Drain Plug Woes

I spent a bit of time this afternoon working on my wife's Rover and my Vee, mostly oil changes and a few little bits and bobs. The Rover is complicated, requiring the removal of two skid plates, and it is still a mess. I need to install a Fumoto valve to make it a cleaner process. 

When I went to change the oil on the Vee, I stripped out the drain plug. Damn! I pulled the plug back out and took it to the local O'Reilly store. 

Looking at the plug, the guy helping me noticed that it was a single oversize plug, so the previous owner had stripped it out once before, replacing it with a M14x1.5 SO plug. The standard plug is a M14x1.25 for the DL1000, and M12x1.25 for the DL650. 

The new M14x1.5 DO plug should be here tomorrow and I'll be back on the road again in time for Monday's commute. This was a $4.29 mistake, but it could have been worse. This is a reminder to always use the minimum torque that the repair manual calls for, don't over do it. 

Flat Battery

I picked up my Vee back in late 2010, and the OEM battery died the following summer. I picked up a new Yuasa battery and it had been great since then. The PO had neglected the bike and hadn't ridden it regularly for some time. It only had 20k on it after 5 years. Since buying the bike, I ride every weekday, around 40 miles each day, year round, and I've put almost another 20k on the bike since replacing the battery.

Over the last month or so, occasionally I will have trouble getting the bike to start, usually when running errands during my lunch hour. My commute is about 20 miles one way, so the battery should be charging effectively. I generally ride with my brights on, but have since gone back to riding with my low beams when I began getting issues starting the Vee.

I checked the battery today with a multimeter, having not ridden it since yesterday, and it reads 12.7v. Turning the ignition ON, it drops down to about 11.9v, then rises quickly again when turning the ignition OFF back to 12.7v. When starting, the volts drop to 7-8v (the part that worries me), then settles around 14.8v when idling or holding at 5k RPMs. What gives?

Looks like it might be time to get a new battery, but I would have expected the Yuasa battery to last longer on a bike being ridden nearly every day.

New Shoes: Michelin Anakee 3

After 23k miles on a set of Michelin Anakee 2 tires, it is finally time to replace them. While I originally intended to get a the same tires again based on my experience with wet/dry grip and longevity, I found it difficult to find them for less than the new Anakee 3 tires. I had initially assumed that the Anakee 3 was more of a touring tire from its appearance and didn't look any closer until now. After reading a handful of reviews, I decided that I would go ahead and try the new tires.

Surprisingly, even with the Anakee 2s being nearly bald, they still have amazing grip. They have become slicks, but still grip like fresh tires. I am not going to chance it, though, and am excited to try out a modern adventure tire.

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