[ranjitnair77]

6000 km Service Update

I decided to get the 6000 km service done at Slipstream Performance run by Kunal Bhaskaran. Kunal has previously extensively rebuilt my Bullet 500 and I was fully aware of the attention to detail at his workshop. Since the first service was rather cursory, I wanted him to check if everything was okay. The overall service experience was stellar.

I got in at 10am and was out by 3pm. I thoroughly enjoyed the process of seeing my bike worked on. Here is a summary of the work carried out.

• Oil and filter change. I carried my own bottle of Amsoil 10w40 Synthetic Metric oil. The filter used as HiFloFiltro HF 138 which according to Kunal is as good if not better than Suzuki OEM.
• DOT 4 Oil change. The brake fluid was checked with a hydrometer and found to be suboptimal and therefore changed. This involved bleeding of the front and rear brakes.
• Air filter check. The tank was removed to check the air filter. Cleaned with a blower and refitted and will be replaced at 12k.
• Cable play check and lube. Clutch and throttle checked for extra play and lubed.
• Steering head bearing check. Detected a faint clunk. Bearing was not torqued properly. Adjusted and torqued to spec.
• Installing a Denali Soundbomb compact horn
• Brake disc clean Pads checked for life. Disc lightly cleaned with 80 grit sandpaper and then using brake cleaner.
• Chain clean and lube

Highlights of the service.

• Personal attention from Kunal who knows motorcycles. Extremely competent mechanics.
• Attention to detail. Everything is done very systematically.
• They read the manual and use the right tools. They used a hydrometer for the brake fluid. They used a digital torque tool and torque wrenches on every critical bolt.
• They use good material. Wurth DOT4, Silicone and Brake Cleaners and Maxima chain cleaners and lubricants. Nothing substandard.
• They let you hang out and watch and answer questions patiently. You learn so much by watching.

Here are some photos of the work carried out.

Mounted on a hydraulic lift, sump guard removed and the Amsoil drained out. The existing oil was in good condition but given our rough conditions I wanted to replace it anyway.



The HiFloFiltro HF138 (in the plastic wrap) next to the old OEM Oil Filter.



Oil filter filled with some oil and everything torqued to spec. Filled up with fresh Amsoil 10w40 Synthetic Metric.



Tank removed which is a very fidgety process. Dust cleared off with a blower



Air filter removed. It was dusty but good till the next service.



Reinstalled after cleaning.



Brakes bled and fresh DOT 4 added.





Cables checked, adjusted and lubricated.



Denali Soundbomb Compact installed using a bracket and a threaded bolt that mounts on the cylinder head. It is LOUD



I got the wiring harness for the Soundbomb so it was all plug and play. Attached to the battery and tucked away nicely using zipties.



Steering head bolt adjusted and re-torqued to spec.



The pads were in great condition with a lot of life left so no work necessary there. Brake discs lightly rubbed with an 80 grit sandpaper.



And cleaned with brake cleaner.



Followed by a through chain clean and lube and a quick bike wipedown as I was getting late and did not have the time to get it thoroughly washed. Very happy with the overall service. The next one is now due at 12k which is a little more involved.

[OmV]

Awesome detailed coverage of the service Rajnit. Could you please share the cost of your service so we can get an idea how it compares to SVC costs - even if we are talking of a much superior service.

[bf1983]

Sorry if I didn't see it mentioned but could you let us know how expensive was the 6000k service ?

[Red Liner]

Kunal is a great guy. We have some common friends. Suggest you stick with him for the life of your bike. Just can’t go wrong.

[ranjitnair77]

Originally Posted by OmV

Awesome detailed coverage of the service Rajnit. Could you please share the cost of your service so we can get an idea how it compares to SVC costs - even if we are talking of a much superior service.

Originally Posted by bf1983

Sorry if I didn't see it mentioned but could you let us know how expensive was the 6000k service ?

Sure. Here is the invoice.



Subtotal: Rs. 10,970
Total Including GST: 12554.

[ranjitnair77]

Originally Posted by ethanhunt123

Great choice Ranjit and many congrats. VStrom is a highly capable bike - Hopefully you enjoy many a miles on it !
PS: that V-twin motor is dying for a proper exhaust :-)

Akrapovic Racing Line install.

It happened sooner than I expected

I was quite satisfied with the stock exhaust but I really loved the sound of the TOR exhaust that I had on my Bonnie. I wanted a slightly louder exhaust and the associated benefits of a slightly smaller and cleaner looking exhaust system. So I decided to order the Akrapovic Racing Line exhaust system from Bikegear.in. I had no idea how it would actually sound like other than some YouTube videos. I picked the Akra over the Yoshimura as the Akra seemed more mellow.

