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-   -   My Suzuki V-Strom 650 | Now 70,000 kms up (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/superbikes-imports/207563-my-suzuki-v-strom-650-now-70-000-kms-up-5.html)

A long pending update of sorts.

The annual ride to Kanyakumari was eventful for a couple of reasons. First was the check engine light that flashed for around 5 minutes and then went away on its own (I put the bike in dealer mode the next day and there's no DTC code recorded) and then the low beam bulb conked off when I was still 400 KMs away from home and had to ride on high beam all the way (thankfully the road was all 4-laned).
It is such a hassle to replace the low beam bulb for a bike that's touted as a tourer. I don't know what Suzuki engineers were thinking :Frustrati
Anyway, here is a snap of that ride.


After I came back, I got a major servicing done at Kunal's workshop.



Here is the work done:

* Oil change --> used Ecstar 10w40 r9000 that I got from the dealer.

* Replaced Air filter --> It was ~ 70% loaded per Kunal and hence decided to get it changed. Mind you, the bike had been sitting idle (thanks to the lockdown and my ADV 390 purchase) and had done only one major ride covering more than 3000 KMs and still the filter was nearly clogged. Other V-strom owners, please do take a note of the same.

* Replaced Spark plugs --> They're okay per Kunal but we still went ahead and got them replaced.

* Replaced the fuel filter --> Since she'd done 45K KMs, Kunal suggested to replace the fuel filter. Here's a snap comparing the two.


The old one looked pretty dirty and smelled badly of Kerosene (Her last refill before the service was at a Shell pump !!!).

* Injector cleaning --> Got the injectors cleaned too. Per Kunal, one was badly clogged while the other one was just about okay. This in spite of the fact that I am very particular about the petrol that she drinks (Shell,Reliance,COCO only). Says a lot about the quality of the fuel that we get in general.

After she got her spunk back, I obviously wanted to test things out and did a short ride to the Kokan coast.






Barring the throttle body sync, she's all set for another 45K :)

Just one piece of advice. Try and replace the air filter and the fuel filter more regularly. The versys had an inbuilt fuel filter as part of the fuel pump. That can't be removed and serviced separately and always made me nervous. I would probably replace the air filter every 5k kms and the fuel filter every service at 10k kms.
Shell is just hype. I avoid them completely. I try and fuel up at COCO/reliance/essar-nayara.

Keep that exploring hat on...

V-strom's fuel filter too is hosted within the fuel pump although it can be taken out and replaced. It's not an easy job and costs a bomb as well (~ 6.5K)

Hmm. I suggest you invest in an upstream fuel filter.

https://bestrestproducts.com/shop/gu...filter-m22006/

Thats the brand. Try and source it. Will help :thumbs up

Loved reading about your rides. It's great to see you utilize the bike to its fullest. Best wishes for the next 45 :):thumbs up

Life @ 50K

Posting an update ~ one year after the last one.
Could clock only 5,000 KMs during the last year all thanks to the pandemic and also most of the outstation rides were done on the ADV 390.

So, here's a summary:

* The rear Metz tourance had almost squared off and hence I was actively looking for its replacement. Looked for options but could not get any as either ridiculous prices were quoted OR the usual suspects were unavailable. Talked to the torque block guys (https://torqueblock.com/) and they suggested Vredestein Centauro ST in the stock size. I had never heard of this name before and was kind of apprehensive about it as I don't like taking any chances when it comes to tyres. Rohan from torque block was quite helpful in answering all my queries and I went ahead and took a leap of faith. It's been ~ 3,000 KMs since and I am pretty happy with Vredestein's performance. Mind you, all of this running has been done on tarmac and that too in dry conditions. Wet performance of these tyres is something that remains to be tested.



* I was hit with the c12 error code (crank position sensor malfunction) exactly a year ago and it came back again to haunt me around couple of months back. Thankfully, this happened within the city limits and I could get help from the Suzuki technician to clear out the error code and get her back to life again. Battery was the most likely cause per the technician although I had a feeling that it was some random alignment of stars causing it.
Anyway, I got the battery replaced and fitted the Shido LTX12-BS as I could not find any local make with the same CCA.

