Mods for commuting

[biglad]

After many years on an old BMW R100 I have bought myself a new L2 model VStrom. I am going to use the bike for commuting (35 mile round trip) every day all year round - except icy weather.

From your experience what mods would be sensible to do? I am going to get front mudguard extender, rear hugger, engine bars, centre stand. Is a bash plate necessary?

I also need a decent sized topbox for my gear - 40-45litres or so should do the job.

Is an automatic chain oiler worth doing? Which models are good?

Have I missed anything?

Where is a good place to get them from and what makes/models are good?

Thanks in advance for suggestions.

Ben

[Engel]

I find hand guards and heated grips are always good.  Though from experience I'd shy away from the Suzuki made ones.

[Strommer]

Muffs.

[frez]

Careful with your selection of engine bars, some are known to give you vibrations through the handlebars due to harmonics. Personally if I were to get a new one I'd go for crash bungs instead.

PD Oiler (or mini version) for the chain oiler.

Heated grips.

Barn door sized screen for the winter.

Handguards (Barkbusters are probably the strongest but also hideously expensive).

Handlebar muffs.

[kissofdeath]

don't forget to check the forum pages for discounts especially pd oiler
oh and  

[frez]

Other stuff to consider...

Headset with built in radio to relieve the boredom and keep you informed on traffic problems.

Helmet camera to help with any insurance issues if you have an accident.

The best waterproof clothing with removable liners for summer use that you can afford.

Visor with pinlock insert.

Spare pair of gloves so you have dry ones whilst others are drying.

Extra hi-viz lights for the front of the bike.

Tyres that work well in the wet (they all work good enough in the dry)

A roll of paper towels in your top box for cleaning of your headlights and brake lights.

ACF50 for treating the bike to help prevent corrosion.

[Mick 85]

Mirror extenders - you need to see what's behind you !

[mr_diver]

In this order for me:
Engine bars
Bash plate
Topbox, I'd go for a Givi or coocase
Hand guards. Suzuki ones are OK for weather protection but snap in an off.
Heated grips. Suzuki ones are crap. And make sure thay are fitted with a relay so you can't leave them on and flatten your battery
Madstad or adjustable screen for use when the weather changes.
Maybe handlebar muffs.
And as good a set of gear that can be worn year round as mentioned.
Chain oiler is handy but I end up forgeting about the chain when it comes to maintanace and I most likely don't get the same lifespan from a chain as someone who religously cleans and oils the chain.

[frez]

A bash plate for commuting, where are you commuting?  

[PHIL FAT]

hi and    all of the above

[MartinW]

A change of screen - There are options, so read through the forum on the suggestions above.

Aprilia Mirrors on Extenders.

Pop over to Introductions and say hello properly.

[nelmo]

I bought the 650GT which came with the Suzuki bits - top-box, handguards, heated grips and centre-stand. All have been fine and are still going strong. The heated grips seems fine to me but I've only had them once before on a bike so not much to compare against.

I've added the mudguard extender, a larger Givi screen and a Scottoiler - the last one is essential IMO, especially if you're a lazy git like me.  

I have one set of textile clothing which I wear all year. Just make sure they both have removable thermal layers and, most importantly, have Gore-Tex linings (nothing else is waterproof in my experience). My boots and gloves also have Gore-Tex and I have one spare set of summer gloves (non-Gore-Tex) with lots of vents, for days like we're having now.

I've also bought a cheap-ish Bluetooth headset (£80 off eBay), mainly for the music from my phone. Loud enough up to 60mph, after that, certain songs are fine up to 90mph but others are inaudible.

If you're going to be doing a lot of miles, and once you're out of warranty, you might want to consider doing your own servicing, which means tools etc - but that's a whole other ball game  

[biglad]

Thanks for these suggestions...much appreciated. I've had a look online and motorcycle planet have the 52l case and the plate for c£250.

Heed (a Polish outfit from what I gather) will do enginebars, bashplate and centrestand for £340 delivered or centrestand and engine bars for £210. The bashplate will protect the underside but maybe ott for my use?? Has anybody used his stuff? Did it fit OK?

