[SuzyVStrom]

It's a perfect Saturday morning. 6:15am and Stu (RTliney) rolls up at my place, back of Nerang, Gold Coast, as I'm rolling the bike out.

"Dropped it in the driveway already," he confesses. Couple tiny scratches here and there. No idea of what the day held for his shiny Strom. "I'll go and fuel up. Meet you down there."

Couple minutes later we're pulling away from the petrol station. "We need to go back up the hill," I say, U-turning through a gap in the meridian strip. Stu decides to go over the meridian strip and ... drops her on the other side. Clang. Big gouge out of the concrete as the Strom bottoms out and lies down. Bad words from Stu.

Nice bit of road through Numinbar Valley and then from Chillingham over to Tyalgum, where we meet up with Chef and have a cuppa at the cafe.

Then onto gravel through Mebbin State Forest and last bit of nice twisty tar to get to Chef's country hideaway. Already nearly 30C and steamy humid.

Steve C models the latest in summer helmets.

There's a steep hill just behind the house. Chef guns his Strom and gallops up there jumping and bouncing all the way up. Shoulda had the camera out.

Stu goes next. I wait till he's 1/2 way up then follow. When I get to the top his Strom is lying down again. Bugger me. That's 3 times today and we haven't even got started yet. We scrape and slide back down the hill and then we're off for real following Chef out the back yard, along the trails into Mount Jerusalem National Park, boldly going where probably no Strom has been before. Here on Google Maps, Rockface Road is the general vicinity.

Starting to look like a McGuyver track. Had to clear a few trees out of the way.

Here's a short vid of bits of the ride.

Got some more to add later. We'll check out the damage to the skid pans and pannier bags. Also, testing the best way to lift a fallen Strom.

Was a great ride, tx for your company Stu, and showing us around your place, Chef.

 

[saturn 5]

How to pick a fallen Strom

Tip: Have a hearty breakfast!:green_lol:

That's a good post, shows not all Stroms are ridden by geriatrics ..... but three drops in just one morning? Ouch!
Aah see, told you about breakfasts!

Saturn 5

Thanks for the vid. I love that kind of bushland, Muddy Ock and a lot of others too.

S. 5

 

[ockerstrom]

Already saw the vid on FB Steve, seems we have mutual FB friends. :fineprint:

Nice to see some extra pics and some "commentary" to go with them. :thumbup:

I might have to fit knobbies to the Wee and learn how to ride the f:furious:ing thing properly in the dirt. :headbang:

 

[Chef Gareth]

It was an awsome morning :thumbup: thanks Steve & Stu for coming round, I have signed another lease and will not be coming back to the property after this hitch so it was a good fare well to a loved spot. Got a whole new NP to explore now (mebbin) Im moving to Tyalgum so there is still plenty of places to explore on the strom and on the beloved XR if I ever get it back together. Till next time ride hard and keep it upright :yikes:

Chef

 

[SuzyVStrom]

how to pick up a VStrom

We experimented with a couple methods of picking up a VStrom. Chef made it look easy but he's a strong bugger.

No VStroms were harmed during the making of this video.

EDIT:
found this pic from a recent ride. Wayne (Rabbito) picking up Chris' bike.

 

[penguineer]

We experimented with a couple methods of picking up a VStrom. Chef made it look easy but he's a strong bugger.

No VStroms were harmed during the making of this video.

One suggestion - if you're lifting from the brake side, take a couple of seconds to put the side stand down. Otherwise you end up on the wrong side of the bike, maybe puffed(adrenalin?) and trying to figure out what to do next......

I'd never seen the "long end of the handlebar method" before......

Good stuff!

Cheers!

 

[PeteW]

Not nearly so much fun on a steep hill with loose gravel - and yes, another vote for the sidestand

Pete

 

[Chef Gareth]

Yes we know bout the side stand down, first thing I went for but steves side stand does not stay down to much bush bashing so we did it with out, but a good point never the less.

Thanks

 

[BrettStrom1]

The first photo on this page

Well look DEVO is alive.

 

[OneOff]

DEVIANT maybe...



:mrgreen:

 

[RTliney]

Secrets....

Steve, I was hoping u could have kept the whole laying it over 3 times a secret???? It was a great ride, I loved pushing the v Strom to the limit. I'm pretty sure I caught just a liiiiiittle bit more air than chef on our jump in the vid:thumbup:. Penguineer, I am the guy you've been talking to on the BRC forum, as u can see my bike is pretty well equipped to handle the rough terrain. I also go by the screen name RTliney there. A note to anyone thinking of buying the SW Motech bashplate - although they are very good for protection against gravel/stones/mud/sticks, they are not tough enough to handle the type of riding we were doing in this video. Nor can they withstand concrete curbs in median strips.......I totally destroyed mine just about:headbang:. I think even if I hadn't hit the kerb, I would have ended up rooting it on the hard landings from the jumping anyway. At least it wasn't my engine cases:mrgreen:. (Note to self - v Strom suspension not designed for jumping erosion berms, although very fun). This will probably be the last time I take my Strom through this sort of territory again, as the DR will handle it better. Unfortunately I lost my camera on the ride as my top box flew open coming around a rough corner. Despite the lost camera and the (minor?) damage, it was a great day.

 

[SuzyVStrom]

Well look DEVO is alive.

I kid you not, when Chef took the photo I said, "Are we not men? We are DEVO."

@OneOff - DEVIANT? Isn't that French for 'off the beaten track'?

@RTLiney, Was that a secret? Sorry mate .... I still have a little chuckle as I drive past that meridian strip - big chunk of concrete missing, in the shape of an SW Motech girly bash plate. The fact that you had a few tears there, that's a secret you can trust me not to blab about.

 

[SuzyVStrom]

Bash plates

As RTLiney mentioned, the SW Motech 'bash plate' doesn't stand up to much bashing. It's really just a bit of tin to stop pebbles hitting the oil filter.

This next pic is of the Pat Walsh bash plate on my bike. Not really designed for smacking into logs across the track or boulders in river crossings. However, it's not too hard to remove it and panel back into shape.

Any holes in a bash plate, for draining oil or letting more air flow, will seriously weaken the plate and make it easier to buckle.