u/WarImaginary8272

​

My bike is a Suzuki V-Strom 1050XT and is an import from the UK. Likely from Northern Ireland. When I got it last October and drove from Tullamore to Dublin via country roads and it was raining at patches of the road, which annoyed me a bit because the bike had just been detailed.

Then I went through a few patches of wet manure and those stuck to the bike. I did wash most of it, specially from the metal parts, but have not valeted it yet. I will have it serviced in September and will book a valeting with the bike service. It's going to be expensive, I know.

Today, someone told me that the rust pattern is very likely to be from salt. This person said they use a lot of salt on roads in Northern Ireland. Is this true?

How can I mitigate the rust?

Is there any intercom options that would use discord to chat?

Idea is to be able to cross the bridge of proprietary mesh systems from Cardo or Sena, but also to be able to hear music/podcasts when riding and be able to take WhatsApp calls.

Bonus points for handlebar controls!

A few months ago I had a small accident and got the tip of the gear lever bent.

​

I took my bike to the closest shop and they said they could try bending it back in place, but gave me a disclaimer it could snap. I accepted the risk and asked them to do it. They said it didn't snap and I didn't give two thoughts about it later.

​

Yesterday, I was trying to install crash bars and noticed the below.

​

Yeah, I'll replace the lever eventually with either a second hand one or one from SW-Motech that bends the tip inwards.

​

I got some two-part epoxy glue to try and fix it in place, and am planning to add some steel wire for added tensile strength. Kind of like steel is added to concrete.

​

Has anyone done something like this?

​

​

Back in 2015, this happened to me. A small stone flung from a car ahead of me and damaged the housing of the water radiator.

I was in the middle of Los Pampas del Infierno, northern Argentina on my DL650 en route to the Atacama desert in Chile.

Picture this: stretches of road that run 20 to 30 km (12-ish to 20-ish miles), early May (fall in Southern Hemisphere). Incredibly boring road! Mind numbing, really.

And, as I adjusted my body, I felt my left foot slide on the peg. I looked down to see my leg drenched. It was not raining and I had not gone through anything that might've caused that.

I had not seen anyone in the last hour, on either side of the road and there was no hard shoulder. I stopped in the middle of the lane, put the hazards on and troubleshooted the situation. Found the bloody culprit.

I stayed in the middle of nowhere considering my options for about 10 minutes and decided to risk it, get back on the bike and try and make it to the next town.

I added water to the radiator and kept one eye on the road and one eye on the temperature gauge. It was cold and windy enough to keep the engine from overheating.

As the vegetation became more luscious, wind broke and temperature rose. Quick stop to let the engine cool down and add more water. This happened maybe three times.

In the next town, I got some 2-part epoxy clay and sealed the crack. Waited for about an hour for it to cure a bit. Perfect timing for chain maintenance and food.

I made it to Salta, Argentina, later that day always checking the temperature gauge and water level. No more issues. For how.

The next day, the bike died in the middle of the road. I think I was close to 5,000 m (over 16,000 ft), can't say for certain (last picture). One of the guys I met the day before helped me to stash the bike out of sight, get the GPS coordinates and I rode pillion to San Antonio de Los Cobres.

There, I found a couple of locals with a truck and paid US$100 to go back for my bike. We found it and drove back.

The next day, my bike still wouldn't start and the guys were on a schedule. They were not my friends and I was in a town with a minimum of structure. I thanked them for the help and bade them godspeed. They were taking a less ridden pass over the Andes into Chile.

About an hour after their departure, my bike started. I asked for a local mechanic and we could find nothing wrong with it.

The bike never failed me again. Ever.

When I got home, I took the bike to my trusted mechanic and he told me the impromptu radiator repair I did was very good and also couldn't figure out what could have happened for the bike to fail. I got a radiator grill that overlaps the region where the pebble did the damage.

When I sold the bike, I mentioned the repair and that I never had any other issues with it. The two part epoxy clay was still there, under the grill.

I'm thinking about taking the 2021 1050XT on a date next September for my big 5-0 milestone through the Pyrenees.

I found this article with a route that looks very interesting.

I know the V-Strom is not the most off road capable machine and that it can take more punishment than people give it credit for.

Of course I will need to do a lot of preparation and will upgrade the suspension ahead of the trip.

Any of the fellow Ireland and UK V-Strommers have done this before?

Finally took the plunge last night and got this skid plate.

Charlotte, my 2021 V-Strom 1050 XT, is actually the same colour of the link above and the new skid plate should be a easy slot in (after tighten a few screws) upgrade.

The skid plate is something I have been wanting to install for a while - even if I am not taking it off road right now.

I am considering which upgrade would be next - I'm between crash bars or auxiliary lights.

I live in Ireland and official sunset on Summer Solstice in Dublin is 9.57PM with twilight going until approximately 10.30PM. Over the next few months there will be plenty of day light.

Given it's Summer here, I'm thinking crash bars in July and auxiliary lights in August or September.

What do you think?

I'm looking at fitting these in my bike:
https://heedshop.eu/en_US/p/Crash-bars-for-Suzuki-V-Strom-1050/593

I would love to save on shipping and get the engine guard / bash plate / skid plate / belly pan at the same place.

Their options for engine guard filtered by "Suzuki" are:
https://heedshop.eu/en_US/c/Suzuki/37/1/default/1/searchquery/engine+guard

Would any of these options fit my bike?

The only other option that does not require selling a kidney I found is:
https://cosmo-accessories.com/products/suzuki/dl1050-v-strom-2020-2021/100-1805-skidplate-dl1050xt-vstrom-2020-2021-2022-2023-2024cosmo-accessories-%7Ccosmo-detail

My sister in law got herself a 2015 car with no display for CarPlay.

She is using her own phone for driving, which means she is taking her eyes from the road (which can be addressed with an already ordered mount) and the phone uses a lot more battery.

I know there are devices like this motorcycle unit that can have cameras and OBD sensors.

What are good units for cars?