Tweaking my V-strom # 2

[DavidFL]

Finally time to bite the bullet & get another Vstrom 650.
There's not enough funds around to justify buying another new model, so a a good second hand one was the way to go.
And the winner was a 2017 model

One gentle farang owner & only 23,658 kms on the clock = a new bike for me with the kms I rack up.

I rode my 2015 model with 176,000 kms on the clock down to Chiang Mai, got caught out in the cold and rain for a few days, completed the deal for the new yellow non XT model & rode back to Chiang Khong via Chiang Rai.

With a night in Chiang Rai, the Snail did the honours the next day & transported the bike to Chiang Rai with his brilliant work car that has a nice lift on the back.

The bike was soon unloaded. The Snail drove back to Chiang Mai & I popped around the corner to Kong's Motorcycle Electrics to start swapping accessories from the 2015 bike to the 2017 model.

The first item to be swapped over was the custom made luggage rack, that takes both a Givi Box & a SW Motech bag.
It used to look like this when first fitted on the 2015 model, but has been around the block a few times since then.

Tweaking my Suzuki V Strom 650

A start .......today......brand new from Saha Phanich in Chiang Mai a lot more to come as it goes..

www.gt-rider.com

Rack on, it was time to go home. The nearest PTT was was the first stop & 16.9 litres went in the tank.
Monday I'm back in Chiang Rai to let Kong do his magic.
The wiring needs attention

and the Fuze Block from of the 2015 model will be installed.

My new baby is home on the range.

A lot more to come in the next few weeks. It will be interesting, because not everything will fit & transfer straight over.
Stay tuned...

 

[Ian Bungy]

Awesome. Good Luck and many more happy kms to follow!

 

[canthai]

Are you selling the old blue one ?
PM sent

 

[Fritzltouw]

Congrats on the new bike! Looks great.

 

[DavidFL]

Are you selling the old blue one ?

PM sent

Yes eventually it will be up for sale, quite reluctantly too I might add.
The # 1 registration plate has gone so whoever gets the bike won't be on the # 1 Vstrom now, sorry to say.

 

[DavidFL]

26 days & 3,200 kms done & it is slowly coming together nicely.

Some bling on the bike..

A Tank pad

Sourced from Lazada 629 baht

CNC adjustable short levers

Sourced from Lazada 918 baht

Foot pad / shoe for the sidestand.

Sourced from Lazada 630 baht.

After 1,950 kms a new chain & sprocket set @ 25,609 kms.

4,280 baht gold RK chain from Ban Chang in Chiang Rai.

Finger crossed I get better kms out of this one.

GPS & Phone USB power supply are fitted, transferred off the old bike.

2 sets of spotlights are fitted

Yellow Loboo, & mounted low as running lights & a small white set of Loboo.
For the white Loboo, Dave DKT also bought a set & we swapped one light over.
The spot light on the right has a cut lens for a wide beam, & the spotlight on the left is a spot a spot to shine directly down the left hand side of the road.

The yellow Loboo are wired independently & are for running lights.
The White Loboo are wired into the high beam switch & only come on with high beam.
A 3rd set, main set of spotlights, the Baja Design lights, will be fitted higher up once I work out a mounting system off the screen brackets, most likely. These too will be wired to run off the high beam switch only.

The issue I am currently faced with is the poor standard screen. Too low & too narrow.
It has been tilted forward a couple of cms to cure the helmet / visor buffeting, but it still not satisfactory.
Also at 140kph the buffeting hits your shoulders.
The fantastic Kappa / Givi screen on the 2015 model was amazing, & worked perfectly. Riding with my visor up, my eyes did not even water, it was so good. Zero helmet & shoulder buffeting. However it does not bolt straight onto 2017 model, the mounting holes are wider & so we would need to fabricate some brackets that may or may not work adequately. Sadly there is no stock of the Kappa / Givi screen for the 2017 model Vstrom in Thailand / Malaysia / Singapore. An imported one from the USA / EU will cost closer to 8,000 baht with shipping & tax, so that is on hold for now. I'd rather spend the money on stickers & paint to get rid of the black.
The other screen option I am trying is an AliExpress one from China @ US$62. It may work & then I will see how to fit the main Baja Design spotlights.

The GTR dolly bag / handle bar pouch has also been fitted, & this is actually the most useful accessory on the bike.

Custom made in Chiang Mai by the boot & zip magician.