PD oiler sounds good and will use the forum discount.....ta for that.

Radiator guard is probably worth buying too....

I'll get a set of handguards definitely- but will wait till the winter gets closer.

When I'm out of warranty I plan to do servicing myself. I quite enjoy tinkering with cars and bikes. I spent many a happy day tinkering with the R100

Its easy to get carried away with all this stuff!!

[loggamatt]

Ha... yep! Don't want to think about how much money I've spent on mods... Can become an addiction. I'm stopping now, and if I buy another bike I will be more selective with mods next time.

[willbo]

Handguards (Barkbusters are probably the strongest but also hideously expensive).

Handlebar muffs.

I have just bought a pair of these as my oem ones got pretty badly scuffed over 3 years. looking at the pics and the web they fit straight on and are a lot cheaper than genuine Suzuki ones



image borrowed from another vstrom forum, hope that's OK

[carlos]

I got those  hand guards  on my bike ...   need it to  fiddle a bit on the throtle side ,but they fit alright ...  got the  urbano muffs and heated grips , best combination  (caribean blood  so always cold for me )
 Suzuki top box /rad guard /bash plate / fenderextender /  and made up  highway pegs .  good on long motorway runs  and a flask tube .

[Juvecu]

I used to do ~185 mile round trip daily and my list looks similar to frez's.

If I had to do it all over again I'd work to this list again (compiled through experience over 70k+ miles in 3 years):

Must have items:
Handguards (currently have Polisport Sharp guards as shown above)
Heated grips
Bar muffs (in the winter)
PD Oiler (I have the normal version, but the Mini is just as good)
Madstad screen bracket
Aprilia Tuono Mirrors
Mirror extenders (that move them more outwards than up)
55 litre Givi Maxia top box

Nice to have items:
Mudguard extender
Better headlight bulbs (I use amber Phillips MotoVision bulbs)
Crash bars (just in case)
Fork gaiters
Fork brace (helps a lot in windy conditions, almost a must have)

Gear for yourself and misc items:
2 pairs of gloves
two piece waterproof suit (this really helps helps in winter, both with the cold, the wet and to keep your other gear clean and salt free)
something to keep your neck warm without restricting your movement (my textiles have a high collar and in the winter I use 2x buffs too)
Pinlock!
Something to clean your visor with
Something to clean your lights with (don't forget your rear light, leave your number plate as dirty as you can )
Carry spare keys and alarm fob and such in a hidden jacket pocket
Carry spare ear plugs (in fact, always wear ear plugs, it helps with fatigue, it's dangerous being tired, falling asleep on a bike is terrifying (don't ask... ))
Make sure you have sunglasses/internal sun visor/dark visor that is kept in your top box in the lighter months so that you are never without it
Some way to temporarily plug a tyre and inflate it (search "Tyre Plug Kit" and "Airman pump" on the forums)
Tyre pressure gauge (just a cheapy one will do, as long as it's reliable)
Small can of WD40 for things that should be moving, but aren't (also good to start fires with )
Mini roll of duct tape and some cable ties for things that are moving, but shouldn't
Superglue to mend that cut finger/hand/etc.
Vynil gloves (Who wants dirty hands in their gloves? Keep them clean if you have to do something at the road side.)

I don't carry spare bulbs, the front and the rear has 2 each already and it's unlikely both will fail at the same time, just check them regularly.

[frez]

Spare key is a good one, except in my case it is a spare top box key in a pocket in my jacket after locking my keys in my topbox accidentally.

Juv's list reminded me of another item I carry, a small container of alcohol based hand sanitiser gel; works great at unfreezing locks.

[nelmo]

Superglue to mend that cut finger/hand/etc.

Are you sure??!    I'm sure it says 'avoid contact with skin' on the bottle - is this some sort of Bear Grylls survival technique?  

[Oop North John]

Superglue to mend that cut finger/hand/etc.

Are you sure??!    I'm sure it says 'avoid contact with skin' on the bottle - is this some sort of Bear Grylls survival technique?  

AFAIK super glue was designed as an alternative to sewing together bits of skin, problem being that it was carcinogenic.