Fz6 to Vstrom 1000

bmccrary

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Since Lytehouse reminded me... I figured I would go ahead and share.

As some of you are away I have gotten pretty tied up in running long distance rides in short amounts of time and have also started camping while traveling. After my BBG ride in march I decided that I wanted to do some work to the FZ and get it more suited for this type of riding. I wanted some hard bags that were water tight and locking, modified seat by Bill Mayer, Rick Mayer or Russel Day Long. Auxillary fuel cell, Auxillary lights, GPS, etc.

This winter came along and I began looking into this and decided that it might not be a bad idea to look into larger bikes that are a bit more comfortable and set up for this type of riding. Ive had my eye on the Vstrom, Super Tenere, C14 and FJR. However I liked the price point of the Vstrom and the ability to go off road and the lack of fairings, etc.

First of September I rode a S10 and Vstrom 1000 while at Founders Feast for the MTF in Robinsville, NC. S10 was an amazing bike, sweet in every possible way, but the price tag. Vstrom was just a nice, less refined but the price was managable. (Half the price for a bike with bags and goodies thanthe stock S10 at 13,000.00)

A couple weeks later I was browing through cycle trader and I came across an add for a Vstrom 1000 in Atlanta that was owned by a fellow IBA member. Bike had Jesse Luggage, 5 gallon aux fuel cell, aux lights, heated grips, modified seat, taller wind screen, mad stad mount, etc..... Bingo!

Longer stort cut short, that baby is in my bike shop now! However with that mean the FZ has to go... :(

The FZ has been a great bike, got it will 11,683 miles on it and it currently has 54,866 miles on it. Loved every mile. Completed a SS1000 on it as well as a Bun Burner Gold. I have been through 10 states I think with it as well. Built a trailer to pull behind it for my senior design project (which I won deans choice) She has been through the good and bad of my life. Its gonna be tough to watch her leave the shop with the right person comes along to purchase it. But the Vstrom is an amazing bike, a bit more HP a good bit of torque, even more comfortable and turns just as good (semi-aggressive street riding)

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The FZ when I got her.

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First long trip on her, two up to south Florida.

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Sport Touring Mode

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Part of the tear down in the winter of 09/10 for major upgrades

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Trailer project complete.

~~More to come~~
 

bmccrary

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But then comes the fun part of a new bike....

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Auto Pilot is in working order...

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Tear down to clean up wiring and add J&M intercom

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Fuel stop in Murphy, NC during the In state SS1000 ride the following weekend.

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Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, right?

So thats it. This is a happy/sad time. THe new bike is awesome, I have had for less than 3 weeks and put over 2,000 miles on it. So much fun to ride. But at the same time, the FZ has been a truely amazing bike and will remain on my list of favorite bikes. It does so much so well and is very versitile. Id love to keep it but I gotta pay for the Vstrom and make room in the McCrary bike shop. lol

I just sold the ohlins shock, but ill be cleaning it up tomorrow and next week. Should have the official sale posting up here next week sometime.

-bryan
 

degake

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Built a trailer to pull behind it for my senior design project (which I won deans choice)

IMG_7583.jpg

Trailer project complete.

I really like that trailer you've built :eek:
Could you give us some more info and pics?

Grtz,

Degake
 

Erci

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Great stuff! I know exactly how you feel.. just went through the same thing when I got a FZ1.. 6 had to go. I hope to own another one some day.
 

lytehouse

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Very Nice Bryan! I have the same feeling about my FZ6...(and like Erci) said, even though I bought an FZ1 and ride it way more, it's hard to let go of your first love!
Thanks for the pics and don't be such a stranger huh?!?!
 

bmccrary

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Very Nice Bryan! I have the same feeling about my FZ6...(and like Erci) said, even though I bought an FZ1 and ride it way more, it's hard to let go of your first love!
Thanks for the pics and don't be such a stranger huh?!?!

Very true.

I know, Im sorry Ill try to get in an keep up with the touring section a bit better and post up ride reports.

-bryan
 

Motogiro

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Congratulations!
Great trailer on the FZ6!

Always liked the Vstrom 1000! I like the motor for obvious reasons. :rolleyes:
 

Wolfman

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Nice stuff.....love a good project, and that Trailer looks fantastic...

As for the V-Strom, great bike, fantastic motor, but still a bit fugly for my liking...but i bet the riding is awesome.

:thumbup:
 

bmccrary

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Nice stuff.....love a good project, and that Trailer looks fantastic...

As for the V-Strom, great bike, fantastic motor, but still a bit fugly for my liking...but i bet the riding is awesome.

:thumbup:

Yea I often call it delightfully ugly. lol

But yes, the riding is amazing. Got a few quirks to work out with the clutch. Suzuki dropped the ball with it, but it looks like that will be resolved over the winter.

-bryan
 

Wolfman

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Yea I often call it delightfully ugly. lol

But yes, the riding is amazing. Got a few quirks to work out with the clutch. Suzuki dropped the ball with it, but it looks like that will be resolved over the winter.

-bryan

I had a Suzuki GS400 that was not an attractive bike, but OMG, it was an awesome little bike....I grew to like the looks...a bit like the K1300R, that is beautifully ugly...

What you doing with the clutch....Barnett?

:thumbup:
 

bmccrary

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I had a Suzuki GS400 that was not an attractive bike, but OMG, it was an awesome little bike....I grew to like the looks...a bit like the K1300R, that is beautifully ugly...

What you doing with the clutch....Barnett?

:thumbup:

Not sure if Barnett makes a replacement. But Suzuki use the clutch as a sort of torsion damper to keep the engine vibrations out of the frame and what not. Thats a great idea, however, the tolerance on those parts werent kept tight enough and they wore quickly due to the load of the engine. The clutch basket wears down over the shaft and slop develops between the springs and the plate that connects to the clutch. So the hole assembly will chatter at certain RPMs. A few guys have come up with a fix by machining the basket and inserting a bushing to pick up the tolerances and then installing some pins to limit the movement. Fix is about 300.00 to do. Everything I read on it is positive. Make the power smooth all the way through the power range. Right now the bike is rough below 4000 rpms. Tough to ease through the gears and keep the revs down.

-bryan
 

marke14

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Nice new ride - you have to ride what you need to in order to fulfill the type of riding that you do. The V-Stroms have quite the following! I'm sure you've been over at stromtrooper.com :)

And excellent work on that trailer - I briefly perused the blog post, great job!
 

bmccrary

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Nice new ride - you have to ride what you need to in order to fulfill the type of riding that you do. The V-Stroms have quite the following! I'm sure you've been over at stromtrooper.com :)

And excellent work on that trailer - I briefly perused the blog post, great job!


Thanks! Yes I have been on Stromtrooper and VSRI though I am still waiting for my acceptance to the VSRI forum...

-bryan
 
D

Dave.TX

Nice upgrade! It's always good to get the bike that suits what you want to do. I looked at a Bandit 1250 about a year or two ago and it was a nice bike, still in my thoughts. Enjoy your Vstrom!
 
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