| Givi Engine Bars | ||
| Givi Monolock Back Box | ||
| Powerbronze Bellypan | ||
| Scottoiler | ||
| Oxford Heated Grips | ||
| 16th Front Sprocket |
Important disclaimer: These guides are for your information only; I take no responsibility for you blowing up your bike or damaging your bike or equipment in any way. Please Contact me before reproducing this material elsewhere.
One of the first accessories I bought were the Givi Engine Guards. Protecting both the engine and the lower fairing they seemed the best of the engine guards available for the DL at the time.
With a matt black finish and clear instructions I had very little problems fitting them.
I will suggest having a friend nearby for that extra pair of hands to help them fit on. The set I had seemed to be slightly out and needed one bracket tight before stretching the other bracket into place.
There have been some report of vibrations from some engine guards, however I have experienced no problems myself.
Note: You may get a slight rattle from the join piece between the two bars. This double ended part fits into each bar to make sure they line up correctly and after some time this began to rattle even though the bolt below it was tight. To fix this I loosened the bolt below and placed some plastic tie wraps on the join part to act as a spacer or washer which when tightened later stopped the rattle.
The bars cover the lower part of the fairing also... I placed a small tie wrap at this joint and when the bolt was tightened it stopped the slight vibration. The top of the small black tie wrap can be seen here
The DL already has a perfect luggage rack on the back of the bike, however to fit my Givi top box I first had to remove the small rubber grip mat that was in place. You can chop this off like a butcher if you like or spend a few minutes with a small spray of oil and gently remove the rubber plugs so you can place it back on the bike later.
After removing the rubber mat there was a small step down in the middle of the metal rack. I first installed the Givi mounting plate into this. However I found when I tightened the fixing bolts to the rack the step down started to bend the Givi mounting plate slightly and made it difficult to CLICK the luggage box on.
To solve this problem I made a small thin spacer from a clear perspex sheet and placed this between the luggage mounting plate and the metal rack.
With this spacer in place I was able to tighten the Givi mounting enough so I would not have any problems. Since then I've had no worries and the box clicks on much easier.
The thin perspex plate used to step up the mounting plate. Holes were marked and drilled for the Givi rack. This shows which holes I used. The lower hole uses the existing hole in the Suzuki rack at the rear of the bike. The finished product, you would never know.
As all of most of you know by now the DL uses the same engine as the SV650s (2003 model+) so I thought of trying the SV bellypan to see if it would fit the DL as the mountings around the engine should be the same. With the help of the staff at Powerbronze.co.uk I was able to do this and copy some of the DL1000 look. Although I had some small changes I found the instructions to be clear and no problems with the fitting kit provided.
The initial fitting with the plastic coating left on so as not to scratch it. Checking the fit after the slight modifications. Once the fitting was sorted out, I added some black mesh to the inside of the plastics to finish the look. What the front plate looked like after the mesh was fitted. During the initial stages there were two main issues which I had a problem with. The overflow/breather hoses near the rear brake pedal and the side stand switch next to the gear leaver. The photos below show you clearly, the small pieces I had to remove to ensure a snug fit and no damge to the stand switch cabling.
Firstly I drilled the four corners of this small rectangle piece. This was to stop the hoses being kinked or pressed against the hot exhaust. Secondly, I had to remove a small area at the back left of the bellypan, as this was pressing against the engine block and side stand switch. This photo shows again the small piece of plastic I removed. As it was at the edge I was able to do most of this with a bench grinder. With the mesh fixed on I could fit the plastics again with the final product looking like this below.
The final product fitted. Some small graphics added to blend in with the bikes colours. Where the breather hoses are now. Note: I did have to bend the back left bracket in towards the centre of the bike when I had fitted the bellypan as it did not allow the gear lever to return back down after changing up a gear. When this was done the gear lever worked with no problems. Make sure you check the pedal and levers once you are finished to ensure you will have no probems whilst riding.
