One last Strada..

[Rafz]

Hello everybody from Italy, coast of mid Adriatic sea.

I would like to share the ownership, mods, ups and downs of this italian/swedish../german beauty.
I was looking for a TR Strada since two months when this absolute minter popped up within 20km from my home.



Less than 500 km on the clock, plated in 2015 and then forgotten in a garage, i couldn't pass up.



It costed me less than my previous crf250L, it is almost as new, and best suit my 99% ride on asphalt.

What i have done so far:

coolant refill, changed brake fluid, engine oil , oil filter, air filter, check cable play,swapped dead battery,
rerouted and protected clutch cable.





What i'm gonna do (for this season) : inspect the air box / filter seal and modify if needed, ECU recall as soon as possible, custom windshield, top box plate, a tail tidy, headlight led bulb..and another
dozen little mods.

My thoughts: (following lists are work in progress, can/will be updated)

Biggest flaws/things i don't like: the infamous left fork noise, the absolute madness of the air filter removal/insertion procedure.

Smallest flaws/things i don't like: total air exposure, lack of 6th gear, steel lever/footrest plate/ swingarm (instead of aluminum), not adjustable brake dead plays, the battery connection
layout (more on this later) , bit of play in the saddle lock, the squared mirrors, the defective cables routing, the steering wobble at speed, lack of fuel
gauge, abs kicks in too early on rear brake. The rear wheel definitely deserved a 150 sized tyre. The rear fender/plate holder is way too long. indicator should have been leds, as tail light is.

What i like: nice engine, really elastic, it pushes straight from idle until red line and barks/pops in a civil manner.
I love the look and feel of the bike: lean, mean, agile semi/motard/street adv bike.
Good braking, considering weight and rotors/clamps/master cylinders in use.
Decent position/comfort/saddle. a good compromise between sporty rides /commuting and middle trips.
A bit of a unicorn here, never seen another one going around...

 

[glitch_oz]

Congrats!!

Here's a little thread of most fixes, repairs, modifications etc of a Strada at the other end of the world.

http://www.cafehusky.com/threads/pottering-around.39580/

I'm still to do a permanent fix of that broken dash button thing....

 

[Rafz]

Thanks Glitch..

I'd like to show to the forum a picture of the magnetic oil cap, i have done several first service oil change in the past, but i've never seen so much metal shaving and debris..



do you think that it's normal/usual? the engine is as fine as it can be for a sub 1000km unit...

i'm gonna do some minor mods (and post here as well) to the bike as soon as the parts/items arrive.. for now i'm skipping the steering damper but i feel some "nervous" attitude when riding corners on irregular tarmac.. we'll see..

 

[kiwiape]

Mines done 30,000km and I have NEVER seen anything like this!. How long since the last oil/filter change?

 

[Rafz]

Mines done 30,000km and I have NEVER seen anything like this!. How long since the last oil/filter change?

That's the first oil change at 600 km... It was not time but i wanted to complete the run-in with fresh oil-flter.

 

[duibhceK]

The only time I've seen that many metal shavings was after the crank shaft bearing caved on my Terra. What colour did the shavings have after cleaning the oil off?
coppery colour --> likely from a bearing somewhere
silvery colour --> Likely from clutch, might also be from piston/cylinder/piston rings/gear box sprockets/...

 

[Rafz]

The only time I've seen that many metal shavings was after the crank shaft bearing caved on my Terra. What colour did the shavings have after cleaning the oil off?
coppery colour --> likely from a bearing somewhere
silvery colour --> Likely from clutch, might also be from piston/cylinder/piston rings/gear box sprockets/...

Silvery, dark-silvery.. i guess (hope) from gearbox/clutch ... we'll see if this mess continue at the next oil change...

 

[kiwiape]

The only time I've seen that many metal shavings was after the crank shaft bearing caved on my Terra. What colour did the shavings have after cleaning the oil off?
coppery colour --> likely from a bearing somewhere
silvery colour --> Likely from clutch, might also be from piston/cylinder/piston rings/gear box sprockets/...

The only thing to consider is this is "metallic" filings.....

 

[Rafz]

Let's hope for the best... i'm considering to do another oil change when the service indicator will blink in the dash.
I still have to contact a proper husquarna dealer to have the recall/moss map updated.. (and waiting for the answer of a ktm only dealer nearby)


In the meantime i'm doing some minor mods:

the "sukioto" h4 poly-lens/led bulb..





cut between the original connector slots, and flipped back the resulting "tongue", hoping to be able to undo this mod if needed





found a space behind the reflector for the lamp "filter" or whatever it is.

aand..




got the infamous ews on the dash. damn..

i'm not even fully happy of the resulting light, and now i've got a bike that can make more light (maybe) and cannot run at all (for sure).

after a couple of minute of fiddling, pressing every possible button/switch/battery-off combination, i somehow managed to get her back to life.

