This was an official Suzuki accessory that was never sold in many places including America.

Update: The tank bag sold on eBay after receiving 36 bids on this twenty-third day of February.

Dedicated to the Suzuki V-Strom

I found a rare V-Strom tank bag made by Suzuki

Dedicated to the Suzuki V-Strom

V-Strom craigslist tool

Click here to view the letter.

As the note reads, If you DID NOT purchase Genuine Suzuki Accessory Saddlebags, please disregard this notice.

Dedicated to the Suzuki V-Strom

Suzuki saddlebags reflector kit

New handlebars are on the way. The VSRI handlebar gallery is a great page to visit if you are unsatisfied with your grip. I work on a computer all day, so my wrist discomfort compelled me to order a new steel handlebar.

The weather here is always spotty. Where the hills fail to soothe the wind, strong winds force me to ride at an angle. I am adding a fork brace to stiffen the front end and improve my control.

What are you doing? Tell me about your plans for this spring and what you have already done. Brian has hit the road on a 650, and he says he’s headed to San Diego, California. From Texas. Through Alaska.

I have yet to wash my V-Strom in 2010, but I have clocked plenty of miles. I will take pictures when I install the goodies I mentioned above, and I am also planning on a DIY valve adjustment. In the meantime, I want to hear from you.

Dedicated to the Suzuki V-Strom

Riding in 2010: where are you?

I have questions about the V-Strom 1000 since I am considering buying one. I have been riding motorcycles almost 40 years now, and I love all bikes. Why do you guys love the V-Stroms? Seriously! In some ways they look a little nerdy and like they have antiquated suspension. They look like a bike for amateurs. They have a cool motor, and when I sat on one it felt very comfortable similar to my dad’s 1200GS. Is it because some of you ride on gravel roads in your touring or what? It would seem like there are other better, faster, nicer bikes out there for someone who spends most of the time on pavement such as a 1300ST along with many more. Almost every time I ask someone how they like the V-Strom they go off the deep end about how great it is–reminds me of the Harley crowd in that respect only. Do you guys think of it as as poor man’s BMW or what? Now I said I’m considering it so don’t think I’m attacking your society of V-Stroms but I just really want to know what is so great about them! I look forward to your comments I hope! Thanks!!

Bryan R.

Bryan, baby, did you take it for a spin? It only took me one ride to make my decision. I commuted for one week before a 1,400 mile run down the east coast. If you are even considering the V-Strom, you can’t possibly be concerned with looks. After 40 years, I shouldn’t have to remind you that riding a motorcycle isn’t about looking rad.

Whether you are riding this machine two minutes or two days, the mixture of power and comfort is highly gratifying. The V-Strom is built around the bulletproof Suzuki v-twin motor, and features upgraded cylinder sleeves among other changes from the similar SV power plant. If your image is a major concern, this v-twin sounds amazing through any exhaust can.

Its standard riding position makes the V-Strom far more comfortable than any cruiser over distance, and its dual sport aspirations make rough roads very manageable. You might even enjoy yourself. I think the 32 inch (plus!) seat height and higher center of gravity make the V-Strom a formidable challenge to amateurs. Have you seen the rack space on this thing? The cargo capacity is much greater than most bikes, especially something like the 1300ST.

I don’t consider the V-Strom a poor man’s anything. Buying my 1000 was the best riding decision I have ever made. Price does matter, and the V-Strom is a serious value play. I think the BMW you have in mind is about 6,000$ more, right? That’s almost enough to buy a 650 and a 1000.

Give the V-Strom another look, and consider riding the beast this time. I hope my readers don’t run you out of town after that Harley comment :) Just to make it interesting, I’ll send the best commenter some free stuff. What do you think?

Dedicated to the Suzuki V-Strom

What is it about that V-Strom?

There are two types of heated grips. Some kits replace the entire rubber grip, while others consist of heating elements that can be placed beneath any rubber hand grip. This tutorial demonstrates how to install the latter type, manufactured by Symtec, beneath the original rubber grips on a 2004 V-Strom 1000.

Symtec makes two types of grip heating element kits. The motorcycle grip heaters (less than 40$ on Amazon HANDLEBARS HEATER KT – Symtec -, a few dollars more with rocker style switch (part 17-9535) at cycle-parts.com) deliver an unbalanced amount of heat between the left and right sides. A plastic tube surrounds the throttle hand grip, while the clutch hand grip covers the bare metal handlebar tube. This difference affects the amount of heat each hand grip conducts. Symtec also makes an ATV grip heater kit that produces the same amount of heat for either hand. Heat delivery can also be modified with a troller. Typically, these devices have a knob to adjust the amount of heat. I opted to install the simple high/low/off switch that came with the kit.

Parts & Tools

• Grip heaters kit
• Suzuki horn lead wire
• Wire strippers, crimpers
• Soldering iron, solder & flux
• Heat shrink wrap (optional)
• Heat gun (optional)
• Electrical tape

Installation concerns & challenges

1. Power source

   The V-Strom has a heated grip wire built into the wiring harness for the optional Suzuki hand warmers. The location of this wire is behind the radiator near the horn, and my picture will help you find the connector. With no other powered accessories, this is the obvious choice. There are a few ideal places for electricity on the bike, all of which are described in John’s V-Strom Wiring 101 thread at the VSRI forum.

   

2. Wiring method

   Suzuki sells a short wire called “WIRE HORN LEAD” part number 36852-06G00 (diagram). It has a connector that fits the bike’s power connectors. Buying this (9$ cycle-parts.com) part allows you to create a custom wiring rig for projects like this to avoid cutting your V-Strom’s wire harness for power. Using the plug-and-play connectors also allows you to easily remove the accessory should you reconfigure your wiring down the road. Powered add-ons increase the electrical load on your system, and supplemental fuse boxes are a great way to manage a modified circuit (although outside the scope of this tutorial). Symtec kits include installation instructions that are also published online here.

