Why We're Now Here

My first motorcycle was a Galaxy Silver 2006 Kawasaki Ninja 650R that I bought used off of eBay with only 529 miles on the clock.  I rode it off and on (more off than on unfortunately) over the next six years at which time I came to the conclusion that I needed a bike with a little more legroom.  I'll save you the whole back-story and just skip to the chase.  In October 2012, I traded in the Ninja for a brand spanking new Metallic Fox Orange 2012 Suzuki V-Strom 650A.  I need to give a shout out to Michael Murphy and Steven Hill at Team Mancuso PowerSports North for making me a very good deal on both the new bike and my trade-in.  Thanks guys!  The primary point of this blog is for me to maintain a record of what I've done on this bike in case I need to repair, reinstall, or remove any accessories.  The secondary point is to share my experience with others in the hopes that it helps them as well.

One benefit of having owned the Ninja 650R is that I had a good idea of what accessories I wanted to add to the V-Strom, whereas it was a good four years until I added anything to the Ninja.  First and foremost, I wanted some crash protection.  It's a motorcycle, and it's a matter of "when" it's going to take a dirt nap not "if".  Then, I wanted some basic protection for the hands and the oil filter, which seems to be a bit exposed down in the front of the engine.  Finally, I wanted to get a top case in which I could lock my belongings instead of dragging them along with me when I stop.  It also had to be large enough to accommodate my wife's modular helmet should she decide to ride pillion.  That's it.  Pretty simple.

For the crash protection, I looked at engine crash bars and frame sliders.  After a lot of searching on www.stromtrooper.com, I decided to go with frame sliders by themselves as they seem to be up to the task.  I found a couple of stories by Stromtroopers who unfortunately field tested their sliders, but they took the brunt of the damage, leaving the bike virtually untouched.  That was good enough for me since I pretty much fit Suzuki's target demographic rider and do not really intend to take this bike off-road on anything more than a dirt/fire road.  After exchanging a few emails with Blair Layton at SVRacingParts.com, I ordered a combo set of frame and swing arm sliders, which arrived today only two days later.  While I have yet to install these puppies, I can say that Blair has been fantastic to deal with and VERY responsive to my emails.  The parts look very well-designed and every bit as sturdy as my R&G Racing setup was for the Ninja but at a fraction of the cost of R&G sliders for the V-Strom.  I'll post an update when I have a chance to install these.  Hopefully I'll be able to get to this tomorrow evening so they're installed for a ride I plan to do on Friday to burn off some more of those pesky sub-5000rpm break-in miles.

For the hands and oil filter protection, I found the best prices for OEM Suzuki accessories online at Oneida Suzuki.  I decided to go with the OEM hand guards since I'm mainly wanting to give my hands some protection from the wind when it gets colder than my vented leather gloves can handle.  I don't need them to be able to withstand going through trees at 30 mph, just the wind and occasional rock thrown up from the road or errant bug.  To protect the lower part of the engine, I went with the OEM under cowling.  While it's plastic and does not fully cover the bottom, I'm not going to be sliding over rocks and logs either.  Besides, I really like the look of the OEM under cowling, and it provides the level of protection I seek.  While I was at it, I went ahead and ordered a tank pad to protect the tank from scratches.  So another shout out, but this time to the good folks at Oneida Suzuki who are located in Oneida, NY near Syracuse, which was pretty much directly in the path of Hurricane Sandy.  I placed the order on Tuesday, and today I got emails saying my stuff has been shipped and should arrive a week from today.

Finally, the top case.  I knew I didn't want any of the aluminum box-type cases, because they just look too industrial to me, and they ruin the 2012 V-Strom's flowing lines.  I considered the Givi Trekker series, but unless you get the three-bag set with top and side cases, the top case looks like someone took an ice chest and just strapped it to the back.  That did nothing for me.  So I followed my friend Erik's lead and purchased a Givi Maxia 3 Luxury Edition B case and appropriate mounting plate from TwistedThrottle.com.  I looked all over, and TwistedThrottle.com had the best price for Givi products that I could find.  They also only had one of these left, so I clicked "Add to Cart" and checked out.  I should have this on Friday.

As far as I know, that should do it accessory-wise for the time being.  I will post pics as I get things installed so that if you are considering purchasing any of the above items, you'll have a fairly good idea of what's involved with the installation.  I hope to get in a bit more riding than I have in the past and maybe even post ride reports here, too.  Feel free to leave comments.  In the mean time, keep the rubber side down!

DISCLAIMER:  This blog is purely for information sharing purposes.  Anything you do to your bike is at your sole discretion, and I cannot be held responsible for any badness that may occur while attempting any of these activities.