Adapting to the V-Strom
27 Apr 12Ops Manager at work wanted everybody to do an extra half hour - on a
Friday. Bwucie got a snitter on so left a half-hour early:
bugg'r'im, we had a bike to pick up. A 2012 V-Strom 650, to be
exact, ordered back in January, and finally ready to pick up from Mr
Motorcycles in Pukekohe.
So, raise the back tyre pressure on the Baby Burger from 29 to 41 psi, pop the Librarian on the back, and away we go. Every time I pillion somebody on the scoot I forget how hard it is to hold the bloody thing up when you stop, with nothing between your knees. Especially if the pillion is what Mmwa Ramwotse, of the No1 Ladies Detective Agency in Botswana, describes as "traditionally built". Never mind, after we threaded through a couple of wobbly sets of lights onto the motorway the mighty 250 soon had us in Pukekohe.
And inside the door was:
A flash little orange chook-chaser, complete with a lower shroud over the ugly plumbing at the front of the motor, provided, without my knowledge by some of the members of the Legion of the Lost, which stunned me. I'm privileged to have some amazingly generous friends, so I am. After doing the paperwork, and meeting the workshop staff, and arranging for the future servicing of the Burger there (Haldanes, with whom we were very happy, are no longer a Suzuki dealership),we wnadered off to Team Foley's for a cuppa and some muffins. The bike instinctively knew to turn up Cape Hill Road and through the twirlies over Burtt Road to get home, which tends to indicate it'll be a keeper, if it's as shy of straight, main roads as I am. No trouble to keep it below 5K revs as recommended, it still doesn't want to do anymore, so that's fine. Ride is noticeably softer than the late, great eleven-hundy-ess (thank Gawd!) Ride position is just off straight up and down, steering inputs are very much smaller than the Beemer - I could never understand why I had to be so heavy-handed with the R1100s, the K100LT was a lot lighter steering at about 200Kg extra weight two-up than the R1100s solo. Back brake is not where my foot expects it to be, but I'll grow into that. I assumed it was a consequence of the telelever front end on the R, and just got on with it - anyhoo, that bike, and that issue have gone away.
The V-Strom is a lot taller, I'm back on tippy-toes when I touch down, and a bit heavier than the Beemer - I have to give it a big heave to get it up off the stand. I have ordered a main stand to be ready to fit at the first service. The panel colour is just gorgeous!
Was going to go out and continue skiting
this evening - but now it's pissing down, and I haven't found the wiper
switch yet..................
28 Apr 12
OK, Where is that wiper switch?
Well, the eyes opened at 0400 this morning, and I couldn't hear any
rain on the roof, so it was time to go check the headlights.
Through the shower, into the roadsliding gear, and then out to the
garage to set the clock on the dash.
- First attempt: turn speedo to mph, and fuel burn rate to mpg.
- Second attempt: turn clock into ambient air temperature.
- Third attempt: set things back to metric, find clock display again.
- Fourth attempt: Yay! 0458 hrs, lets go for a short ride.
Dipped headlights chuck a tonne of rays down the road: a few vehicles around as I head down through Takanini towards Ardmore, but nobody is high-beaming me, so they must be aimed OK. Around Ardmore Airport, wondering if the mains are also a bit high, they seem to not light the road a lot close in, but I can see a helluva long way ahead. First corner by the helicopter hover-training area at the end of the runway I get an impressive lesson. As you roll the bike into the corner, the shape of the beam brings the inside of the corner into bright, bright light: magic. By Clevedon I realise I am riding very easily indeed, still plenty of headlight throw left ahead, even when I deliberately jam the picks on to drop the front end of the bike hard. Up and over West Road, running wide on one of the corners - trying to crowd forward onto the steering head as per sports bike is not gonna work on this Dugly Uckling, Bwucie, just puts your head at the wrong angle. Lesson taken on board, but I'll do it many more times before I learn it properly.
Down into Brookby and the rain, looking for the traditional V-Strom
head buffet: there ain't any. With the blade set at the central
position as delivered, I have a steady stream of air on the front of my
helmet, just below my snorer level, just exactly as I prefer.
Lovely relaxed leg position (except where is that bloody foot
brake?) I could get to like this thing. And so, back home
for breakfast. When the shops open I'll walk uptown and see if I
can get the signs cut for it today.
29 Apr 12
Did the first BMWOR Club run with Paul and Wendy Foley riding lead and RIC today: about 160 kms door to door, and a chance for the Librarian to get out too, now I don't have to pinch the scoot. All round the bottom end of the Awhitu Peninsula, so excellent roads for running in - lots of changes of speed, loadings, revs. A bit of a mission concentrating at the back at slower than normal (for me) pace on those roads, but good for the Duckly Ugling.
Bike's fuel burn was about 24.5km/L on the slow, stop start stuff around the twirlies, and below 25km/L on the more open roads after we got off the Peninsula and picked up a bit of speed. Filled up when I got home, 309 km, 11.45L - way better than the Bee-ems (either the K100 or the R1100) could do, and it'll only get better for a while as the engine beds everything in.
Quite cool, so it is.
20 May 12
Bike has been run in and had the 1000Km service, which included fitting a way expensive main stand. Any further accesories we'll take the credit card to SW Motech in Germany and buy much cheaper than from Suzuki NZ, but I felt it was worth demonstrating to Mr Motorcycles I was happy to pay reasonable bills this early in our ongoing relationship!
Fuel burn is now fairly steady at about 4L/100Kms, at more than 50% of the distance consisting of commuting lately, pretty damned good. Engine certainly doesn't need thrashing, has a tonne of grunt for a 650. Nothing way down low, but starts to light up at about 3,500rpm and to flatten out after 6500rpm. (Confirmed this by looking up a torque curve: peak torque at about 6,450 and peak HP at 8,800) So the "hurry up" mode is to shift at 6,500 indicated, ignoring the last couple of horsepower, and the bike levitates to elsewhere pleasingly quickly.
I finally succeeeded in getting sacked as BMWOR rides meister, so I can now get to enjoy this new bike either solo, or with the good people of the Legion of the Lost, without worrying about when the misfit German tin shitheap is going to breakdown next, and how much it will cost to fix. In fact the V Strom's legendary longevity and reliability is right up there with the old airhead BMW boxers, so I look foward to some happy, untroubled motor-sickling.
This afternoon I raised the windscreen to the top position just to
test if it will help to quieten my noisy helmet, and I lowered my
headlight throw a tiny smidgin. It's just gone dark outside, so
I'm off for a(nother) road test.