My winter project
Posted: 15 Mar 2010, 06:47
I posted this over on stromtrooper.com (http://www.stromtrooper.com/showthread. ... post529580) but figured I would post on here. Bought the vstrom dl650 last fall bone stock, she is now ready for some long range trips I have planed the summer
Ok well maybe no welding occurred but hey figured considering how long it has taken me to get this far I would share my bike build. Came up with a few ideas, stole some and hey had a crap load of fun. So let me to this with pictures and see what everyone thinks
So first off electrical, where a lot of my work resides. I plan on using this bike for a lot of touring so wanted a conferable bike with loads of accessories. First off http://www.easternbeaver.com is your friend for electrical kits for the wee. Personally I am good at wiring and could make up a lot of the kits but these kits where clean, nicely built and just buy and go idea. Its well worth the cash. but before I can add any kits I needed to add a pc8 block to the bike. My biggest issue here is the dam bump in the tray under the seat is annoying. There have been several solutions on here but none seamed what I was looking for so I got a little creative. My brother is a tool and die guy so has access to some interesting scrap material form his workplace. He has these reason blocks that are very hard shown below.
Decided this could be milled into something useful and below is what I came up with.
I used Velcro to attach the block to the bike so it can be quickly removed. Canadian tire sells 2 kids of Velcro, one standard and one they say is industrial grade heavy stuff. Well heavy grade it is and to be honest its darn strong so it ends up getting used a bit in my bike. Ease of maintenance and disassembly are big things to me so hey last thing I need is to cut wires when connectors could have been used in the first place. Here is the pc8 in the bike.
As you can see the relay for the pc8 is on the side of the block with Velcro. Again easy to remove is needed. 3 holes cut in the front of the tray for running wires through.
Next lights, well we all know that the wee is not blessed with power so needed to be careful. So 2 55watt lights where just not useful to me, but the led solutions are interesting. I found 2 that I liked, first the Denali solution and very bright and would need some other led lights for running lights. Want to set up the triangle pattern all the time and then extra lights for night rids in the middle of no ware. I don't like out of the city at night but its happened so rather be ready. The second solution and one I can use for both purposes is the 1/3watt ones here http://www.plasmaled.com/high_power_module.htm . So since these where a hell of a lot cheaper and used successfully by several here and on adv I ordered up 4 1 watt ones. DOH meant to get 2 1 watt and 2 3watt ones, but o well I will order some 3 watt ones soon enough. The 1 watt for running 24/7 needed to be mounted low which means custom brackets. Some have used aluminum L brackets modified for the task but decided the look just was not for me. So I went to princess auto near me and found a set of 55 watt driving lights to have some fun with. Found a set for 20$ and had a little fun with the mill and produced the following.
So thought that turned out very nicely for running to be seen all the time. So on comes the next task, the aux lights for night time running, most get that aux light bar but something just did not appeal to me for some odd reason, I wanted something different and more out of the way. Well I spend a while looking over the front of the bike for sports, I did find nice light mounts for adding lights to crash bars but then that would get i the way for the highway pegs (seen later). After lots of looking I found on the top radiator mounts, a hole in each mount which could be used to mount something so off to work I went. Some aluminum flat bar and copying the idea of another member of cutting a hole for the light to fit through. I did not glue it but use screws as seen in the below pic's. Took a bit of trial and error to get the brackets cut right but once in it was well worth it. So here are the pic's.
[hr]
And of course I had to give a pic of the lights. Now they are all 1 watt lights but the top ones will be 3 watt ones when they arrive and should do what I require. Now I am not sure I will upgrade the stock lights to hid or just better bulbs. something tells me the better bulbs may be the better way.
Well all these lights and other accessories require switches so hey went with those nice rocket light up switches on eastern beaver. Tho I will note I added a abs kill switch from eastern beaver, don't get the standard light up rocket switch that has a red light when the switch is live as it pulls its power from the actual line it switches. This means that even with the switch itself not powered from the pc8 block (these switches require there own power source) that is the switch is on the red light is on DOH. so it drains the battery when the abs is engaged. I will be ordering a new switch from eastern beaver that only lights up when the switch has power, ie 1 light not 2. Here is a link so people know what I am taking about http://www.easternbeaver.com/Main/Elec_ ... tches.html. Besides the switches I also added 2 12 volt automotive outlets, some will ask why not the powerlet ones, well lets face I have nothing that uses that. The satellite radio has a automotive plug and so dose the air compressors I have for my tool kit. Again All from eastern beaver (I should put a eastern beaver sticker on the side of my bike lol, also nice that the guy running the show there is Canadian). So here is how I mounted the switches and outlets, again all running to the pc8.