BikeGear took 6 weeks to deliver the product. The cost was Rs. 70,000. Very responsive guys who I would recommend based on my experience.

I was tempted to make this another DIY but I decided to take it to Slipstream Performance for the install. That was, in hindsight, a no-brainer given the ramifications of an incorrect install. Kunal installed this himself and the experience was stellar as usual. It took around 2.5 hours for the install. I paid Rs. 5000 for it.


To start off, this was what was in the box. The exhaust, two headers. One piece of pipe that goes to the end can and a packet of clamps and springs to hold things in place.



Here is the installation schematic. Sourced from the install manual here: https://bit.ly/2vWqufw




The bash plate and the clamp holding it was removed to access the pipes.




The lambda sensor was removed. Had to be really careful here




Carefully remove the header pipes. Gentle wiggling did the trick here.




The whole exhaust removed




New Header Pipes installed in the front and the back. Again required some finesse and wiggling.



Final pipe installed. The lambda sensor was reinstalled. Some gentle tapping with a rubber mallet required to ease the springs into place.




The exhaust installed




Everything torqued to spec



A (slightly lame) video that demonstrates the sound. Need to do a proper video/audio that demonstrates the sound under load and acceleration.

https://youtu.be/kEgoEn9a88s

Observations

• I love the sound. It’s deep and raspy and sounds great under acceleration. It settles into a steady hum at highway speeds. Just sublime.
• It is significantly louder than stock. There are comments out there that state that the exhaust is slightly louder than stock which is incorrect.
• I see no reason to remove the baffle at all. The Akra’s baffle is non-removable unless you do a bit of surgery which is irreversible.
• I’m not sure if I need ear plugs for a tour. Will keep the thread updated once I do a long ride on this. I don’t think it will be necessary.
• There is no difference in power. Not that I expected any. The low end acceleration seems to be slightly lower. The higher speed acceleration seems slightly more. All of this by seat-of-the-pants feel and not by any scientific method.
• The exhaust weight is half that of stock, roughly 4kgs lighter. Not that it makes any difference. Just looks visually more elegant in my opinion.
• The exhaust fits right in with ample clearance for the bash plate, the center stand and the rack that I have. This was a big worry that I had pre-install.

[jaysmokesleaves]

Originally Posted by ranjitnair77

Sure. Here is the invoice.

Attachment 1957248

Subtotal: Rs. 10,970
Total Including GST: 12554.

Thats a steep bill.
I paid Rs.5500/- including oil and filter change at Anzen in Mumbai for the 6k service 3 weeks ago. Service charge is 2k plus tax.

Can you tell why they replaced the brake fluid?

Here is a pic of my bike. This was when I stopped for the night on a ROK trip.
I've done approx 7800 kms.

[ranjitnair77]

Originally Posted by jaysmokesleaves

Thats a steep bill.
I paid Rs.5500/- including oil and filter change at Anzen in Mumbai for the 6k service 3 weeks ago. Service charge is 2k plus tax.

Can you tell why they replaced the brake fluid?

Here is a pic of my bike. This was when I stopped for the night on a ROK trip.
I've done approx 7800 kms.

Looks lovely in white doesn't she

The service manual recommends a brake fluid check every 6000 kms and replace every 2 years. When they checked the DOT 4 fluid with a hydrometer, they found that there was excessive moisture content in there. It was visibly darker. I couldn't think of a logical reason why this should be so, but it was. So the fluid replacement and the associated bleeding.

The labour at Slipstream has always been higher than the rest but the service experience is superior.

[ethanhunt123]

Originally Posted by ranjitnair77

Akrapovic Racing Line install.

It happened sooner than I expected [/list]

So happy for you my friend A nice exhaust brings another level of character to a bike - especially a V-Twin like yours. I hope other riders from Bangalore are listening too

PS: Since you removed the cat-con .. it should result in a power/torque bump. Also i would recommend getting a fuel controller like PC5 or Bazzaz and getting the bike dyno tuned one along with a aftermarket filter like BMC/K&N. Right now most likely your bike is running lean.

[ranjitnair77]

Originally Posted by ethanhunt123

Since you removed the cat-con .. it should result in a power/torque bump. Also i would recommend getting a fuel controller like PC5 or Bazzaz and getting the bike dyno tuned one along with a aftermarket filter like BMC/K&N. Right now most likely your bike is running lean.

Yes you are probably right. I did think through this before buying and dropped Akrapovic a question on it. Here was their response which I quote in full.