All the GTR knick knacks go in there.....mobile phone ++; & just for the record

A couple of GTR maps
Lens cleaner for the phone & camera lenses.
A couple of masks for 7-11
Some alcohol hand wash
Plus the emergency Tiffy & Disento. The 2 God's gift pills for bikers on the road who may need TLC.

And then in the other pocket. The GTR good luck riding amulets & Buddhas for survival, plus spare GPS batteries & lip balm.

When I'm on a long trip in the heat the handle bar pouch can take a 2.5 litre Camelbak for the old fellah to suck on some fluids as he goes.
It works a charm & there's no annoying bag heating up on your back!

Enjoy. You all take care out there in the heat n smoke, riding on greasy roads in the next 6 weeks.

 

[DavidFL]

Update 18 March 2021

Ohlins Shock
@ 27,952 kms. Fitted the Ohlins shock after a rebuild in Bangkok.
This time the Ohlins has a new upgraded seal & cap.

Rebuild cost with upgrade = 7,355 baht.

Gold grips - some more bling from AliExpress.

US$9.00

 

[DavidFL]

Fitted the lithium battery in from off the 2015 bike. The battery from the 2017 bike goes on the 2015 bike.

How it looked nice & new. Sourced from Chiang Rai UTV & the late Steve Prince.

It is a nice snug fit along with the Fuzeblock now

The Fuseblock with nice & tidy wiring

The Fuzeblock is where I plug in all the power accessories: 8-tone horns, spotlights, GPS & phone power supply.

How it looked when I bought the bike

I can highly recommend Kong Motorycle Electrics in Chiang Rai for sorting out all your electrical issues on your bike.
He is meticulous & methodical with his work.

Chiang Rai Big Bike Repair - Service

Hi, I broke the brackets for my extra lights and need to get some new ones made out of steel. Any recommended shops in Chaing Rai that could do simple fabrication quickly?

www.gt-rider.com

ร้านก๋งเซอร์วิส · 915/3 ถ.พหลโยธิน ต.เวียง อ.เมือง จ.เชียงราย 57000 0812891647 เมือง Chiang Rai 57000, Thailand

★★★★★ · Motorcycle repair shop

goo.gl

A new screen & fitting the super Baja Design spotlights will be the next step to get done.
A new paint & sticker will be the last.

 

[DavidFL]

Update 22 March 2021.

Painting & detailing - a work in progress.

The bike is stripped down

And it is amazing how easy it is, & how many little things need tweaking when it is all stripped down.

The plastic goes off to the paint shop for some TLC & nourishment.

The jury is called in to select the correct colour

The Spectrometer comes out to confirm we've got it right.

Time to double check & confirm the analysis.

Bingo

Select your weapon

Stay tuned.......for a few more days.
All will be revealed. Two top shops in Phayao of all places, after I gave up in Chiang Rai.

Many thanks to Dave DKT for the tip offs for both places, plus helping move things around.

 

[r136dg]

Nice work! Looks great!
I will start a thread on the 2021 1050, curious if you or others on this forum have an opinion.

 

[DKT Dave]

What a difference getting Khong to tidy up all that wiring.
That before photo of the underseat when you received the bike does not look good. It must be nice to get all these things tidied up and on par. Your bike is going to look awesome once you finish the “tweaking”.

 

[DavidFL]

Indeed, what a difference now, especially after the detail job by Mr Dtong in Phayao.

I'm excited to get it all back together again tomorrow.

 

[DavidFL]

Biting the baht bullet......

As already posted above Dave DKT tipped me off about options, places in Phayao for tarting up the old fellah's new second hand V-Strom.

The first one was VIP Auto Garage a crash repairs / paint shop & 2nd was Tokico Industry Motorsport Shop run by Mr DTong.
The paint shop didn't do motorbikes, but if we delivered the parts, they would paint them.; & a chat with the painter with 40 years experience confirmed that yes he could do the job.
A visit to DTong's shop then confirmed he could strip the bike, wash, clean & detail the bike while the paint shop was doing their thing over a couple of days.
Absolutely perfect I thought & we got to work.

It's amazing how much you can see on a bike that needs attention, once all the plastic is off.
Dtong has a genuine eye for detail, having done the 2-year mechanics Superbike / MotoGP training course in Bkk.
Everything should be in the exact right place and correctly adjusted. Close enough is not good enough, which appears to be a common problem with mechanics in Thailand & many 3rd world countries.