Also you can see the oxferd heated grips controller mounted, originally thought that was a unique position tell I found someone else mounted it there with the stock brackets. O well can't win them all I guess, but still the best spot for the thing in my eyes. Ok so here is a pic below of the console. I mounted the gps with the bracket made by Strombone and the shortest ram arm I could find (http://www.stromtrooper.com/showthread.php?t=41290). that's a garmin nuvi 550 with there motorcycle cradle and wiring kit. The left is a satellite radio in a ram box. the cradle is prenatally in the box, I just remove the unit itself when I leave. To the right of the gps you can see the satellite receiver for the satellite radio unit, again permeant on the bike. I also on this forums found a nice volt meter that I mounted on the right handle bars neatly tucked out of the way. I did seal up the wiring on the back with black goop to cover the screwers and such incase of weather. You can also see the vstream windscreen on there, I am loving this product, it seams very effective so far.
Ok so I did say oxferd heated grips, I used there newer sports model which have a different grip then the standard version shown below. I left the inner lip of plastic from the stock grips there so the nep suzuki throttle lock worked now on this bike and to me is very nice. Quick thumb and the thing is locked and I can stretch a hand. I also have the Cruise Control on the bars, trust me if you don't have it get one they are really nice to have on any bike. I think my throttle control has really been improved with the thing.
Ok next I got givi bags the other day the e41 and e45. I decided on the standard givi side racks and the Adventure MotoStuff metal givi top rack. The MotoStuff plate is adjustable and seams very solid compared to the standard givi plate. I also like the extra hard points built into the plate for straps. Great if I need to strap anything down. And yes before anyone asks that's a Sergeant seat there as well and I LOVE IT
[hr]
In the last picture you can see the led replacement bulbs from http://www.superbrightleds.com/ they are much better then the stock lights in my opinion. I also added them to the signal lights, nope no relay so the blink fast. But they are easily seen to be blinking still so have not done the relay yet. I also have lights for the e41 on the way form http://www.admorelighting.com . again another Canadian company, so hoping that covers making the rear and sides much more visible besides reflective tape (some may have noticed reflective tape on crash bars)
Next the highway pegs, I picked up the ones from twisted throttle (http://www.twistedthrottle.com/trade/productview/4665/) So far I am looking these. Since none on here seamed to mount them I added a few pics below showing these suckers off
I also added the mega tool tube which can be found in the group buy sections. I fits nicely with almost no room to spare so great use of space and is good at at least taking out that gap where the dl1000 exhaust would be.
Now not going over the standard components as hey everyone got a crash guard and skid plate but they are easily seen in the pictures. But ya most of the work on this bike so far has been electrical. I am basically done the electrical work, she is ready for touring, tho I think I will start looking at maybe a break upgrade and the front suspension (springs at least I am big buy so she nose dives a lot). But the bike is ready for the season at least and that's for next year winter. So I hope people enjoyed this, any comments or questions are welcome
Ok well maybe no welding occurred but hey figured considering how long it has taken me to get this far I would share my bike build. Came up with a few ideas, stole some and hey had a crap load of fun. So let me to this with pictures and see what everyone thinks
So first off electrical, where a lot of my work resides. I plan on using this bike for a lot of touring so wanted a conferable bike with loads of accessories. First off http://www.easternbeaver.com is your friend for electrical kits for the wee. Personally I am good at wiring and could make up a lot of the kits but these kits where clean, nicely built and just buy and go idea. Its well worth the cash. but before I can add any kits I needed to add a pc8 block to the bike. My biggest issue here is the dam bump in the tray under the seat is annoying. There have been several solutions on here but none seamed what I was looking for so I got a little creative. My brother is a tool and die guy so has access to some interesting scrap material form his workplace. He has these reason blocks that are very hard shown below.
Decided this could be milled into something useful and below is what I came up with.
I used Velcro to attach the block to the bike so it can be quickly removed. Canadian tire sells 2 kids of Velcro, one standard and one they say is industrial grade heavy stuff. Well heavy grade it is and to be honest its darn strong so it ends up getting used a bit in my bike. Ease of maintenance and disassembly are big things to me so hey last thing I need is to cut wires when connectors could have been used in the first place. Here is the pc8 in the bike.
As you can see the relay for the pc8 is on the side of the block with Velcro. Again easy to remove is needed. 3 holes cut in the front of the tray for running wires through.
Next lights, well we all know that the wee is not blessed with power so needed to be careful. So 2 55watt lights where just not useful to me, but the led solutions are interesting. I found 2 that I liked, first the Denali solution and very bright and would need some other led lights for running lights. Want to set up the triangle pattern all the time and then extra lights for night rids in the middle of no ware. I don't like out of the city at night but its happened so rather be ready. The second solution and one I can use for both purposes is the 1/3watt ones here http://www.plasmaled.com/high_power_module.htm . So since these where a hell of a lot cheaper and used successfully by several here and on adv I ordered up 4 1 watt ones. DOH meant to get 2 1 watt and 2 3watt ones, but o well I will order some 3 watt ones soon enough. The 1 watt for running 24/7 needed to be mounted low which means custom brackets. Some have used aluminum L brackets modified for the task but decided the look just was not for me. So I went to princess auto near me and found a set of 55 watt driving lights to have some fun with. Found a set for 20$ and had a little fun with the mill and produced the following.
