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Re: 2007 Suzuki Vstrom 650 - breakdirt916
I am tellin ya chip it’s ground clearance...I will ride anything off road and can work around a poor suspension, but once the middle of the bike jams and suddenly stops you not much I can do besides pick a better line. Slamming the skid plate was a soft warning shot
For me it’s just about knowing the limits and staying within them...this bike will ride 60% of where I want to go and being able to swing a leg, turn the key, and ride from home (including the slab) is pretty cool
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Re: 2007 Suzuki Vstrom 650 - breakdirt916
Psssst...I have one. With a skid plate.
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Re: 2007 Suzuki Vstrom 650 - breakdirt916
you gotta wee?!?
more just wandering and riding...was in the 70's today when I got off work...could not bring myself to go home, so I did a coastal ride through Laguna Beach, Corona Del Mar, into Newport and caught the sunset
https://i.imgur.com/LYW7IzG.jpg?1
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Re: 2007 Suzuki Vstrom 650 - breakdirt916
So I hear a little squealing up front...and front pads are done. It only took 6 months :spit:
Felt like I just replaced them, haha...ordered up another $85 of EBC pads
Rear tire is also starting to wear...so I will likely order another one by June. Double checked the posts on the last Shinko 705: Riding down the cords, I got 5 months and 11,040 miles. I definitely don't want to go that far again...so let's call it a 10,000 tire at best. The current 712 is strictly a road tire and it handles excellent in the twisties. Since I am 97% a road rider, I'm considering another at $71/tire...if I go back to an 80/20 tire (the 705) I will spend $86/tire.
Otherwise, weather this week has been very good...even for SoCal! I am very much enjoying riding to experience it.
fun economy facts:
-$128/month - gas
-$46/month - insurance
-$23/month - rear tire
-$20/month - oil (includes having to buy 2 additional quarts/month to top off)
-$20/month - chain and sprockets
-$15/month - front brakes
-$8/month - registration
-$7/month - front tire
so excluding the stator, and purchase/re-sale pricing, this bike costs me $268/month to run ~1,500 miles/month.
Cost is roughly $0.17/mile
By comparison, my POS 2001 F150, excluding any major servicing, depreciation, and other routine maintenance (coolant flush, leaking gaskets, batteries), the truck would cost me an astounding $517/month to go 1,500 miles/month. That's already a lot! Can't imagine financing or leasing a brand new 1/2 ton
cost is roughly $0.34/mile...although driving exclusively on natural gas would bring that figure closer to $0.27/mile
so assuming I keep both, and exclude purchase/depreciation values - I'm saving more money picking the bike in the morning. As a matter of fact, picking the bike roughly 14,000 of those miles covers the purchase price of the bike.
Alas - I'm moving way closer to work by this summer cutting my commute over half. Doing this quick (and maybe not so accurate) math game re-confirms that often times the biggest cost towards vehicle ownership is depreciation. If you factor in that I can likely sell the DL for what I bought it for (worst cast $200 less), my figure is still $0.18/mile. Factoring in a $400/month depreciation on the F150 (or flip it - pretend it was a lease payment) the cost shoots up again to $0.61/mile. People keep asking me which street bike I'd buy next - I just say whichever one I get a good deal on.
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Re: 2007 Suzuki Vstrom 650 - breakdirt916
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Re: 2007 Suzuki Vstrom 650 - breakdirt916
I couldn't go one more day without a pad...ran down to a dealer 30 mins away and grabbed them. I'll return the ebay ones
funny thing tho - only one pad was junk - the one facing the caliper pistons on the right side
all other pads were evenly worn at roughly 50-60% (as expected). I didn't even bother swapping the left side...why throw out perfectly good wear items?
would that mean the pistons on the left caliper were frozen up? clean them out? re-bleed the lines?
right side tho...
https://i.imgur.com/zY1Cv8I.jpg?1
good news tho - having wrestled the caliper bolts last time and knowing I just needed a breaker bar, the whole process (including heading to autozone for brake cleaner, cleaning up, and posting it step by step on my instagram) was under 45 mins :lol:
I torqued them down to spec, laid some blue loc tite, and gave 'em a tiny cinch to make sure they're good. Will go for a quick ride then re-torque them...don't want a lost bolt like the rear
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Re: 2007 Suzuki Vstrom 650 - breakdirt916
Slide pins needed some love.
In other news, putting the new braided brake lines on my Wee tonight. And she's due for a rear tire. Man, I like the PR3 that is on there, but HOLY CRAP the Pilot Road 3, 4 or 5 is expensive as shit. Lowest I found was $175. For just one 160 tire. Jeeeeeezus.
