Centerstand Wobble

Recently, I've noticed that it was becoming more difficult to park the Vee on its centerstand. I even thought that it might be due to the tires needing to be replaced, that the overall diameter had reduced so much that it was the cause. 

Then I noticed that when on the centerstand, it would wobble a bit from side to side, nothing I'd ever noticed before. I put a SW Motech stand on at 20k miles when I bought the bike, since I won't own a bike that has one. I do all my own maintenance. When the wobble got bad enough that I didn't trust it to stay upright, I crawled under and took a peek. 

The upper allen head bolt on the left side had sheered off, leaving about 1cm of its tip in the frame. Disassembling it was easy enough (the other bolts were loose since I forgot to put any Loctite on them), but getting a drill in there to prep for an extractor was a pain. I broke two bits, once leaving its tip in the tip of the bolt, which was a royal pain to remove before continuing with a fresh bit. Eventually, I was able to get a stubby crescent wrench around the extractor to remove the bolt tip. I even had the exact same size bolts in my hardware pile, which came from disassembling an 80s Subaru engine a few years back. All is right in Vee-land. 

Michelin Anakee 2 Tires at 22k Miles

If anyone is looking for something with serious longevity, consider the Michelin Anakee 2. I had a pair installed when I bought my Vee at just over 20k miles, and now that I'm at 42k, its finally time to get a new set. The bikes has served primarily as a commuter, doing around 40-50 miles a day, with only the rare excursion down a dirt road. Even down to almost no tread in the middle on the front and a bit more on the rear, the tires still do well in the wet, no loss of traction, or confidence. I do believe I'm on the hunt for another pair now.

Dirty Vee is Hesitating

I am looking at replacing the throttle position sensor to try to resolve the hesitation the Vee is exhibiting now. I'll probably also do a throttle body sync after that to try to improve response and renew the characteristics of the bike. I'm just getting too much hesitation right now, especially when creeping along at slow speeds.

One suggestion that keeps coming up is to look at a DynoJet Power Commander, but that's a $300 investment that I am still trying to figure out if I actually need. I'm keen to reach for smoother acceleration and better throttle response, but I have no need for increased power. The Vee has more than enough kick to keep me grinning when I open the throttle, and even then I don't tend to open it up all the way or for very long. I'm a bit of an old man already.

Who knows, I might even wash the Vee this year...

Oddly enough, the hesitation was due not to some mechanical failure from the powertrain, but a failing drive chain. As the chain began to wear and stretch, it became difficult to transition from straight to bent, putting additional strain on the engine, feeling as if the engine were going to stall. Replacing the chain and sprockets took care of the issue, and returned better fuel economy as well. 

Taillight Modulator Install

At long last, I finally decided to install the Brake Light Signal Module from Signal Dynamics that I removed from a previous bike. With the small taillight on the V-Strom, I figured it would help give it some needed attention at the rear. I had installed a set of sidecases, but they are bolted on rather than quick-release, and I had put off installing the modulator, not wanting to have to tear the frames off and create a lot of extra work for myself. Luckily, it was simply a matter of removing the top rack and two screws in the rear fender to swing it rearward a bit, giving just enough room to install the modulator, made simple with a wiring harness from Eastern Beaver. And everything worked just like it should. I love it when a plan comes together.

 

Easy access

 

Plug-and-play harness from Eastern Beaver

Everything tucked away nicely

Rear Brake Issue

I had an odd issue with my rear brake on my V-Strom. The brake was a bit weak, but that didn't bother me as much as the this; when stopped on an uphill, if I released the front brake, the bike would slide rearward a bit and then sort of clunk to a stop, rather than gradually as if I applied more pressure to the rear brake.

It was puzzling, but the Stromtroopers helped sort out the cause; when I changed the brake pads all around, I misaligned the rear brake caliper. the caliper keyway was not aligned to the notch on the rear swingarm, it sat above it, and would rotate forward and back with the axle a bit. A quick disassembly and correct reassembly resolved the issue.

Rear Brake Issue - Stromtrooper Forum
Rear brake goes "clack" - Stromtrooper Forum