V-Strom 800DE

[Swansea Jack]

5.9 apr plus free panniers on new ones at the minute p,us £1000 reduction in price.

 

[boatman]

Hi Boatman
No rush but at some point could you measure the width of the Suzuki pannier set up you have.

I prefer using rackless soft luggage when travelling alone but I did buy some SWMotech Dusc hard cases to use when my daughter jumps on the back as they are more convenient for her to pack clothes into.
Whilst the cases and quick release frames are great, because the SW system has the cases mounted outside the exhaust silencer they are fairly wide and don’t make filtering as easy as it is with the soft luggage fitted.

I originally chose the dusc cases as they are great and being able to take the pannier frames off as well in literally seconds to leave a clean uncluttered look to the bike was a big draw for me as I’m not keen on having all the scaffolding in place when not travelling.

The other thing that put me off the Suzuki OEM set up was the fact that they mount quite high up meaning the additional weight brings the COG up which I was trying to avoid for unpaved riding and which the dusc set up achieves by being mounted lower down (but at the cost of being wider)
How have you found the handling/balance with your set up? I’m thinking of trying to adapt the SW frames to bring them more inboard but will obviously have to go higher as per Suzuki frames to avoid the silencer.

The Suzuki Factory panniers fitted up measure 1 meter exactly wide

 

[JohnnyBoxer]

The Suzuki Factory panniers fitted up measure 1 meter exactly wide

Are they SW Motech?

 

[Fireflyer]

Put this here just for a little bit of light entertainment

Expect there’ll be a divide between those wishing that we still had the physical ability (I’ve never had the technical ability ) to contemplate hauling a middleweight through the sort of terrain that this lad takes on just to challenge himself,
and those who will be sucking through their teeth at the recklessness of his choices.

Personally think it’s great there’s still people out there just going for it
I wonder what bike he’ll get when he arrives at that point oft quoted on here “selling as finding it difficult to get on and off the stand and moving it around the garage

 

[Arsey]

Been 32 degrees ish here last few days and I noticed a lot of heat coming off engine especially on right side and especially as I was wearing shorts

So ordered a set of these from AliExpress

 

[Arsey]

Just ordered a set of tubeless rims from Kineo via HPS in UK

 

[parkys100]

Just ordered a set of tubeless rims from Kineo via HPS in UK

Very very nice

 

[Fireflyer]

What I’ve never understood is some hard core riders saying that they could never use tubeless wheels in case the rims got damaged from a big hit leaving the tyre bead unable to seal and hold air.

I get that would usually mean game over with the potential of being stranded in remote areas, but surely if they are prepared to carry spare tubes on occasions when punctures are a risk with tubed wheels, then carrying a spare tube to throw into a tubeless wheel if push comes to shove is no more onerous or difficult?

If I could warrant getting a pair of the Kineo’s I’d not hesitate, advantages of both worlds in a stronger and practical bit of bling for the DE.

Think I’d be tempted to get the original rims shod with proper dirt tyres for off roading escapades and have 90/10’s on the Kineo’s for road work (and maybe go down a couple of teeth on the Kineo back sprocket to stretch its legs, but chain length might not accommodate to allow enough adjustment for both?)

 

[JohnnyBoxer]

Just ordered a set of tubeless rims from Kineo via HPS in UK

Can’t take the risk

 

[Clifton]

I get that would usually mean game over with the potential of being stranded in remote areas, but surely if they are prepared to carry spare tubes on occasions when punctures are a risk with tubed wheels, then carrying a spare tube to throw into a tubeless wheel if push comes to shove is no more onerous or difficult?

I believe for people who ride rough off road with lowered pressure, especially in areas with sharp rocks, tube tyres and rims with heavy duty tubes make sense. It's easier to change tubes than dismounting a tubeless tyre off a tubeless wheel to install a tube. But you're right, if you're riding alone in the outback on a bike fitted with tubeless tyres it might be wise to pack tubes and tools in the unlikelihood a tyre gets cut.

But for those of us who don't ride that way most flats are punctures so plug and go is just way more convenient. Plus for road riding the tyres run cooler and last longer w/o tubes fitted.

One of the odd flats I experienced around 7 years ago was on my Africa Twin with the factory original tyres and tubes still on. The front of the bike suddenly weaved left and right when the front tube blew out. In some of the best luck I've ever had it occurred 100 yards from the Honda dealer I purchased it from and they were open for another 45 minutes. I asked the mechanic who changed it "what caused the puncture a nail?"

He said there was no puncture, that the tube had simply worn thin against some roughness inside the tyre and burst, and it's the second time he saw that occur. He said manufactures were fitting thinner tubes to these larger adventure bikes to generate less heat at the higher speeds they are capable of. He also said the inside of "tube type" tyres used to be polished smooth to reduce the chance of abrading the tube but now that doesn't seem to be the case with the tyres labeled "tubeless, for tube type wheels use tube".

 

[Arsey]

Tubes are much better for proper off-road .
In the Himalayas I twice got a flat on the Himmy front tubeless as I managed to unseat the tyre, riding too aggressively over rocks, apparently.

 

[Clifton]

How low was the pressure? I take it you only needed to puff it back up since the bead was unseated rather than punctured or cut.

 

[Arsey]

How low was the pressure? I take it you only needed to puff it back up since the bead was unseated rather than punctured or cut.

It was totally flat .
Took two mechanics thirty minutes to fix . Went down again next day . Overnight they removed the tyre and repaired the rim .

 

[Clifton]

I meant did they have the tyre aired down for better traction?

 

[Arsey]

I meant did they have the tyre aired down for better traction?

Nope

 

[Arsey]

Changed the OE screen.
I had a cheapish laminar lip thingy on it but I’d managed to put some small scratches on the OE screen.



Did a bit of research and people seem to recommend the Givi Airflow, but I’m not over keen on the acres of plastic




So I went with a Puig Touring screen in light smoke.

Fair bit taller and wider than OE



Looks fine



I’m not expecting a bubble of calmness as prefer a bit of airflow over upper torso to stave off lower back pain .
Time will tell.

 

[Aidan1150]

I'm with you on the Airflow, way too big altogether. I think the Puig looks to suit the bike much better.