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Re: 2007 Suzuki Vstrom 650 - breakdirt916
Quote:
Originally Posted by
TheIglu
And she's due for a rear tire. Man, I like the PR3 that is on there, but HOLY CRAP the Pilot Road 3, 4 or 5 is expensive as shit. Lowest I found was $175. For just one 160 tire. Jeeeeeezus.
I switched to Bridgestone. I have a ton of miles on the T30 and will be replacing with the new T31. IMO a better dry performing tire (vs PR4) but worse in wet. About $230/set at motosport.com and B-stone currently has a $50 rebate option. Just a thought. I run them on my Tiger Explorer.
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Re: 2007 Suzuki Vstrom 650 - breakdirt916
So uhh...slowly worsening tapping noise related to rpm noise...now I can hear it (a little) with earplugs in LoL
Almost 50k miles on the clock and burns oil (but it’s topped off)...do valves make noise when out of spec?
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Re: 2007 Suzuki Vstrom 650 - breakdirt916
So... where is the noise coming from?
Get a long screwdriver, with the handled up to your ear, put the tip on the head and see if the tapping is noticeable. Then move the tip to say, the crank area, cylinders, etc. That'll tell you the region responsible for what you're hearing.
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Re: 2007 Suzuki Vstrom 650 - breakdirt916
You ever adjust the valves? And/or check the cam chain tensioners?
I don't know if this motor has a chain driven balencer or not....
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Re: 2007 Suzuki Vstrom 650 - breakdirt916
So far I haven’t adjusted or checked the valves ever...but don’t those get quieter once out of spec?
Haven’t checked the cam chain tensioner...and will try this screwdriver trick...threads say it’s a clatter sounding tractor bike with rare catastrophic failures...wear ear plugs lol...this one is kinda new so best I cover my bases
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Re: 2007 Suzuki Vstrom 650 - breakdirt916
Check the valves. During the adjustment process, you’ll also end up checking the tensioners.
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1 Attachment(s)
Re: 2007 Suzuki Vstrom 650 - breakdirt916
Attachment 49132
I’ve never noticed a vstrom with color matched hard bags
Squint and it’s a multistrada!
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I don’t know why that loaded sideways
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Re: 2007 Suzuki Vstrom 650 - breakdirt916
Finally got a chance to ride my Wee after doing the Galfer braided lines up front. My 3 way junction on the stock lines started leaking, so it was time to replace them.
I just can't get over how good the brakes are on this old dog. Stops RIGHT NOW.
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Re: 2007 Suzuki Vstrom 650 - breakdirt916
Aaaaaand it needs another fork seal.
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Re: 2007 Suzuki Vstrom 650 - breakdirt916
Quote:
Originally Posted by
TheIglu
Aaaaaand it needs another fork seal.
I have read that leaky fork seals are quite common when dirt wedges into the seal. Sometimes you can get away with just taking a piece of film (who the F still uses film?) and sliding it between the fork leg and the seal to dislodge the dirt and stopping the leak.
My seals are bad...it’s all moist all the time...and the bars wobble over painted lines and worsen at higher speeds :eek:
Are you joking on the brakes?
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Re: 2007 Suzuki Vstrom 650 - breakdirt916
Brakes are decent with galfer lines. I don’t feel the need for a fancy master too, just the lines are enough when paired with a quality pad.
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Re: 2007 Suzuki Vstrom 650 - breakdirt916
No joke. And until the stock lines sprung a leak, they were good too.
I’ll try the film trick. Didn’t work with the ‘wing, but can’t hurt to try.
I’m am a pro at fork seals though. Probably have one done in under an hour.
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Re: 2007 Suzuki Vstrom 650 - breakdirt916
Well...non abs with stock lines might’ve been ok, but I had been roaming around on a giant sponge for a few.
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Re: 2007 Suzuki Vstrom 650 - breakdirt916
I have non abs stock lines...still feels spongy but I stink at bleeding
Hmm...so 1 hour DIY fork seals, eh?
Doesn’t even look like you need any special tools...
Replacing Front Fork Oil Seals | Black Lab Adventures
Maybe I do need to do this myself
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Re: 2007 Suzuki Vstrom 650 - breakdirt916
My primary beef with that article is the idea that "this fork oil is fairly fresh, I'll reuse it while springing for new bushings..." WAT?! Just use fresh oil ya nub!
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Re: 2007 Suzuki Vstrom 650 - breakdirt916
It’s all about the $$$$.
Oil is cheap. That guy is cheaper.
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Re: 2007 Suzuki Vstrom 650 - breakdirt916
2” pvc pipe, about 24” worth, cut in half lengthwise.
5 or 6mm Allen head socket on an impact gun to zip out the bottom bolts.
Rest is cake.
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Re: 2007 Suzuki Vstrom 650 - breakdirt916
Look up seal doctor or olso motion pro has one