"Thank you for your interest in Akrapovic Exhaust Systems. Unless otherwise stated in the product description, 95% of our systems are designed and developed with all stock mapping in place. We are an Exhaust engineering company not a fuel management company and therefore, we do not offer remapping advice or options.

The performance statistics located on our website are based off of all stock settings in place. However, there are about 5% of the systems that need additional mapping. For these systems we specifically state our suggested partner for that particular model motorcycle. Please review the product descriptions on the individual system pages for additional mapping information."

A pretty standard template response I suppose. The bike is running perfectly. No backfires, popping or anything like that. It is pulling clean. The heat and mileage remain the same. However I will keep a very close eye on things for the next few days.

[ethanhunt123]

Akrapovic is spot on in one respect - they are a exhaust engineering company and not a fuel management company :-)

I would strongly recommend you do put a fuel controller on your wish list and pick it up from outside India if you can. There is a reason why all OEM retailed slip-on/full system exhausts come with a ECU remap - be is Ducati or Triumph or BMW.

[mohansrides]

Originally Posted by ranjitnair77

The Suzuki V-Strom XT is on sale for Rs. 7.51 lakhs (ex-Pune)........

This review was jointly compiled with sukiwa. It's his fantastic photography that makes this post worthwhile.

Ranjit,

Succinct write-up that packs a punch. No fuss. No muss. Just pure information with some garnishes for flavour. Just like the motorcycle being discussed. Very apt.

Talking about the bike, plenty of people have been egging me on to upgrade. The trouble is that most of options are way too expensive for middle-class aspirants, keeping in mind the miles we clock in an year. Really, the Versys and the V-Strom are the only contenders financially speaking. Of these two, the Versys did not inspire much confidence in the brief test ride that I got. I have been trying to get a longish (30 km to 35 km) TR on the Versys and no dealership is being helpful. I sort of understand their point of view actually. Then, there's the V-Strom which while being a fantastic machine looks rather strange; especially in that yellow colour.

In any case, I enjoyed your review, and learnt a thing or two about bikes. Plus, it's interesting to know that sukiwa is handy with a camera. Time to make some plans, I think

P. S.
For shoppers in this category, there are also the Ninja 650 and Z650. But, those bikes are so tiny, they look like 125 CC commuters; which is a quality that may well be desirable on the track. But, if I pay upwards of 5 lacs, I definitely do not want the bike looking like a commuter. Getting that big bike feel is part of the allure of such motorcycles for me.

[bf1983]

Originally Posted by mohansrides

I have been trying to get a longish (30 km to 35 km) TR on the Versys and no dealership is being helpful.

One option available to you though one that will cost you is to rent a bike for a day. Will cost a bit but you can ride for 200 kms also without issue. That's a good option considering the amount you are going to pay for a bike. Also try Anzen Jogeshwari. They didn't tell me how long I could do the rest ride but I covered 15 kms in 20 mins and they didn't seem to mind. They also have a Versys for test riding.

The suzuki vstorm is going to be a bit more difficult to find on rent. The only option is if the dealer agrees to a long test ride or you borrow a bike from someone you know.

[mohansrides]

Originally Posted by bf1983

One option available to you though one that will cost you is to rent a bike for a day. Will cost a bit but you can ride for 200 kms also without issue. That's a good option...

Yep. Already tried. Versys is not available for rent anywhere. If you know a place, let me know. Only Kawasaki available for rent is the Z800 or maybe the Ninja series. But no Versys the last time i checked.

To be fair, Anzen did not restrict me to sub 5 km rides. But the 10 km I TRed in was so densely packed with traffic on WEH that I was more focused on not banging the bike anywhere, rather than on assessing how I felt. That is why I want a long TR on an open road. Still, I feel that my inability to not come away with a firm positive even after two (albeit small) TRs on the Versys makes me think that it’s not the bike for me.

By contrast, to paraphrase Ranjit, 5 minutes into the VStrom and I was smiling....in that same sense traffic that I ride the Versys in. I don’t need another TR on the VStrom at all. It’s just that hideous yellow colour that’s holding me back..... To tell you the truth, I would even have been ok if it was a mango like orange-yellow. But instead, it’s that pale yellow that looks like liver disease. Sorry, no offence meant to anyone.

[Red Liner]

There is a white and blue option available on the strom, so what are you on about unless its the bs4 deal? In which case i wouldn't bother and get the yellow. That is the quintessential vstrom colour the world over.

If you are adamant on the blue, the dealer can get you one from the factory, i think there is still stock available. Just show him you are keen on signing the dotted line if he commits to the blue immediately.