolkit I gingerly turned the bolts ....and ...off they came .... zero drama 

Mot passed ....Ta all 

Ho Hum

[Brockett]

Ah! the happiness of a fresh MOT certificate. Better than any greetings card.

[nigel s]

Just ordered these ,

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/296466368462?_skw=m6+10mm+nut+cover&itmmeta=01KHDP833TZQ494DB33EB8HVME&hash=item4506c5c7ce%3Ag%3AUxcAAeSwzVFozdow&itmprp=enc%3AAQALAAAA0GfYFPkwiKCW4ZNSs2u11xCarfeSedXrhp5y7p4I2OWFMutLb%2FNfvO2EXBO9DblZ6NKHznVu8VQhRemMmFH7dSMn42efRqUA3KVd36SaV1ZzmncI%2BGY8EHrrF%2BG8q3iiNVufw1X13fsHv3hRnfKknwHz9dX19Xkz0weqfTE5XKKcW6a%2FUrvVxfIXTT4To92ESKb9fAIyZxBIhN9URKx5BEQJg57dLt3Ro6h54hK2DUecQKEANSQoHflXHxMgLpTuxL%2F64qeNf1ASEmibiOboQQA%3D%7Ctkp%3ABlBMUJyyoLaLZw&var=594990793198

I am thinking pack them with grease and pop them over the numberplate light nuts to give a more permanent protection...I am always about easy if possible    , yes , I know I said bolts in my above post , DOH
Will report back if they work ..ie don't just fall straight off the shouldered OE nut , but then again I have plenty of  normal stainless m6s  floating in the " Bolt Bowl " if that happens  we will see ?

Ho hum

[graingerblaze]

Front brakes finally done, cable tie on the front brake lever overnight as replaced the brake fluid.

Stripped the rear brake, not nice and brake fluid looked very old (cloudy and brown). All cleaned, put back together and flushed several times to make sure all the old crap was out. Same as the front, tied the brake lever to the centre stand to hopefully remove any lingering air bubbles.

So nice to be done and have the bike ready to be used.., only taken me all winter (since October).