2014 V Strom 1000

[5ohmustang]

It can definitely be just as you described. Stay off the interstates, hit the back roads or off road, the only people you will see are at the petrol stations.

There is a lot more freedom to ride off road here. As long as it's not marked private and open to access you can go most places.

I would say other road users in the U.S. are worse drivers than the U.K. You can forget driving etiquette. However the roads are safer, as the layout of roads and properties are not as squashed together so you have a good field of vision to react to a cager pulling out on you.

Obviously petrol is cheap but I would prefer if the Strom took regular instead of premium. (Unleaded/super unleaded)

When I lived in Colorado, it has the best adventure riding you could dream of. I'd be in the middle of nowhere, surrounded 360 degrees of mountains, no one else but me and the bike.

I always carry spare petrol, water, a survival kit and a pistol. Bikers have been attacked by bears or mountain lions in the back country.

Look up on YouTube cobdr and other bdr's (back country discovery routes).

The pics below are from different adventures in Colorado when I had my Buell Ulysses.

I was trying to link up with town called Salida, I went down this isolated dirt road for 50 miles. The snow was not plowed all the way so I had to turn back, very close to running out of petrol. I also dropped the bike in the snow and could not get the footing to push it back up. Lost my temper with it and managed eventually to get it back on the kickstand.



Cripple creak, found an abandoned gold mine.

Near John Wayne's truth grit filming location.





Old stage road, above Norad.















































If I was you, take a holiday to Colorado and rent a motorcycle, spend a few weeks exploring, it's like nowhere else I have been.

There's a blogger on YouTube called Coloradodualsport. Also check out everride. Amazing scenery.

It's a shame I never rode when I grew up in the UK. There a lot of places I wish I had explored. I also think you have a better choice of motorcycles there. I'd love a DR big, 660 tender or an old Africa twin.

My brother rides a bandit, I keep telling him to get an old Africa twin but he won't part with the bandit.

Edited by 5ohmustang on Tuesday 11th October 02:33

Edited by 5ohmustang on Wednesday 12th October 06:22

[5ohmustang]

Back to the Appalachian mountains.

Found a garage with some cool stuff.

Tribal chestnut, here is the camaro zt28 lt1 you posted about. You're right, the prefacelift f body camaro does look better than the ls1 version. Didn't the Lotus Carlton have a similar exhaust.

[5ohmustang]

I've decided to leave the Strom in red. This photoshopped pic of the 2014 with the new XT tubeless spoked rims look amazing. I hope them are not too expensive.

The mag wheels retail for around $500 each.

[5ohmustang]

http://www.advpulse.com/adv-videos/colorado-motorc...

These videos sum up better than anything I can type in words.

https://youtu.be/fnIbXmRn0Wg

https://youtu.be/XMz9eEZ3LTs

https://youtu.be/jP50pvIqHKY

https://youtu.be/xnGOA2aYcos

https://youtu.be/5bT4o0gHh84

[Tribal Chestnut]

Nice pics, a big trip like that'll probably have to wait until my daughter has grown up though.

Should be looking at the Camaro this weekend, all being well.

[5ohmustang]

SW Motech brake reservoir and rear brake cylinder guard fitted. The factory brake cylinder guard is thicker than the SW Motech howevever the new one covers the full linkage.

[5ohmustang]

U.S. V Strom 1000s never came with fairing graphics. It was also not offered as an official accessory in the U.S. Ordered the set from Suzuki UK.

It was pretty difficult to seat it right, with patience and lots of laminate fluid it worked a treat.

[5ohmustang]

Switched from the standard medium seat to the tall seat. There is no noticeable back pain for the short period I testes it. I got cold before I was fatigued.

Right time, right place, 50% off.

[5ohmustang]

In addition to the air hawk cruiser media seat pad, I picked up the large pillion seat pad, MSRP $170, I picked up off eBay $30 shipped like new. The medium would probably fit better but at $30 I'll make it work. The bike is now super comfortable, however due to being sat higher there is more wind noise. The Givi airflow windshield should fix that.

