It’s May and I’ve got a break in work coming up so I have decided to put the V-Strom through its paces and go on a long trip. I’m not really much of a planner, so using the back of a postage stamp I have made a list – which is the Lake District, Wales and then Essex – and then whatever happens after (or before) that is a bonus.
But first things first – I needed to prep the bike and do some serious tweaking. This included:
1. Oil and filter change.
2. Have new tyres fitted and balanced. The bike already had Metzeler Tourance tyres, and as much as I was tempted to go for a set of road tyres – like Bridgestones or Mitchelin’s, I thought I would give another set of tourances a go to see how they ride and how long they last.
3. Change the daytime-running lamps for new ones – as the previous lights had started to leak water and one of them was a bit intermittent.
4. Fit a new auxiliary fuse-box with a relay for my sat-nav and heated grips. The fuse-box is situated in the small tool-tray next to the battery. Having this means that when I turn off the ignition and remove the key, the relay will cut off the power to the electrical items.
5. Fit a lead from the fuse-box to the top-box. Inside the top-box I have fitted a USB charging port plus a 12v to 230 volt inverter, because while I am on the road I want to be able to charge my laptop and iPad. The top-box seems like the obvious solution.
And, off we jolly-well go…
