Suzuki heated grips are being fitted. I would rather have OEM than aftermarket Oxford or Daytona.
V Strom Virgin
- Thread starter King Rat
- Start date
Yes, and had it up by the left-hand mirror to make it easy to look at or enter details on.
CMT’s new bike . Love the colour
@King Rat these heated grips from Oxford are a neat solution. Eliminating the need to bolt an unsightly controller box to the mirror stem mount, as controller is now built into the grip. Similar to what Honda been doing for a few years now.
Too late. The Suzuki OEM ones have been fitted, free.
I have managed to source one of those Givi XStream tankbags too - in Newcastle of all places, being old stock, it was cheap. Tank ring also sourced elsewhere, £20 delivered. Next to work out the Givi pannier system, it has so much choice and different mounting systems. No rush - the Trekkers seem favourite at the moment.
Well done, as the saying goes…
“never look a gift horse in the mouth”
Bit late now but I’ve sworn by R&G heated grip for years, small tidy control unit, good quality rubber grip, very hot, and cheaper than most of the others. Ride magazine best buy.
Barnicle Bill has coughed up at last;;Got paid for that job I did last April and done a load of scissors.
Barnacle Bill got the wrath of the Beak, had to pay interest and costs too!Barnicle Bill has coughed up at last;;
Glad to hear; enjoy your new ride; crackin bikes V Strom; 
I had a similar epiphany in Gran Canaria last week!! I now get the smaller bike 'thing', along with the V twin configuration in general. I liked the 800DE but it's not a V Strom and didn't like the Versys at all - too lumpy for me. Can I ask how your ownership is going? Are you happy? any issues that have appeared after extended ownership?
I am thinking of selling all the others except the X Country as the little vee twin does everything, quite well. No niggles whatsoever, but I do ride with mechanical sympathy in mind. I have done just over 6000 miles on it since March, because the miles get shared about between 4 bikes. Adjusted the chain once, oiling with a paintbrush and 80-90 gear oil. Overall mpg is 72, which I can live with. The panniers add drag, and weigt, which reduces the frugality somewhat, running without them I have seen 78mpg on a 400 mile run, not motorway either. I don't wash my bikes with any of these 'easy clean chemicals' that you spray on, leave 5 minutes then pressure off - they all have either acid or caustic soda in them. They say they are neutral, but you get a litmus paper and try it! They aren't going anywhere near my bike... ordinary Turtle Wax and elbow grease followed by ACF50 and an old tee shirt cotton cloth to wipe it about and soak up the run off. It is now so impregnated with ACF50 that I can use it for wiping over things without getting the sprayer out. The spokes are not showing any signs of discolouration, but then they had ACF50 on them immediately it arrived home. I am very happy with her - I still have to get the top box fitted that I bought back in April though!
Thanks for your reply. It sounds as though we have a similar cleaning and protection regime, although I use XCP Rust Protector. Having said that it didn't save me from finding corrosion - albeit minor - on the casings in June and getting it all replaced under warranty. I do wonder what you've got to do to avoid it. Just unlucky, I guess.
I'm glad your V Strom ownership is going well. In an ideal world I'd get the 650XT as well to see how it fares over a season of trips and riding, but I only have enough room for one. I think I've had a few WTF? moments about the costs of large capacity bike ownership over the last year or so that have made me consider the alternatives, the main one being struggling to find insurance last year. My renewal quote has just arrived and is another £150 on top. I suppose the question to myself is: do I let the 1250 go and hope that the 650XT will do everything I want it to do and keep me happy? I don't want much do I?
Riding a smaller bike just needs a different mindset. Why do you NEED to go rip roaring about the place? You miss so much of what you are going through and past. I can get by a caravan or truck by planning the move, otherwise doing 50 on an A road is no slower than doing 60, not in the real world of things. It doesn't matter if you get to the pub 1 minute later.Thanks for your reply. It sounds as though we have a similar cleaning and protection regime, although I use XCP Rust Protector. Having said that it didn't save me from finding corrosion - albeit minor - on the casings in June and getting it all replaced under warranty. I do wonder what you've got to do to avoid it. Just unlucky, I guess.
I'm glad your V Strom ownership is going well. In an ideal world I'd get the 650XT as well to see how it fares over a season of trips and riding, but I only have enough room for one. I think I've had a few WTF? moments about the costs of large capacity bike ownership over the last year or so that have made me consider the alternatives, the main one being struggling to find insurance last year. My renewal quote has just arrived and is another £150 on top. I suppose the question to myself is: do I let the 1250 go and hope that the 650XT will do everything I want it to do and keep me happy? I don't want much do I?
The difference between 70mph and 60mph is only 6 seconds per mile. You would have to do 100 miles at a steady 70 to make 10 minutes difference... try and maintain 70 in this country, for 100 miles! Think about those long trips you've had and passed a noticeable truck, then 20 miles down the road gone in fuel and as you're putting your gloves back on that same truck goes trundling by..... reality check time! Big bikes are only needed to fill the bank balance of those that make and sell them. When I was a rookie biker the 750 was a behemoth. Now it is a 'middleweight' - no it isn't it is still a behemoth, just because there are leviathans bigger than it does not make it a 'small' bike. A 650 is an ideal size for real world biking. Christ alive, I did 4000+ miles from Plymouth, through Spain across the Strait and all along the N African coast and back through Greece on my Morini 350 (344 actually). I never felt undergunned. Keep it real.
It was cold going in to instructor training this morning. This was an ice rainbow as the sun was just colouring the sky nicely.
I took the muffs off this morning, having been using them the last month or so.
I took the muffs off this morning, having been using them the last month or so.
Absolutely agree. My Ducati special was built around the 620 motor and certainly for one-up riding, it was never lacking. Happy at 90 all day long, with enough in reserve and felt feather light.Riding a smaller bike just needs a different mindset. Why do you NEED to go rip roaring about the place? You miss so much of what you are going through and past. I can get by a caravan or truck by planning the move, otherwise doing 50 on an A road is no slower than doing 60, not in the real world of things. It doesn't matter if you get to the pub 1 minute later.
The difference between 70mph and 60mph is only 6 seconds per mile. You would have to do 100 miles at a steady 70 to make 10 minutes difference... try and maintain 70 in this country, for 100 miles! Think about those long trips you've had and passed a noticeable truck, then 20 miles down the road gone in fuel and as you're putting your gloves back on that same truck goes trundling by..... reality check time! Big bikes are only needed to fill the bank balance of those that make and sell them. When I was a rookie biker the 750 was a behemoth. Now it is a 'middleweight' - no it isn't it is still a behemoth, just because there are leviathans bigger than it does not make it a 'small' bike. A 650 is an ideal size for real world biking. Christ alive, I did 4000+ miles from Plymouth, through Spain across the Strait and all along the N African coast and back through Greece on my Morini 350 (344 actually). I never felt undergunned. Keep it real.
Cracking picture. Unfortunately, my plan for ownership has had to be put on hold until I either move out of the Metropolis or move to Spain. I sourced a new one, agreed a price with the dealer, found somewhere to store it nearby and then phoned my insurance company. Perhaps I should have done this first but I thought not being able to give them a garaging location would be a problem for the quote. It turns out they are the cheapest I can get and it's still £900!! For a 650! And that price is for wherever I store it, either here or in deepest Kent.
Even my Tmax 500cc scooter can cruise happily at 80, although slower is better.
In the real world, my 1250Adv is no faster from A to B.
In the real world, my 1250Adv is no faster from A to B.
I agree. I love my 1250 but I was going to run them together and take the V Strom on all my trips this year, with a view to making a decision one way or another in 2026. Or maybe not.
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