Diary of a Winter Rider: Part 3 – Winter Accessories

Dear Diary,

Winter is still playing games. It has been freezing and raining, warm and raining, and then just cold and raining. For extra fun, there have also been high winds to deal with. But what was I expecting, twenty degrees and sunshine?

While the weather has been making its mind up, I’ve been assembling an array of essential winter accessories and fitting them to the Suzuki V-Strom 800RE. Besides a main stand (centre stand), which would make chain maintenance easier, I think I’m ready for anything.

Keis Heated Clothing

The most essential of all the accessories I’ve assembled has to be the power lead for the Keis heated clothing. Being able to run the Keis body warmer and gloves on batteries is an advantage, yet on the odd occasions when the length of the ride has exceeded the battery life, the realisation of how cold it can be without heated kit has been a harsh lesson.

So far, I’ve stuck with the Keis body warmer. This is my fifth or sixth winter using it, and it is as warm as ever. My Keis jacket and heated socks have also been tested, but there has been no call for them so far this winter.

The exquisitely wonderful people at Keis kindly sent me a trial version of their G901 Extreme Heat Gloves a few weeks back, confirming my suspicions that the new Keis Heated Kit delivers more warmth. Just when I think I’m as toasty as I could be, Keis moves the goalposts.

The problem with Keis clothing is that it is reliable and long-lasting. I almost wish it would break so I would have a good reason to update it with the new, even warmer versions. However, so far, Senior Management has refused my purchase request. (Wife say No)

The G901 Extreme gloves are excellent—even when running on my five-year-old batteries. They have repositioned the switches on the back of the gloves slightly, and there are a few changes to the materials used, making the gloves more supple straight out of the box.

But the warmth is delightful. I’ve not had to run them on full power yet. Gas mark three (medium) is all I’ve needed, which is giving me more time on my batteries.

When the temperature drops and all the Keis clothing is plugged into the singularly most important of all winter accessories, the Keis power lead, my hands, body and even my feet (heated socks) will be cooking.

Being cold on a motorcycle … there is just no reason for it.

Suzuki V-Strom Handguards

I did something foolish and went to China for some knockoff Suzuki V-Strom Handguards. I thought I’d done very well buying a set for £40, but when they arrived 10 days later, it was obvious why they were cheap.

The finish on the bar ends was nothing like as good as the genuine Suzuki ones, so I returned them, had a few arguments with the seller and eventually got my money back.

Meanwhile, my search for handguards led me to the Two Wheel Centre in Mansfield, which had genuine Suzuki handguards, complete with the bar ends, for sale for £86.

There was no waiting, no debates. I walked up to the spares counter and, a few minutes later, walked out of the shop holding the handguards. I was even offered a cup of coffee.

I did wonder if the handguards would fit with the Oxford Mirror Extenders I’d installed to help with the buffeting I was getting.

The inside edge of the handguard might be a little higher, but everything fits without any issues. The handguards do an excellent job of diverting cold air away, while the Keis G901 gloves keep my hands warm.

The only tricky thing about fitting them was releasing the bar-end Allen bolt. I think Suzuki bought too much lock-tight and has been liberally using it on every bolt of the V-Strom. At one point, I even doubted if I was turning the bolt the correct way to release it; it was that tight. Other than that … Simples.

Where to find …

SW-Motech DUSC Case

Wandering around the office in riding gear might be acceptable, almost a badge of honour in winter. Still, motorcycle clothing was designed for riding, not sitting at a desk beside a radiator. Therefore I’m going to need to bring a change of clothes with me.

The typical solution for riding a motorcycle without luggage is to use a rucksack, but I’ve never found that a workable solution, especially since I wear a Helite Airvest.

If the Airvest is required to do its thing and expand to protect me, then a rucksack strapped securely across my back will get one heck of a surprise when the Airvest expands.

The SW-Motech Pro Bag Rear Bag—not the most imaginative name—I use is a 34-litre soft top box that swaps quickly between motorcycles. As it is winter and rain on most days is almost a guarantee, a hard top box is my preferred answer.

Suzuki makes the business of adding a top plate to the V-Strom easy. Even so, the ingenuity of the SW-Motech designs always impresses me.

The V-Strom 800RE and DE come from the factory with a rack. It is small but efficient and will carry 10 kilos. SW-Motech uses this and some of the V-Strom’s other mounting points to discreetly add additional support for its top plate.

The finishing touch is to add the luggage mounting kit of your choice to the top plate. Mine is for a DUSC case, but there are options for just about every motorcycle luggage manufacturer. The best part is that you can swap the mounting kit to match your needs.

Roger has a shipping container-sized Givi top box, and switching the mounting kit between the two top box manufacturers involves two screws and 10 minutes of effort.

Now that my office clothes arrive chilled and with no chance of getting damp, I wonder if I could heat the inside of the DUSC case? (Stupid idea … but…)

Dunlop Mutants

Mark, the tyre man we use – Mobile Bike Tyres – took one look at the OEM tyres on the V-Strom 800RE and announced, “They’re done”. Those may not have been the words he actually used when looking at the step [See: Stepping on Motorcycle Tyres] that had formed on the leading edge of the tread blocks, but that was the sentiment (his actual expression was way more Anglo-Saxon).

I liked this news as I’d been badgering the Editor for a set of Dunlop Mutants to replace the OEM tyres. After all, we are riding through winter, and I’d already been riding in the cold and wet more than once.

Mark’s three-word, direct, and succinct summary pushed the decision over the edge, and for the last 160 miles, the V-Strom has been wearing Dunlop Mutants. The improvement is off the scale.

No matter which way I go to the office, I meet a roundabout within half a mile. Tip-toeing around them when it is three degrees and raining can be the worst part of my ride, which I’m sure is why I like the Dunlop tyres so much.

Never having to wait for the tyre to become supple is a key characteristic of Dunlop tyres. We have described them as warming up quickly, and they do, but with only half a mile on a wet road in winter in which to get warm, there has to be something more in the tyres construction that makes them so damn good in winter.

The Dunlop Mutant is based on an Enduro Racing Wet, and it shovels bucketloads of water from under the contact patch, all without the snipes that were such big news a few years back.

Tyres are a personal thing, but when your grizzled, hard-to-impress colleague rides the V-Strom and makes a point of saying, “Those Dunlops are rather good.” except in more explicit terms, when they return the keys, then it is more than just a personal choice.

The OEM tyres lasted 3,186 miles. Based on my previous experience with Dunlop Mutants, I know I’ll easily get twice that from them. If Billy were riding the V-Strom, he’d get three times that.

Clutch Levers

And now, Dear Diary, I need to buy a new clutch lever. It is my own fault. I should have double-checked that the side stand was locked when pushing the V-Strom out of the garage in the dark this morning.

Is there anything more gut-wrenching than watching your motorcycle gently lower itself onto the driveway as the side stand folds up? There was no damage other than a bent clutch lever (Part Number  57621-25D10 incase you were wondering), a scratch on my new handguards and a significant dent on my pride.

Such is life.

To be continued …