3. Switch location

   Simply, the switch needs to be accessible while riding. I chose the rocker style switch because it matches the black instrument panel plastics. The size of the switch housing is conveniently equal to the size of a US nickel. I mounted the switch on the center fuel tank cover (part 44171-06G10-291, diagram 16$) rather than the dash side panels (part 94630-27G00-291, diagram 60$) because the difference in cost to replace either piece should I ever want to undo this project is about a 40$.

Install Steps

1. Modify the horn lead wire

   Transform the Suzuki horn wire into a suitable power lead. Our goal is to lengthen this power connector by a few feet. This picture illustrates how I removed the black plastic end casing, the shroud, and the crimped wire ends. I have also labeled the hot wire to distinguish it from the ground.

   

   I enjoy wiring and soldering, so I really took my time extending this power wire. This picture shows the red ground wire that came with the Symtec kit and a black wire extending the length. I used shrink wrap and a heat gun to cover my joints and encase the wires themselves.

   

2. Install the heating elements

   The most labor intensive part of this project is working with the rubber hand grips. I used a spray bottle of water and a few drops of dish soap to lubricate the handlebar and the hand grips. Do not use WD40 or any petroleum product on your hand grips, or they will not reseat during the reinstall. Remove both and clean the mounting surfaces with some rubbing alcohol to remove any glue residue left behind.

   Insulate the left handlebar with some electrical tape to help shield the metal handlebar from drawing some of your heat. I used a heat shrink wrap instead, and my left grip is now has a lump from this wrap shrinking unevenly. The choice is yours.

   Stick the heating elements in place and wrap them with some electrical tape. Use more tape than shown in this picture. The heating elements are abused a bit when reinstalling the rubber grips, and this amount of tape will not hold them securely.

   

3. Route wiring

   While planning this project, I was considering whether or not to open the factory wire looms that follow the handlebar to each grip. My idea was to completely conceal the new wires for a nice stealth install. I decided against this because the wires we are adding are easily hidden while following the existing wire and cable paths on the bike. I taped the new wires to the bottom of the hand control wire looms, and the power lead coming up from behind the radiator follows the path of a brake line. Everything is black, and it blends in nicely. Make sure you leave enough slack in your wiring for turning clearance. Rotate the handlebars from full left to full right to make sure the modification does not interfere with the bike’s steering.

4. Test time

   Turn the key to position one and turn on the grip heaters. Make sure they work before you mount the switch and reinstall the rubber.

   

5. Mount the switch

   The picture really tells the story here. As I mentioned earlier, the rocker switch is the same size as a nickel. I laid a nickel on the back side of this plastic piece and hit it with some spray paint really quick to create a pattern. I drilled holes around the circumference of this circle before punching out the center and smoothing the inside of the hole with sand paper.

   

6. Reinstall the rubber grips

   After you have verified that your installation is working properly, install the grips on top of your heating elements. I used soapy water once again, but I avoided using the grips again for 24 hours to let the water dry.

It’s hard to review something like this and be critical at all—heated grips are pure win. I love projects like this, and the heat is exactly what I needed to make my Pennsylvania winter rides more enjoyable. I hope my photos help you with your own project. As always, let me know how else I can help.

Dedicated to the Suzuki V-Strom

V-Strom Symtec heated grip install

Hell for Leather broke the story that has been confirmed by a Suzuki USA representative. The company is acting in its best interest during this rough economic time when motorcycle sales are down double digits compared to one year ago.

The 2010 V-Stroms are no different than the previous vintage. While available in different paint, the bikes are otherwise unaltered.

The 2010 V-Strom range comprises the V-Strom 1000, V-Strom 650 and V-Strom 650 ABS models, which Suzuki calls “the ultimate all-rounders”.

As the name suggests, they feature V-twin engines and new for the 2010 model year they also come with updated liveries: the V-Strom 1000 gets a new black get-up, while the V-Strom 650 also comes in black or orange colour schemes and the Anti-Lock Braking System-equipped gets differentiation with white colour scheme on top of the range-wide black.

Apart from the new colours and liveries, there’s no other changes for the V-Strom range, which is one of Australia’s best-selling adventure tourers. source

Dedicated to the Suzuki V-Strom

Suzuki plans no 2010 US imports

Unknown Riders in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia Canada

Brian R‘s DL650 parked in Seattle, Washington USA

Click the photos above to navigate to the actual locations via Google Maps.

Dedicated to the Suzuki V-Strom

V-Stroms on Google Street View

Changing the V-Strom 12 hour clock

1. Push the SEL and ADJ buttons simultaneously until the minute display blinks
2. Adjust the minute display by pressing the ADJ button
3. Press the SEL button to highlight the hour display
4. Adjust the hour display by pressing the ADJ button
5. Press the SEL button to resume clock mode

These instructions can be found in the DL owner’s manual.

Dedicated to the Suzuki V-Strom

How to: Adjust the V-Strom Clock

I was surprised that this particular protector covers almost the exact area of the OEM tank bra that I recently removed and sold to Michael in Georgia.

Here are a few pictures of the film in place before I removed the paper backing.

Here is a picture just after I installed the film. I used a spray bottle full of soapy water to wet the entire surface and slide the film into place. I am really glad I didn’t get the thicker kind with adhesive, because I had to back off and realign the cover a few times. It is very easy to remove and reapply.

I like this look a lot better, and this guard won’t hold dirt like the cloth tank bra did.

Dedicated to the Suzuki V-Strom

Fuel tank protector film installation