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How To: install the Touring windscreen for the Zero SR/S

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If you have used your Zero SR/S for any sort of real touring use, like riding at freeway speeds in anything other than a full tuck, you have surely noticed that the wind protection is, well, lacking somewhat.  Fortunately, Zero makes a touring windscreen for the SR/S. Unfortunately, it is somewhat hard to come by and ships with no installation instructions whatsoever.  To help you with the first problem, here is the shop I got mine from: https://www.nyaparts.co.uk/shop/accessories/screens/zero-sr-s-tall-touring-windscreen/ To help with the second, here is my illustrated guide to installation… Equipment: You will need a T25 torx wrench and a size 4 Allen wrench.  Procedure: First, remove the four torx screws holding the front nosepiece onto the body.  Pry the rear ends of the nosepiece out of their moorings and then simply slide the nose off the bike.  Now, remove the four torx screws holding the existing windscreen in place. Save these screws - you still need them.  Here is a size comp
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How To: DIY nav bar for 2009 V-Strom 650

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I was noticing on my most recent motorcycle adventure that if I wanted to check the map (or my speed - my wee-Strom’s analog speedometer is notoriously off in the high MPH range) on my smartphone-GPS app I had to look all the way down to my handlebars, taking my eyes dangerously off the road. I needed a way to mount the thing where I could see it with just a subtle shift of focusing distance. I needed to turn it into a heads-up display.  Fiddling around with ideas led me to realize that with my windscreen mounted part-way up (the proper position) there is an extra pair of bolt holes just waiting to be used. Here’s how: 1. Visit your local hardware store and get a 6” length of 1/2” inner diameter PVC pipe, two 10x40mm hex-head bolts, and two mating rubber-washer locking nuts.  2. Drill two 3/8” holes perpendicularly through the PVC pipe on 4.75” centers (oddly enough this fit an American measuring unit better than a metric one, despite it being a Japanese bike). Wiggle the drill inside
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How To: replace a BMW F650CS instrument cluster / circuitboard

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Since I have read that this is a relatively common repair on this particular bike, but a moderately complicated one at the same time, and not well documented in my service manual, I thought I would post this how-to. Background: my wife’s newly acquired 2003 F650CS had problems with the instrument cluster from the get-go. First the speedometer and the tach died, then the clock and the odometer. We tried cleaning contacts and the like, but the only likely diagnosis was that some component in the PCB (printed circuit board) that controlled those items was fried. Given the poor weather sealing around the board, it’s probably a miracle that it had lasted 17 years here in Texas heat and humidity.  So, without further ado… Step 1: acquire a new PCB and instrument cluster.  You want item 5 on the following diagram / list of parts:  Build in an appropriate amount of waiting time for this step. The item ships direct from Germany.  Step 2: take off the windshield and disassemble the instrument cl
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How To: change your motorcycle chain (2009 Suzuki V-Strom 650)

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Are you ready to make your pointy hat just a little bit taller (and your tool chest a little bit fuller)? Good, because we’re about to do one of the more labor-intensive bits of routine bike maintenance: changing out a worn chain and sprockets.  First, a bit of advice I’ve collected from several places: if you have a chain-driven bike, your final drive consists of two sprockets and a chain – change them all at the same time. Even if one piece looks like it has some life left in it, a slightly-worn sprocket will accelerate the wear on a new chain or vice versa. You’ll get the longest life out of your investment (and get to spend the longest time riding your bike before you have to do this again) if you follow this advice. Okay, /soapbox.  Now, where to begin?  Step 1: You’ve got to get the front sprocket cover off the damn bike. On my bike, it’s a silly little piece of plastic that I suppose is necessary to keep one from getting their toes mangled by the whirling front sprocket. There a
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