Just to test out the battery theory, I went for a long ride (Kokan) and the c12 menace struck me again !. It just renders the bike immobile when it happens. By now I had learnt the trick of putting the bike in dealer mode.

So, I waited for few minutes and with the bike in dealer mode tried cranking her. Somehow, she fired and I made it a point to ride back home without stopping anywhere enroute :p

I asked Kunal@slipstream performance to have a thorough look at the connectors and the stator on which the CKPS is mounted. He did not find anything objectionable as such.

I set out again to test ride the bike. This time around, I chose Pune-Agumbe-Kundapura-Pune circuit as I really wanted to validate things out and I had never been to Agumbe as well. In this process, she also completed the 50,000 mark. The error did not resurface during entire ride and I hope it stays that way. If it happens again, the only option that I am left with is to change the stator assembly itself as the sensor is kind of integrated with the stator.
Here are few snaps from that ride:


P.S. The ADV 390 too has neared the 50K mark albeit in just couple of years. Maybe that shows my preference ;)

Mods:Request you to update the thread title accordingly.

Absolutely loved reading about your experience with the Suzuki!

How is it to shift direction in tight bends ( mountains), does it take substantially more effort as compared to your Duke 390?

It's not as easy as the D390 for sure or for that matter the ADV390.Maybe it's the sheer weight OR maybe it's lack of skills on my part !

Hey, great thread! Curious to know how you ended up buying both a Vstrom and an ADV 390 :)

I'm also considering picking up a middle weight ADV - basically everything b/w ADV 390 and Vstrom 650 (Cb500x, Versys, Tiger 660 and so on). Budget is not really an issue but considering I'll be travelling mostly solo, I am not really sure whether I would really be needing anything more than an ADV 390. Cb500x would have probably been the sweet spot but that's grossly overpriced. I don't really think anything offers the kind of value that ADV 390 offers! May be Versys 650 comes close. Would be great if you can share your thoughts.on what would be a good fit for my use case.

Rookie_Jeeper, Ive consistently maintained that an A2 level motorcycle is all that you need in India, even for touring. On paper, the KTM Adv 390 is a lot of bike for the money and the CB500X does seem a bit expensive.

However, if both motorcycles were to cost the exact same amount of money, I suspect that more people would pick the Honda CB500X for touring, both solo and two up. We have multiple TBHPians who have bought the CB500X and they all sing praises of the motorcycle.

Since you have a large budget, I would suggest that you dont fall into the "value trap". Test ride all your options and see what suits your requirements the best. Maybe its the Versys 650. Maybe its the CB500X. Maybe its something smaller like the Adv 250 or the VStrom 250! All your notions of whether you have overpaid or got a helluva deal, will disappear the moment you head out the gate for your rides.

The V has crossed the 60K mark in ~ 4 years since I got her. The ownership experience has been relatively fuss free (the c12 error has also vanished somehow).

The Vredestein in the rear has done more than 10K and I can safely claim that it's a pretty decent tyre (after riding during rains etc.) and I'll 'stick' to it for sure. I am also planning to switch over to them for my ADV 390 once they make the respective sizes available.

Apart from the long pending throttle body sync, the bike is running in 'business as usual' mode lol:

Here are few pictures (where else but Western ghats during this season !)

Thank you @rb2399 This thread has been a primary factor in me picking up a vstrom 650. Just picked it up. I am currently looking for a crash guard and also need to get a ppf done on the tank. Any other suggestions or something i need to be taking care of in this initial ownership period?

Thanks again!

I've the SW-Motech one and it has served me well till date. You can check out the one from Hepco-Becker as well.

This was done at the 3M workshop in my town and it's still holding well after 4+ years of ownership.

Just follow the initial break-in period 'instructions' and you'll be all set :).
During the first service, the dealership may try to force Motul 300V engine oil, but please stand your ground and insist on Suzuki's own brew (https://www.suzukimotorcycle.co.in/a...10w-40-1000-ml) . My experience so far has been very good with this oil.

Thank you so much for the inputs! I am going ahead with SW. I also trust 3M on the PPF front, just that i dont have a store near me. Hoping to get these things done before my first service.

Hey,
Congratulations on the milestones you were able to manage with the V Strom.
With the verdestein tire at the rear, which tire are you using for the front?