A Sidecar Rig in the garage, once again....

She who remains to be named, though I am leaning towards Yoshie which means "Beautiful Stream" in Japanese, has been mated to the hack.

For you who don't know, Suzuki named this model motorcycle the V-Strom.  V is the V Twin Engine type and Strom is German for Stream.  Why a Japanese company elected a German name for its motorcycle, I have no idea.

I finished mating her to the Dauntless sidecar this evening, took me less time in terms of the mounting hardware, the hard part ironically was the electrical connections between the sidecar and the tug.  Note to self, if you don't have a good ground, you are going to have weird symptoms and stuff won't work right.

The present chain on the tug is an RK 525 with a tensile strength of 8800 lbs.  I ordered a Sidewinder 525 chain, their "Extreme Performance" model which has a tensile strength of 16000 lbs, it's twice the price of a regular chain but I think it'll be worth it.  It should be here at the end of the week, I'll put it on this weekend and keep the present chain as an emergency spare I guess.

I may buy new sprockets as well if the dealer has them though to my amateur drive-chain motorcycle eyes, the ones that came with the new tug look pretty good.  I am trying to find out when the previous owner last changed sprockets, if recently, then maybe I won't swap them out when I swap the chain.

Here she is, sorry but it was late when I took the picture and the light in the garage sucks for photographs.

Goodbye Vikki, Hello ???

This past Friday, I took time from work and headed down to the salvage yard where Vikki, my 2004 Suzuki V-Strom, ended up after being evaluated a "total loss" by the insurance company.

A bit sad that she was not worth repairing but it was good to get the decision from them which allowed me to move on.

Anyways, I went to the salvage yard to recover some items that didn't come with the motorcycle. Got there, got the insurance rep to clear me in with the salvage yard security folks and with tools that I brought with me I reclaimed:

The Dauntless Sub-Frame Mount hardware, the Datel Voltmeter, the mounting adapter plate for the Bestem Top Case and the custom seat, which I will replace with a stock seat.

Here's how Vikki looked, leaning on wooden blocks and looking quite forlorn. I felt quite guilty but then moved briskly to get things done so I could get back to work.

 Picture of Vikki taken Thursday afternoon when I got there without the right tools, 

I am so stupid sometimes.

 Vikki, without her subframe mounting hardware so her sidestand was usable

and with her seat removed.

She looks almost rideable, doesn't she?

 A view of the motorcycle portion of the salvage yard, it was quite the 

large operation, lots of wrecked cars and such

 Lots of wrecked bikes of all makes, a very sad scene to me

Vikki's tenure with me was unfortunately short-lived but they were great times for the most part.  She didn't deserve the fate she got but in the end, it was the decision that was made for me.

Now, as to the title of this posting.  I saw on craigslist a dealer ad for a 2006 V-Strom DL1000 with 29K miles on it being sold in Loveland, CO.  Tricity Cycles is the name of the place and all they do is resell pre-owned motorcycles and some provide repair and accessory services to the local area.

Some text messages exchanged with Stu, the salesman, and we drove up before lunch to Loveland.  It took us an hour and while Martha and the boys wandered about the store, I had my first look at this V-Strom and she looked pretty good!

Took her out for a 15 minute test ride and she ran fine and felt a bit more "planted" than Vikki had been.  Apparently one of the things Suzuki's worked on since they made the 2004 model was a stronger suspension system.

We then left the dealership, telling Stu we needed to feed the kids (which we did) but really to discuss things over some food.  We went to a local BBQ joint called Norbys and had some pretty good food.  Sorry, too wrapped up discussing the motorcycle to take food porn shots.

Martha and I concluded it was a good deal and returned me to the dealership to complete the deal.  Not much haggling involved, basically got them to throw in a year's warranty under an outside company called Edge Service Company.  It wasn't a no-cost upgrade by using the insurance money but I figured the out-of -pocket expense would have been comparable to getting Vikki repaired; had the engine casing not been compromised of course.

Rode it home in stifling humid heat (it had briefly showered rain while I completed the paperwork and called the insurance company to put the new to me V-Strom under coverage) and got her home safe and sound.