Having used scottoilers before I had no hessitation on fitting one to my DL. For anyone who has fitted one before the main issue to sort out is the vacume feed from the engine. This is the small tube which connects the scottoiler to the engine and when the engine is running, opens a small valve and lets the oil slowly drip out.
The picture shown here is the one I got from the Scottoiler website and shows the fitting for an '03 SV650. As the bikes are an identical engine I used that picture as a guide on fitting my one. Unfortunately the picture I have below are not as clear but the photo of the front cylinder shows you exactly the small rubber cap you must remove to place the L shape vacume feed.
I hope the information below will be of some help to you when fitting yours.
Where I mounted my scottoiler. In behind the Side panel away from dirt and accidental damage I used the supplied bracket and bolted it to the frame here This might give you a better look... I tried to keep the oil feed out of the way... ...so now it goes between the rear shock and the top mounting, loads of room... ...continue on down behind the swinging arm, and keep away from the exhaust... ...heres another pic showing where it went... ...now onto the swinging arm leaving a little slack for movement... ...if you clean the surface correctly you should be able to glue one of the tube holders onto the inside of the swinging arm so theres no need for loads of tie wraps... ...I used a slightly modified and shorter bracket and bolted it onto the inside of the swinging arm where it's threaded for a rear axle stand... ...finally some slight bending and turn to get it dropping the oil just onto the sprocket to spread out with each turn of the wheel. This is where you'll find the read vacume cap you'll need to remove if you are putting on the L piece. Not very clear but it may help you a little bit better As you have probably guessed by now lifting the tank would make this a lot easier..... This is the cap on the front cylinder and you can use this if you wish. I used the one on the rear however. I left a big loop on the vacume tube as I did not want to kink it... Then it's off down and across beside the battery... ...leave it with big enough turns, be sure not to bend it... ...the red line shows roughly where it goes behind the frame. Hope this make you job a little easier. I have set my oiler between 6 and 7 on the scale and drops every 30 seconds or so. This can depend on the weather and conditions of course.
I purchased my scottoiler on e-bay so keep an eye on that as you might get one a bit cheaper than the shops.
I had these hand grips from a previous bike and wanted to fit them again to the V-Strom. A permanent live feed is not essential as you only need them on when your riding right! And besides you don't want to arrive back to your bike sometime with warm hands but a flat battery.
After some investigation I found an ignition live under the seat and used that as a supply for my heated grips. To save the bikes electrics I used a relay to switch on the constant live I made directly from the bikes battery.
Then it was just a matter of hiding the wires up to the handle bars. Like some of the other add-ons I didn't take the photos when I was fitting them so sorry I don't have more detailed pics for you.
Where I mounted the switch on the clutch side, no prizes for guessing why! I just wrapped the cable up underneath the bars to keep it as neat as possible... ..the end result....
The last bike I had before the V-Strom was the Suzuki SV650s. When I made the change and got used to sitting up again I found it revving a little too high when cruising on the motorways. It seemed like the bike was in 5th gear all the time and needed to be changed up.
For this reason I got the front sprocket changed from a 15 tooth to a 16 tooth. Which gave me a gear ratio almost identical to the SV650s, see below.
SV650 SV650s DL650 std. DL650 changed Front Sprocket 15 15 15 16 Rear Sprocket 45 44 47 47 Ratio 3.0 2.933 3.133 2.937 I find it much better now and seems about 1000rpm down now when cruising on the motorways. My mpg hasn't changed much. I must be driving slight different now compared with before but the mpg isn't the reason I changed, and not why some other riders have changed either.
The figures below now show roughly what revs the engine is at doing the various speeds. All the figures are with the bike being in 6th gear.
miles/hr 50 60 70 80 90 Rpm 3,500 4,300 4,900 5,500 6,100 Note : These figures are approximate and were taken during a test on a private road. Do not speed on public roads, you risk your life and the life of others.
Sorry I don't have the exact model or product number for the sprocket changed as I had it done in a local workshop. You could alternatively change the back sprocket to a 44 to achieve the same result.
Anyone else done the same ??? - Let me know and I can post your views.
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