New V-Strom owner ... hmm :(

[Castaway]

Well, I'm making the transition from my much-loved Superhawk to something a bit more ... comfortable for the long ride two-up, a 2003 V-Strom 1000. I picked it up on Friday from a seller about 60 miles away. The bike is real clean, has about 21K on it, and sold at a good price. But, by the time I got home I realized that the bike may have some problems. Accelerating in 1st gear I feel excessive vibration at a about 3 grand, and at idle I hear and feel knocking in the motor.

All my casual reading about this bike/motor (both the Strom and the SV) has been fairly positive, at least no major complaints. In fact I could swear that I've read that laudatory term 'bullet proof' used to describe its motor. But, following up on my concerns I've come to find that the Strom has a case of the 'chudders.' Apparently it's got problems with the clutch basket that sends vibrations through the motor. Here is a long thread about possible fixes: http://www.vstrom.info/Smf/index.php/topic,11745.0.html

I'm curious if anyone here has this experience and what you did to resolve it, if anything. I'm concerned that the clutch vibration will spread wear-n-tear to the main bearings and other, more minor, parts.

[kewwig]

They are a chuddery motor like most large capacity V twins.  The fuelling is quite lean under 4,000 rpm, which doesn't help. Some owners have had issues with backfiring through the airbox and stalling as well.  The first thing I'd look at at those miles is making sure the throttle bodies are synced and plugs replaced, as if they are out, it'll make things rougher.

I had the 650 as I tried both the 650 and DL1K and thought the smaller motor was far smoother.

Have a look at Dale Walker's site (Holeshot) if things don't improve.  There's a lot of happy owners (he has helped me with surging on my Bandit 1250)

[Castaway]

Thanks kewwig,

I'm used to 'big twins,' having ridden a Superhawk for the last decade - this is more than the vibration from a twin, it literally rattles the fairing. It appears to be a fairly well documented flaw in the Suzuki twin. Apparently some changes were made to the clutch basket in '05, so I'm looking to see if that resolved the issue.

I'm definitely going to sync the throttle bodies when I get a chance - I'm looking forward to seeing how this bike runs when it's running right.  

[stromgal]

My idle-knocking, chuddering Strom just turned 90k.  Run it above that problematic rpm, or you could choose to pay to have the clutch basket modification done by one of two VSRI forum folks who are offering the service:

http://www.vstrom.info/Smf/index.php/board,17.0.html

[chornbe]

You know how I know I've never owned a 'Strom? 'cause I've never heard the term "chuddering" before. Ya'll are just making shit up, now, to prove you're in the cool kids club. So just stop it!  

[forester]

34k w/650 so far: trouble free other than typical consumables...I am just finally getting to the clutch cable change out...

Stromgal probably knows the 1k back and forth...I would check out that clutch basket issue if I were you.

[satxbonneville]

Welcome to the club! I've owned my '03 for 14 months now and I love the beast. Yep, the engine makes all sorts of noises that my other bikes don't make and it does shudder and chudder between 3-4K but it pulls like a freight train above 4K and makes for a really nice long-distance mount that does quite well in the curvy sections, too.  

Lots of good info at this site: http://www.stromtrooper.com/

[Castaway]

Thanks for all  the input, y'all.

Part of my initial trepidation (?) has to with the Strom being such a different bike from anything I've ever owned before: I'm not used to my feet being in front of me and my hands up at chest level. Aside from the chudder it needs TB syncing done as the RPMs drift up/down and it backfires occasionally .... even stalls now and then. These things combined make the chudder that much worse.

Apparently the 650 doesn't suffer from the bad vibes, BTW, and maybe there was a clutch basket redesign in '05 that may correct things.

I am loving the bike's ability to absorb the crappy roads in NYC, I must say. Maybe I'll get used to the size of the bike and start loving it all around, or maybe it'll be just a bike I tried and moved on from.