[5ohmustang]

I have installed an agri supply tube to the left rack. This is off my old bike hence the battered appearance. You can pick them up $5 from tractor supply, it comes with an o ring gasket. Typically they are used to house plant machinery instruction manuals. A lot of advriders use them to house tools or spare petrol. The most common is the fuel bottle, made my Msr or primus, it should give 20 more miles which in the high country can be the difference between life and death.

It can also be used as fuel and attaches to the Msr stove.

[5ohmustang]

I ordered the OEM Suzuki wheel decals from the UK.






OEM accessory centerstand, chain maintenance is now a breeze.



Ravetech radiator guard.

Edited by 5ohmustang on Thursday 23 February 02:17

[5ohmustang]

Fitted the SW motech footpegs. They have two height adjustments, stock and half an inch lower. The rubber can be removed for off road use.

Very easy to fit using stock spring and pin.

Much more foot surface area than the stock pegs.

[5ohmustang]

Installed a RAM mount for electronic devices. I had to use the long double joint to clear the tank bag on full lock. This will save me having to look down at the tank bag at the clear pocket for directions.



I also installed the givi kickstand extender to help the bike sinking and falling over on soft ground.

[5ohmustang]

Givi rear tire hugger installed. This should stop water and crap being slung around. There is still enough clearance for tkc80s.

It uses the factory bolts, just needs thread lock.




I am now currently installing the givi crash bars. Pics to come.

[5ohmustang]

Giving airflow installed and it works perfectly.




The Strom is now ready for the heavy miles of touring I'll be doing,

I took her out on a run in the evening and she rode great. Very comfortable and is silky smooth for a v twin.

[5ohmustang]

[gareth_r]

I'm always envious of those guys who can post youtube videos of adventure bikes being used as intended 12000 feet up in the Rockies, although some of those trails are obviously more suited to lighter bikes.

[5ohmustang]

gareth_r said:

I'm always envious of those guys who can post youtube videos of adventure bikes being used as intended 12000 feet up in the Rockies, although some of those trails are obviously more suited to lighter bikes.

I can't remember the name of the company but it's an outfit in Colorado that will allow tourists to rent adv bikes so you can ride those passes on holiday.

The problem with the lighter, smaller bikes is at that high of an altitude you lose a lot of power, some steep hills can be very hard to make it up.

My Suzuki DR200, although a great bike for what it is intended for, becae asmatic at 7000ft.

The Honda crf250l was much better but still had issues making steep inclines in the high country. I think a KTM 690 Enduro would be great, however their reliability issues turns me off when I read about them.

[Tim1989]

5ohmustang said:

What do you think of the Givi hugger mate? Am getting tired of cleaning all the rubbish flung up by the rear tire! Mine is the same colour as yours, keep meaning to get a review up on here. Generally speaking I love the thing, but it's impossible to keep clean.

Has the airflow solved the buffeting for you? I'm 5'9, using the standard screen with an Adv helmet and it can be hard work sometimes!

[5ohmustang]

Tim1989 said:

What do you think of the Givi hugger mate? Am getting tired of cleaning all the rubbish flung up by the rear tire! Mine is the same colour as yours, keep meaning to get a review up on here. Generally speaking I love the thing, but it's impossible to keep clean.

Has the airflow solved the buffeting for you? I'm 5'9, using the standard screen with an Adv helmet and it can be hard work sometimes!

I haven't had the chance to ride it in the rain or proper mud yet, but from the looks of it I'm very confident it will stop the shock absorber area from being covered in dirt. It's easy to fit and the plastic is thick enough. The puig fake carbon fiber one looks good but I have seen at least one of them broken online.

I had the bike up to 70 and there was no buffeting on the highest setting. I'm 6'3 ish, no issues.

Now I did have a lot of cold wind on my torso, however I reckon that was due to not being in motorcycle gear. I just had a T-shirt and a jumper as I was not going that far, I just wanted to test all the mods.

I'm not sure what the prices are like in the UK but all my givi gear came from motostorm.it, I have saved hundreds compared to buying it all in the U.S.,shipping was flat rate at $30, no import tax on motorcycle parts.