A few before & after pics with the plastic off.

Before

After - all nice & clean. Neat & tidy.

Before

After - all nice & clean. Neat & tidy

Before

After

Exceptional care was taken re-fitting the plastic.
Dtong works at his own meticulous pace & doesn't hurry. It has to be done right.

The finished product all the plastic on - a new iconic GTR V-Strom for another 100,000 kms.

A content old GTR fellah

For the record:
1. the paint job at VIP Auto Cost 7000 baht. The paint was Nippon 2K.

V.I.P. Motor Garage · 1022 Champa Wai, Mueang Phayao District, Phayao 56000, Thailand

★★★★☆ · Auto repair shop

goo.gl

2. The wash, clean & detailing by Tokico cost 3,100 baht. This included radiator fluids, Brembo Dot 4 brake fluid, & Wurth fuel injector cleaning.

Tokico Industry · 531 Phahon yothin Rd, Ban Tom, Mueang Phayao District, Phayao 56000, Thailand

★★★★★ · Motorcycle repair shop

goo.gl

All up excellent value for money if you can combine the two projects at the same time.
3. Accommodation is Ratachwong Place @ 500 baht a night. 7 nights.

Phayao Accommodation

NORTHERN LAKE Not my regular place of stay in Phayao, the Phu Tong Place, because it & 2 other places were full on the night. (A concert in Phayao, unbeknown to us dumb farang.) Anyway for 500 baht not bad..(but I still prefer the Phu Tong)......

www.gt-rider.com

A few hours later & the yellow V-Strom honey pot is pulling the chics in

Let the good times roll.
Off riding next week. See you all in Mae Chaem for the GTR Dinner on Wednesday 31st March 2021.

 

[Alamo]

2. The wash, clean & detailing by Tokico cost 3,1000 baht.

Wow.

 

[Heineken]

Wow.

I think its alot more than just cleaning, as David mentioned, which I presume included parts...................................... "The wash, clean & detailing by Tokico cost 3,1000 baht. This included radiator fluids, Brembo Dot 4 brake fluid, & Wurth fuel injector cleaning."

 

[DKT Dave]

Your bike has turned out fantastically in the new yellow. Looking at the before and after photos really shows of just how good a job Dtong does with his detailing. Well done, it’s a real beaut now!!

 

[DKT Dave]

I think its alot more than just cleaning, as David mentioned, which I presume included parts...................................... "The wash, clean & detailing by Tokico cost 3,1000 baht. This included radiator fluids, Brembo Dot 4 brake fluid, & Wurth fuel injector cleaning."

Correct Gav. A lot more was done on David’s bike than the clean.

The levels of cleaning Dtong offers are as follows:

Standard clean - 200 thb
Detailed clean - 450 thb
Bike stripping and detailing - 1200 thb

I’ve had a 450 thb detailing and my bike came back looking brand new. It took about 4 hours. It was worth every baht!

David got the 1200 thb strip and detail. For this he needs your bike for 2 days.

 

[Alamo]

I think its alot more than just cleaning, as David mentioned, which I presume included parts...................................... "The wash, clean & detailing by Tokico cost 3,1000 baht. This included radiator fluids, Brembo Dot 4 brake fluid, & Wurth fuel injector cleaning."

Thanks for clarifying.
I guess B31000 [~$1000 US] is fair.

 

[Heineken]

Thanks for clarifying.
I guess B31000 [~$1000 US] is fair.

I read it as 3100 baht $100 US..................................which im sure is what David meant to write, one extra zero can make a world of difference ..........................I was going to say clean your glasses Alamo, but it's me that needs to wear glasses

 

[DavidFL]

I read it as 3100 baht $100 US..................................which im sure is what David meant to write, one extra zero can make a world of difference ..........................I was going to say clean your glasses Alamo, but it's me that needs to wear glasses

Indeed that's an oops. 3,100 baht it should be.
Corrected now.
Apologies to everyone.

 

[DavidFL]

Finally, back home on the range......

One of my original paint ideas was to leave a couple of panels black, but I was unsure exactly which ones & how it would look.
So it was easier to yellow it all, followed by some stickers & black pin striping in a few spots.
Stay tuned for the next step.

A reminder of how it once looked when purchased

 

[DavidFL]

Getting the right screen.