While I have you, has anyone switched out the bars to something more forward? If so, do you know what bars did the trick for you? And, has anyone rearset the pegs a bit? I'll ask over at VSRI and Stromtrooper, but if anyone here has some knowledge to pass along I'd sure appreciate it.

[stromgal]

The reason the pegs are where they are is for riding standing up. The bar/peg relationship and the narrowness at the back of the tank make it the most comfortable 'standing' bike I've ever ridden. Really helpful not only for crappy road surfaces but also for giving your rear end a break; I ride standing up mile after mile during long trips.

[Castaway]

The reason the pegs are where they are is for riding standing up. The bar/peg relationship and the narrowness at the back of the tank make it the most comfortable 'standing' bike I've ever ridden. Really helpful not only for crappy road surfaces but also for giving your rear end a break; I ride standing up mile after mile during long trips.

I guess that shows my lack of experience on a 'dual sport' bike.

Now I'm working on cooling down what appears to be an overly hot motor (4 bars), and syncing the throttle bodies. Kinda fun. I like the little 'buttons' Suzuki uses to connect fairing parts. There's more room to get ones hands in out of the motor, being that this bike isn't designed to be compact and sporty.

[shil]

I've got an SV1K, which I guess has kinda sorta the same engine. A throttle position sensor adjustment smoothed my bike out a lot. Maybe try that?

[Castaway]

I've got an SV1K, which I guess has kinda sorta the same engine. A throttle position sensor adjustment smoothed my bike out a lot. Maybe try that?

Yeah, I've been thinking about that, too, though for right now I'm just trying to get in shape for the weekend ride. Is the TPS adjustment easily done? If you happen to have a link to the procedure I'd appreciate it - I don't have a service manual at this point.

[garry]

Yeah, the 1K has some issues to sort out that the 650 does not, but the fixes are well-known. The Stroms are a blank canvas for you to tweak into your vision of a Swiss Army Chainsaw.

BTW: I've heard and experienced clutch "chudder" on the Subaru Impreza 2.5RS that I had for almost 10 years. I think that term may have even been in the tech bulletin from Subaru.

[shil]

Yeah, I've been thinking about that, too, though for right now I'm just trying to get in shape for the weekend ride. Is the TPS adjustment easily done? If you happen to have a link to the procedure I'd appreciate it - I don't have a service manual at this point.

It's easy enough but you'll need a 'security' torx driver.  I can't link to the SV forum here at work, but there's a sticky in the Tech section at http://www.sv-portal.com.  

It made a huge difference on my bike.

[Castaway]

Thanks for the link, shil - very helpful.

[Castaway]

I did some weekend prep work on the bike this past week, syncing the TBs to get rid of the drifting RPMs, and hopefully the occasional backfiring. I really appreciate how easy it was to take off the fairing side panels. The plastic 'buttons' seem to hold things pretty snug and are easily removed/installed. I'll get a pic up after this weekend's outing.

[Castaway]

Okay, so I'm getting a little more accustomed to my new ride. It's certainly great to ride New York's mine field for streets and not worry about be jarred to pieces. The throttle body sync helped tons - next I'll check the secondary butterflies to see if that quells the rare backfire. I have yet to deal with the hot engine, running 4 bars hot even in 70 degree temps. (If you have experience/knowledge regarding this I'd appreciate hearing it.)

I may install lower, more forward bars in the near future, but what's really bugging me is the buffeting from the windshield. I'm 6'2" and my helmet is in dirty air. Has anyone here installed a Laminar Lip? Worth the $$? I'm also contemplating cutting down a WS, or buying a smaller after market WS - I'd rather have clean air than noisy buffeting.

[Bad Dad]

I'm 6'1" and after cutting down and ventilating a stock screen I now run no screen, doesn't look the greatest but it's the least noisy solution for me.

[garry]

I had a Laminar Lip on the stock screen. Seemed to help. I also added the Madstad bracket.

[Castaway]

Thanks guys. Quite a collection you have there, Bad Dad. I didn't know the DL 1000 was in your past, Garry. Good to see that there's still sportiness after V-Strom ownership.