Help me spec a SV to a winter commuter

[Nobbylad]

I had the DL650 handguards last winter and they were good, but finger tips still got cold on account of them being on the underside of the grips and therefore exposed to wind still (for the record, I didn't have to modify the LH guard at all). I also bought the Symtec grip heaters which in my opinion, are superior to the heated grips as they're less bulky and allow you to retain the original grips and the rocker switch goes into the dash quite neatly.

Need to save up for the same things again methinks (sold the last lot when they wrote my bike off and before I decided to keep it).

[fastdruid]

Originally Posted by Son of a beesting

Do you think I should replace the seals or should they be ok as the bike is only 2 and half years old and has done 12000 miles?

I've never bothered to change my VFR ones and they have 74k (and 20 years) on them.

Just clean them up and make sure all the crud from behind them is removed and they'll be fine, use some red rubber grease (get from halfords or online) to help and prevent corrosion to the piston, use a smear of copperslip on the inside of the piston to prevent corrosion there and on the pad backs and pins to prevent squealing and seizing.

Which grease do people recommend for greasing brake/gear etc pivots?

Standard LM multi-purpose grease, again from halfords or online, you can mix a touch of molybdenium disulphide grease in with the LM as well but no real need.

Druid

[yorkie_chris]

Originally Posted by Son of a beesting

I was actually thinking I might rebuild my front caliper as although its not to bad at the mo might be a good idea to do a bit of preventative maintenance.

I did the rear a few months ago but not 100% happy with it, sometimes it seems to travel further than it should (the rear brake pedal that it). I think I might need to bleed it again.

Do you think I should replace the seals or should they be ok as the bike is only 2 and half years old and has done 12000 miles?

Which grease do people recommend for greasing brake/gear etc pivots?

Seals probably fine, but use some red rubber grease.

Either a PTFE dry lube like some chain lubes, or black moly, or even a light machine oil is fine if applied regularly.

Calipers depend on regular maintenence, better prevention than cure as it seems a set of calipers are never really the same once they have been allowed to sieze up the first time.

Originally Posted by Nobbylad

I had the DL650 handguards last winter and they were good, but finger tips still got cold on account of them being on the underside of the grips and therefore exposed to wind still (for the record, I didn't have to modify the LH guard at all). I also bought the Symtec grip heaters which in my opinion, are superior to the heated grips as they're less bulky and allow you to retain the original grips and the rocker switch goes into the dash quite neatly.

Need to save up for the same things again methinks (sold the last lot when they wrote my bike off and before I decided to keep it).

Can you provide a guide to how you fitted them?

[Nobbylad]

Originally Posted by Alpinestarhero

Can you provide a guide to how you fitted them?

The handguards or the grip heaters?

To be honest, both were the same, I just followed the instructions supplied

EDIT:

Quick guide for handguards...

- remove bar ends
- attach handguards
- some fiddling required on the bolts for the clutch and brake levers if I remember correctly, however I think it was just to replace the bolts with longer ones (which are provided with the guards)

I fitted the handguards in my lunch hour, in a dark underground car park using the bog standard toolkit.


Quick guide for heaters...

- remove existing grips (using hairdryer to ease the glue underneath).
- stick heaters on each handlebar
- reapply grips (using hairspray to help them slide on then stick on)
- wire into electrics (simples using instructions on splicing into live cable nr battery courtesy of Lozzo)
- drill hole in fairing inner panel (think I used a 22mm wood bit!)
- clip rocker switch in
- switch heaters on...toasty

T'was the heaters i wanted info on and you have provided

I might buy some and do away with the oxford crap grips once and for all.

[Viney]

Scotoiler running Blue oil not red
Handle bar muffs (yes they are obscene, but ever so toasty with heated grips fitted)
No screen is really going to save you, so just get a decent double bubble (Zero Gravity or Ffabri.
Wash the bike weekly
Clean the headlight after every trip
Make sure all the brakes n stuff are nice clean, servied and happy BEFORE the winter kicks in
WD40/ACF50/Old engine oil over the metal bits/Engine etc.
Warm jacket, torusers, thermals (EDZ stuff) electric socks! (never found a boot that keeps my feet warm, but hard enough not to have heated socks!! (Only 12 mile ride)

Originally Posted by Son of a beesting

Are the hand guards like the ones from the DL650 better than muffs?

I have also got some raincoat for my visor.

I went for the V-strom handguards for the main reason that Muffs had more chance of fouling the hands when being put in/out of Muffs , it was a personal choice , if I was hit from behind in traffic I felt that my hands would be able to come off my bars a lot quicker with hand guards .

Raincoat in my experience has been more of a pain than any help at all , when you get in at night , wash your visor in water with a tiny dab of Washing Liquid . You are gonna find a lot of people telling you how to clean Visors to avoid scratching etc , in 17 years I have never scratched a visor and I wash mine by rinsing in Water , dab of liquid , rub my fingers over the visor gently to remove crud , then turn Hot Water on , dab of more liquid and rinse it all off . When it has rained , I just use the forefinger of my glove and give a sideways wipe , it has never scratched in any bad way but I did have some concerns over small sleeks and micro scratches , I took it into a dealers who looked at it and they said "I wouldn`t replace that at all , looks ok to me" .

+1 for thin gloves inside another set . I have a set of Crane Sport Aldi cycling Gloves , they kept my hands warmer again on a very savage day and kept the Badgeress a bit happier one time when we were travelling very late at night in the Summer even .

RE: handgaurds

I have taken my handgaurds off my SV, I found I couldnt get to full lock properly when turning the handlebars right. I'm back with the muffs, and my hands are warmer

I will look into amending the hand gaurds though, or trying something else, that wont foul against the fairing (i have a 1999 curvy S)

[Nobbylad]

Originally Posted by Alpinestarhero

Can you provide a guide to how you fitted them?