Yet another KLRE650...

Ok, so thanks to RepsolRider and his Super Rio, which is the basis for this build.

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=640772&highlight=kle650

Apologies in advance - I had LOTS of pictures, most of which got deleted by accident. Basically the finished product (well, still have some details to touch up) is all the pictures I have, but just wanted to post her up anyway.

<iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/wSkEx71Umqs" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="349" width="425"></iframe>















The only thing I didn't do myself on this project was the exhaust. The muffler is a titanium stocker off an R1. Nice, light, quiet, free.


Anyway, this is an amateur build at best, so excuse the shitty welds, etc. ***Ride impressions later in the thread.***

"Anyway, this is an amateur build at best, so excuse the shitty welds and setup. I've only ridden the bike around the block so far, but so far, seems like plenty of power and similar weight to what it was in stock form."

This may be true, but you do have a KLR with a 650r motor in it.
Yes another KLRE650.

Great Job!

Wow, somehow I thought I'd have the second one. One should never assume anything. Congrats on working it out. Now build some proper downtubes for that Beast!

SamM

I'd sure like to see the downtubes that you built. oser

Just for the record, my downtubes are part of the factory Ninja 650 frame... definitely stronger than anything I can build and fit quite well.

A wiseman once said, "... a man's gotta know his limitations!"

Honestly, I didn't realize that was part of the Ninja frame. I let the pros do the stuff that I can't or won't trust my life to! All will be revealed soon enough. What did you do about the airfilters and engine offset?

SamM

Air filtration is pretty tough - I may build an airbox later, but so far I've been playing around with filtration right over the throttle body - there is very little clearance on the left cylinder. The engine sits a bit to the right for sprocket alignment, but doesn't seem to be an issue - just had to beat the tank in with a hammer to make it clear the motor.

Rode the bike into work today - no issues so far. It's really nice to have a 6th gear!

Pretty much the same thing we have seen. We have some original ideas about a few things that you have mentioned. How is the cooling with the stock '08 radiator? I bet 6th gear is nice to have. Congrats on the bike! Very cool!

SamM

You asked so it's not really a hijack. Here are a couple of teaser pics. There will be spreader bars fishmouthed above the oil filter and just in front of the oil pan. The JNS skidplate will fit the same as it did before. The only difference is that the skidplate will need to be removed to access the oil filter for oil changes. No big deal! We have also changed a few things and have a novel approach to others. Hope you like the pics!

SamM

AOK on the cooling - the 08+ rad is alu and almost exactly the same size as the Ninja's, only it's set up to be vertical on the side, as opposed to horizontal in the middle, which seemed easier to mount.

KILLER job enjoy your, Super rare bike. Keep us in the loop with perfomance reports.

Cheers S,

Thanks RR - sure do appreciate your help!

SamM - I see the pics now - lookin' good!

Took a little ride out into the hills after work today with a buddy on his DR. Nothing crazy, just some gravel roads and the like, but the new rig performed admirably, and I must say, I'm quite pleased with myself.

Great power, good engine braking, flat torque curve, super smooth, and not picky about what gear you're in. If you're in a low gear uphill, she's a little sensitive to power input, but something you get used to, or simply upshift to get rid of (EDIT: now that I think about it, this is probably due to the fact that I removed the secondary throttle butterflies). The stock sprockets from the Ninja motor and the KLR wheel even are working out perfectly for me. Highways on the way home are no problem up to 90+ mph.

The only minuses so far are the brake pedal, which needs to be moved a bit, as the engine case makes it awkward to access and the fuel map isn't 100% right, and with engine braking the exhaust had a lean pop to it on rare occasion. It's pretty close, and I'm not sure if I'll get a PC and a custom map yet or not. It certainly would help, but I'm not sure it's worth the money - a rear shock would prob be closer to the top of my list.

The first two are vids (click on them) and the rest are pics for you to enjoy! (Noise in the vids is a Nalgene bottle and leatherman bouncing around in the saddlebags.)












Titanium exhaust - factory can off a 2009 Yamaha R1.

Thanks Krasniewski! I hope you don't think that I was criticizing your bike in any way. There are many ways to get the same result. You've got a KLRE now and that's cool! Please give us your opinion on how great it is and share some riding impressions with us. What do you plan to use it for? Touring? Dualsporting and commuting?

SamM

Wow that was fast. Didn't see your post. Thanks!

It's all good!

I don't really have a car to use on a daily basis - so this bike will probably serve as a commuter / DS fun weekend bike. I have a K12S that I'll probably keep as a long distance bike, and a Ninja 250 that has been superb, but I'll probably part with as it's just not as beloved as either of others.

Found just a couple of pics from the build - I wish I had more from the early stages, but it looks like those are gone and lost forever.


***EDIT*** More pics found 8/10/2012!!! See page 6!






Frame - Initially I wanted to use the factory downtube, I bent it forward halfway, but it wasn't enough room. Limited resources and knowledge here, so I cut out a section of the factory 650R frame (above) to use.


Motor in Frame:



Factory Ninja Tank with fuel pump fitting cut out:




Old propane tank brazed to factory fuel pump fitting:





Motor has to be offset for sprocket alignment:



A few more can be found here:
http://s256.photobucket.com/albums/hh176/Krasniewski/Motos/

Good ride today. Glad I dropped mine instead of yours!!! Thought I'd add an outside, somewhat objective opinion here wrt the swap. The opinion is this: I need my motor to explode so I can justify the swap. Nice, flat torque curve, good compression braking, and the power is there regardless of gear for the most part. And that's with no intake tract or airbox to speak of. With a proper intake and a power commander this thing will be a beast. My DR is fairly quick I think, with a good jetting in a tuned carb, pre-96 motor, open airbox and the like, and it was all I could do to keep my headlight in the mirrors on those short freeway blasts. We hit 80+ in short order...that sixth gear is a huge plus, if not the biggest one. Plus, it's pretty sweet that the motor didn't fall out on the first set of washboards. So. As a guy with little dirt bike experience past an old, overweight DR650, I can say that this is a pretty enviable set-up. Whatever that's worth.

Thanks for sharing your build pix for those who have been contemplating their own 650 twin swaps, they detail some of the challenges fairly well. I see the intake tract as the hardest to solve properly in the long run. It would appear that a custom manifold that re-angles the throttle bodies would go a long ways to solving it but there are still obstacles in the path, it's not simple. I am beginning to think starting with some sort of perimeter type frame might make more sense but they pose their own problems also with fuel tank options etc.

I think what's really important is you "got 'er done" and can find out what other things might be improved or reworked in this process after using it for a while. So far from your initial riding impressions it sounds like it's worth the effort.

Glad that helps!

The only real trick with the build is the intakes. A decent option that both RepsolRider and a friend had thought of was turning the spine into an airbox. It's airtight minus the aft end, where a nice sized filter could go. Of course, the spine would have to be heavily reinforced, as that are happens to be the weak point, but it'd be nice to have a decent airbox. It's probably easier than pulling and planing the intakes on the head to a different angle. You also get a few degrees if'n you flip the rubber intake boots upside down.

Thanks! I'm still REALLY happy wit the results - it's now a bike that's happy just about anywhere... There are probably better bikes, but not at this price point.

Great job man. You did what i'm thinking of trying,combining the engine cradle to the KLR frame. I havent attempted it yet but thats my original thought process.