So thought that turned out very nicely for running to be seen all the time. So on comes the next task, the aux lights for night time running, most get that aux light bar but something just did not appeal to me for some odd reason, I wanted something different and more out of the way. Well I spend a while looking over the front of the bike for sports, I did find nice light mounts for adding lights to crash bars but then that would get i the way for the highway pegs (seen later). After lots of looking I found on the top radiator mounts, a hole in each mount which could be used to mount something so off to work I went. Some aluminum flat bar and copying the idea of another member of cutting a hole for the light to fit through. I did not glue it but use screws as seen in the below pic's. Took a bit of trial and error to get the brackets cut right but once in it was well worth it. So here are the pic's.
[hr]And of course I had to give a pic of the lights. Now they are all 1 watt lights but the top ones will be 3 watt ones when they arrive and should do what I require. Now I am not sure I will upgrade the stock lights to hid or just better bulbs. something tells me the better bulbs may be the better way.
Well all these lights and other accessories require switches so hey went with those nice rocket light up switches on eastern beaver. Tho I will note I added a abs kill switch from eastern beaver, don't get the standard light up rocket switch that has a red light when the switch is live as it pulls its power from the actual line it switches. This means that even with the switch itself not powered from the pc8 block (these switches require there own power source) that is the switch is on the red light is on DOH. so it drains the battery when the abs is engaged. I will be ordering a new switch from eastern beaver that only lights up when the switch has power, ie 1 light not 2. Here is a link so people know what I am taking about http://www.easternbeaver.com/Main/Elec_ ... tches.html. Besides the switches I also added 2 12 volt automotive outlets, some will ask why not the powerlet ones, well lets face I have nothing that uses that. The satellite radio has a automotive plug and so dose the air compressors I have for my tool kit. Again All from eastern beaver (I should put a eastern beaver sticker on the side of my bike lol, also nice that the guy running the show there is Canadian). So here is how I mounted the switches and outlets, again all running to the pc8.
Also you can see the oxferd heated grips controller mounted, originally thought that was a unique position tell I found someone else mounted it there with the stock brackets. O well can't win them all I guess, but still the best spot for the thing in my eyes. Ok so here is a pic below of the console. I mounted the gps with the bracket made by Strombone and the shortest ram arm I could find (http://www.stromtrooper.com/showthread.php?t=41290). that's a garmin nuvi 550 with there motorcycle cradle and wiring kit. The left is a satellite radio in a ram box. the cradle is prenatally in the box, I just remove the unit itself when I leave. To the right of the gps you can see the satellite receiver for the satellite radio unit, again permeant on the bike. I also on this forums found a nice volt meter that I mounted on the right handle bars neatly tucked out of the way. I did seal up the wiring on the back with black goop to cover the screwers and such incase of weather. You can also see the vstream windscreen on there, I am loving this product, it seams very effective so far.
Ok so I did say oxferd heated grips, I used there newer sports model which have a different grip then the standard version shown below. I left the inner lip of plastic from the stock grips there so the nep suzuki throttle lock worked now on this bike and to me is very nice. Quick thumb and the thing is locked and I can stretch a hand. I also have the Cruise Control on the bars, trust me if you don't have it get one they are really nice to have on any bike. I think my throttle control has really been improved with the thing.
Ok next I got givi bags the other day the e41 and e45. I decided on the standard givi side racks and the Adventure MotoStuff metal givi top rack. The MotoStuff plate is adjustable and seams very solid compared to the standard givi plate. I also like the extra hard points built into the plate for straps. Great if I need to strap anything down. And yes before anyone asks that's a Sergeant seat there as well and I LOVE IT
[hr]In the last picture you can see the led replacement bulbs from http://www.superbrightleds.com/ they are much better then the stock lights in my opinion. I also added them to the signal lights, nope no relay so the blink fast. But they are easily seen to be blinking still so have not done the relay yet. I also have lights for the e41 on the way form http://www.admorelighting.com . again another Canadian company, so hoping that covers making the rear and sides much more visible besides reflective tape (some may have noticed reflective tape on crash bars)
Next the highway pegs, I picked up the ones from twisted throttle (http://www.twistedthrottle.com/trade/productview/4665/) So far I am looking these. Since none on here seamed to mount them I added a few pics below showing these suckers off
I also added the mega tool tube which can be found in the group buy sections. I fits nicely with almost no room to spare so great use of space and is good at at least taking out that gap where the dl1000 exhaust would be.
Now not going over the standard components as hey everyone got a crash guard and skid plate but they are easily seen in the pictures. But ya most of the work on this bike so far has been electrical. I am basically done the electrical work, she is ready for touring, tho I think I will start looking at maybe a break upgrade and the front suspension (springs at least I am big buy so she nose dives a lot). But the bike is ready for the season at least and that's for next year winter. So I hope people enjoyed this, any comments or questions are welcome