I will test the new led lights setup as soon as possible..

 

[duibhceK]

got the infamous ews on the dash. damn..

I had a similar problem with my auxiliary LED lights. After some fiddling I found out the EM radiation from the LED wiring interferes with the signal between the key and the ring antenna. Re-routing the wiring fixed the problem. In teh end I decided to route the wire back like I did originally. Now the bike shows an EWS when I turn on the bike with the aux lights on, but starts without a problem when I start with aux lights off. Turning on the aux lights afterwards creates no issues. I now consider it an additional anti-theft measure.

 

[Rafz]

Thank you for the hints..

I've tried a lot of things to get this problem sorted out: cable re-routing (as you suggested) , ferrite shields(beads), ECU additional ground cable.. no luck whatsoever.

The only trick that would make the bike run, is to keep pressed the high beam button (passing) and turn the ignition key on.

I'm gonna ignore this issue for the coming season... let's see if it's stable and problem free..

I had a similar problem with my auxiliary LED lights. After some fiddling I found out the EM radiation from the LED wiring interferes with the signal between the key and the ring antenna. Re-routing the wiring fixed the problem. In teh end I decided to route the wire back like I did originally. Now the bike shows an EWS when I turn on the bike with the aux lights on, but starts without a problem when I start with aux lights off. Turning on the aux lights afterwards creates no issues. I now consider it an additional anti-theft measure.

 

[Rafz]

Now it's time to add a windshield....
I requested a quotation for a screenforbikes unit, but i dont wanna pay the full amount plus shipping to my door (more or less 115 euros total).
so... i took the DIY route, as usual, and bought a mt09 tracer windscreen on Aliexpress for 17 euros shipped:




i should have choosed the clear version, this smoked one will not let adequete light pass thru..

but its shape fits so nice, and i think it can be adapted in 3 position: low





high:







and middle, cutting out a shape that exclude the original mounting holes. (i'm almost convinced to try this one)


In low position the original holes could be used to fit a protection guard ( grille type).

 

[nev..]

The only trick that would make the bike run, is to keep pressed the high beam button (passing) and turn the ignition key on.

Its not an ideal solution, but it's a great security device.

 

[Rafz]

Here we are. cuts done.. i choose a medium/high position for the windshield.



I will mask the remaining holes with two fake screws.
The lower contour is unrefined, i'm still testing if it works well in this position.

A brief speed test up to 170km/h is rather positive. the wind blast is deflected at my shoulder level.
Almost no buffeting, only a laminar and dense flow of air at the visor level, the wobbling at high speed not affected.. the situation is better now, i dare say.

Should i feel the need to change to a clear or black color, it is dirty cheap as i said... i share the link for whomever may be interested :

https://it.aliexpress.com/item/Moto...448.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.27424c4d5pppnT

 

[kiwiape]

I guess you could say its an Archbishop Windshield..

 

[Rafz]

I guess you could say its an Archbishop Windshield..

Yes, it's the holy grail of wind deflection...
I tested it at full speed just yesterday: no splattered insect below shoulder level at all.. no head shake.. and it is still attached to the bike!!

next step: the ECU recall. i'm still waiting for the service "wrench" to appear on the dash, so i will do a single trip to the dealer, 70 km away from home.

 

[Rafz]

Hello!! i'm back.. i've got some minor mods done to the Strada to share, as usual:

1 - F650GS adjustable long clutch and brake lever:



the dimensions are not perfect. in stock form it doesn't fit...







requires some minor filing to work properly:





it's a nice upgrade, the levers provide a better feeling and improve braking power as well. no qualty issues so far. very good for a 18 euro upgrade...


I am testing this spark plug heat protection in order to hide the big lambda probe





now i'm looking for a composite heat shield to attach to the metal one.. my leg touches often and im having my skin burned.. and it distracts me while riding...

 

[franc]

hallo from Florence Italy, I follow the advise of Rafz and I also fixed a screen on my strada...I purchased the windshield on ebay for a few Euros last summer and it wasn't until now that I got to work on it, you know here in Italy now we have a lot of restrictions due to corona flu, the country has been turned upside down and all business except food and medical closed by law; therefore, beeing unemployed and force at home i have got plenty of time to care for this; here is it:

 

[franc]

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[franc]