Kawasaki take notice, another Ninja Mutant is being built

The demise of my beloved wee-strom in August created the necessity for me to find a new beast. Of course the first thought was to purchase another wee, which I did. However, the difference in the amount I got from insurance and the amount I bought the new wee for was a significant amount of dough. So I decided to jump on the dirt Ninja bandwagon and get my creative juices flowing.

First task was to source the donor ninja. Wouldn't you know it I found a 2008 with 18 miles on it locally? This guy was an Iron Butt rider obviously, riding approximately 6 miles per year. It had been stoplight dropped on each side but the tiny scratches on the fairings didn't bother me. They're getting junked/sold anyway.

Since buying it I've been using it to commute just so I can get some use out of it before it gets torn apart. I have to say the engine is as sweet as everyone has been saying. Aside from that it is just a cheap "sport" styled bike. Nothing super special about it.

So I've subscribed to all the other Ninja and Versys builds. I'll give you your due credit in time, I promise.

My progress thus far has been minimal, I've owned the bike a month and have ridden it about 1500 miles. Should I call the PO and tell him I have put almost 100x the mileage he did on it? haha

Parts that will be here by the weekend:
Complete YZ450 front end including forks, wheel, triples, brakes, etc.
2008 Yamaha R1 rear shock
2006 650R oil pan

Parts I still need to source:
KTM/husky cush rear wheel

My intent is to build a bike with about the same offroad capabilities that a lightly modded KLR would have. In other words, a bike that can ride the TAT start to finish, ride over the Colorado passes, do the Trans-Lab, basically take me anywhere I want to go with relative comfort.

Goals:
Under 400lbs
~10 inches of ground clearance
Adequete radiator/engine protection
Keep the steering from being reduced as much as possible
get an additional 2 gallons of fuel onto the bike


Stay tuned, I should have some progress(pictures of course) this weekend.

Looking forward to the build, this was going to be my first choice with a 21" wheel.

I see you have a JD2 bender as well, they are very handy, I used mine extensively during my build. I found the 1" die is a perfect size for crash bars. I might get a 3/4" for smaller racks etc.

Go get em

Awesome project, love the kawak 650 twin. Really hoping they make a punched out, 270-degree crank version with top spec components sooner rather than later.

Won't the R1 shock be way short and prone to over-heating? Its designed to damp <5" of travel on a super-light bike on smooth roads I think.

10" of ground clearance and 12" of fork travel may end badly. I'd want at least an inch or two of clearance with both ends totally bottomed out.

I was wondering if the 1" was maybe a little too big but it is only 1/8" bigger than what the majority of crashbars appear to be made of.

Thanks for the encouragement. I can't wait. I think once the front end is on it will all fall together nicely.

My goal is to mod the oil pan and fit the rear shock this weekend. I'm moving into a new house next week (my own garage) so the bike needs to be mobile in order for easier transport.

if you look at my build thread I used 1" 0.065 wall DOM for everything bent except the bottom tubes of the subframe which are 1.25".

I just used my 1.25" die this week to make the lower frame spars.

The 1" is the best one to have, my heavens they are expensive though right??

Yea the dies are pretty absurd. The bender does work great though. I may do lower frame rails...I'll see when I get the fairings off.

pjm204,you have or will be receiving a PM from me after I finish typing this.

PM replied to.

Got my wheel, it's not perfect but it was pretty cheap.

Subscribed

Subscribed.


We like pictures.

David

I will be getting back to you tomorrow.


For those that are attempting this and want to know what front ends may work,compare steering stem bearing sizes.
The EX650R and the ER-6N run 35mm x 55mm x 14mm steering stem bearings.Here is a link to a cross reference chart.
http://scandalon.com/2009/06/motorcycle-steering-stem-bearing-size-chart/

Conversion bearings can be found here.
http://www.allballsracing.com/index.php/forkconvertion

Won't be able to get any pictures on here until Friday or Saturday. Sorry everyone.

anyone thought about the FZ6 as a baseline?

I don't see why not, though it might be hard to get all those pipes out of the way if you want lots of ground clearance. And that motor is really peaky. My brother had one and it was always up in the revs.

Assuming the frame is similar to the fz1, it's a great choice. No swingarm through the motor means you can adapt dirt bike swingarm. The pipes do stick out but r6 header should be a close fit or go custom. Front end is as easy as the other build s. The motor is peaky but should haul ass. The limiting factor for some is getting the 650 ninja rear travel to match the 10+" of usd forks. Having an easily replaceable swingarm from a ktm with no linkage streamlines the process and matches travel front and rear.

now about those pics...

Haha pics won't happen until Friday/Saturday. I'm in texas currently. But I should make progress this weekend. Everything I need is on its way.
Rear wheel, Front end, rear shock, oil pan.

ok im in

i shall poke around for a cadaver

I just want to let you know, I think you owe this build partly to me haha. I almost bought that bike from the Flea Market if it is the one I'm thinking of. You got a great deal. I'm just kidding though, the bike went to the right place!

Every time one of these threads pops up I wonder if somewhere, some Kawi employee is thinking about the old KLE500 and wondering what went wrong.