 "She who must be named" sitting on her new home driveway

So, gentle readers, what shall I name her?  She's a darker silver color than Vikki was, kind of reminds me of the color of storm clounds.  Stormy or Stromy is out, and so is Velma.  Perhaps something Japanese?  I am open to suggestions.

Vikki is toast

I got a call from the insurance rep this afternoon.  They've declared Vikki, my 2004 V-Strom a total loss and I am to meet with them tomorrow to give them her title in exchange for the value of the motorcycle.

I've decided to see about buying one of two used V-Strom DL1000s that are within reasonable distance of me.

Why continue with a V-Strom sidecar rig?

1.  Not giving up on being a sidecarist.  I like it too much and when the snow returns to Colorado.....

2.  Economics: Getting another V-Strom tug is the only option not involving more money out of pocket.  I don't want to incur more debt than what I have now.  A new Ural, with what I expect I'd get from the sale of the Dauntless sidecar rig and subframe to another V-Strom rider, would require an estimated $6000 additional out of pocket.  No used Urals that are year model 2008 or later anywhere near me right now or within foreseeable budget.

The lower-priced one of the two looks like this and is located in Pueblo, CO:

Image source: Craiglist ad

more details on above V-Strom here: LINK

The second V-Strom is located in Longmont, CO which is north of Denver.

Image source: Craiglist ad

more details on above V-Strom here: LINK

The first V-Strom has less miles on her than the one in Longmont, but has not been ridden at all this year.  The second V-Strom has double the miles that Vikki had but comes with more "stuff".

I go tomorrow afternoon, hopefully, to recover the sub-frame mount hardware from Vikki.  I'll try and remember to take a last picture of her.

What do you think?

So, Vikki is probably history.....

Bobskoot had emailed me a link to a posting which turned out very apropos as to why I've been so quiet lately in the blogosphere.

BLUF: (Bottom Line Up Front)

Vikki, my 2004 Suzuki V-Strom tug is more than likely, toast.

The V-Strom's drive chain coming off the rear sprocket two weekends ago at the end of my trip to Montana had apparently flailed about while wrapping itself around the front sprocket.  The end result was not only a busted clutch actuator rod, damaged drive chain,  but small holes carved into the left side engine casing and some other associated damage.

The dealer where I took her for repairs said it would take around $3700 in parts (apparently the engine casing's replacement involves also all sort of bearings and other internal parts which are a mandatory and or best practice replacement).  Tack on another estimated $1500 in labor (the engine has to be removed to remove and replace the casing) and you can do the math.

I am waiting for the insurance company's own evaluation as to the motorcycle's repairability before they decide what to do with her.  Vikki was picked up from the dealer this past Thursday afternoon I found so they'll hopefully evaluate her tomorrow, Monday.

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My options, as I see them, are as follows and will be driven by whatever amount the insurance company deems Vikki is worth.

Option 1:
Replace the tug (that's Vikki in sidecarist lingo) with another used V-Strom, put the sidecar back on and carry on riding.  This is the least cost option as I have all the mounting hardware.

Option 2:
Find a new tug, a used BMW Oilhead GS perhaps and use that as a tug.  This option will cost me an additional $1500 or more due to having to purchase a GS-specific sub-frame mount to use to attach it to the sidecar; not to mention also, the cost of a good used GS is higher than a good used V-Strom!  An older airhead tug, is not an option with the Dauntless sidecar I have according the the manufacturer as my sidecar is a "high end" dualsport sidecar, the A-arms on the sidecar would have to be "custom made" with the tug at ther facility, more money.

Option 3:
Take the insurance money and put in bank.  Then sell the Dauntless sidecar and put proceeds in bank.  Cut my losses and ride Brigitta, my dependable R80 Airhead Beemer while we see what the future brings.  Perhaps a 2007 or newer Ural sidecar rig which are more mechanically dependable, or perhaps a R90/6 with sidecar.  Both of these would cost more money than the proceeds above would generate I fear.

More to follow.