Not impressed with the standard screen the hunt was on for a Givi or Kappa screen; & as mentioned before I could not find any stock of the Givi / Kappa screen in Thailand / Malaysia / Singapore.

The standard screen - too narrow & too low

So I bit the bullet and took a chance on a Chinese screen via AliExpress.
At US$62 it was worth a gamble, & fortunately the right clear one turned up & not the black one.

The black one

The clear one as advertised

The screen was slow arriving & before it arrived I received a tip off that there was one in Bangkok - Jacket Boy.
Jacket Boy is an excellent little shop for Vstrom parts and accessories, but had not answered my message on Facebook, so I assumed no stock.
Send him a message on line, he replies. And so he did, immediately. Yes I have 2 screens left from an import in December. Do you want one? Yes please. How much? 6200 baht with shipping. And the deal was done, 48 hours later I had the screen & the Chinese one was still on the way.

Eventually the Chinese one did turn up, so I ended up with 3 screens. Winner, one of them must be right.

The two unwanted screens

The standard Suzuki Screen on the left, & the nice big Chinese one on the right.
For the record the record the Chinese screen bolt holes line up perfectly & would fit straight on.

How the Givi screen fits on perfectly

On the test run home with the visor up & the screen on the lowest setting, no eyes watering, no buffeting. A total winner. Perfect!

Fitting the Baja Design lights is next. The don't bolt straight on with the new style fairing.

Baja Design lights - best in the business?

The Scientists of Lighting | Home - Baja Designs - Off-Road LED & Laser Lights | Automotive, Jeep, Truck, UTV, ADV, Dirtbike

The enthusiasts' choice, Baja Designs is the Scientists of Lighting when it comes to performance offroad LED auxiliary lights for your vehicle.

www.bajadesigns.com

 

[Heineken]

Jacket boy is awesome at locating bike accessories, I've bought many items from him over the past couple of years, highly recommended, and yes he prefers to make contact via LINE


I have a friend with a V-Strom and he swears by the Givi Screen, on my Honda NC750X I have a Kappa screen which I love, apparently if I remove the Kappa Logo it reads Givi ?

 

[DavidFL]

Jacket boy is awesome at locating bike accessories, I've bought many items from him over the past couple of years, highly recommended, and yes he prefers to make contact via LINE


I have a friend with a V-Strom and he swears by the Givi Screen, on my Honda NC750X I have a Kappa screen which I love, apparently if I remove the Kappa Logo it reads Givi ?

I swear by the Givi / Kappa screens too. 179,000 kms on the last Vstrom. Fantastic screens.
I had an MRA on the Versys for 80,000 kms but not as good as the Kappa / Givi.
If I understand they are exactly the same screen. The daughter or Mr Givi was given the right / money to start her own business or franchise making screens, something like that if my info is correct.

Agree on Jacket Boy I bought heaps of stuff him too, even visited his home / shop in Bkk.
He is a cool guy & has good experience adventure touring, so knows which products work best.
He actually went to Australia for awhile to learn "English," (Aussie style), so is able to relate to farang & farang jokes more easily.

 

[DavidFL]

Finally located my favourite sticker shop: Panda racing.

PANDA RACING SHOP | Chiang Mai

PANDA RACING SHOP, Chiang Mai, Thailand. 6,299 likes · 4 talking about this. Car Wrap สติกเกอร์ สีต่างๆ เงา ด้าน 3M คาร์บ

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Panda has moved 4 times since I first used them with the Versys & then the Vstrom.
Their google maps location was wrong for the new premises & I gave up trying to find them a week ago, but with some assistance from my son I found them 2nd time round. There were just on the opposite of the 4-lane highway. Duh.

On a mission to return to Chiang Khong before a possible lockdown I asked if they were able to do the work the following morning, so I could slip back to CK asap.
Uncomfortable with the old GTR fellah applying a bit of pressure for a job first thing in the morning, they offered to do it on the spot.
A brilliant solution I thought; & the guys got to work immediately.

20 minutes later the job was done

Suitably impressed & top value for money @ 300 baht.

Before the black stickers

Chiang Mai Handy Motorcycle Related Shops

Re-stickering the Versys after my crash 3 months ago. The "motorbike sticker chang" at M-Sticker has gone - moved to the other side of Hang Dong, so a bit far from Mae Rim. After riding round town & coming up with zilch that would be convenient I gave the north side of the super one last try...

www.gt-rider.com