V649HP-Kawasaki's new gravel runner

I can't drink hard liquor anymore - I end up throwing rocks at my house. . Plus, they frown on being drunk at work.

nah, he's one of them Blue Nosers from Eastern Canuckistan, one of fredgreen's pals.

in our local "mountains", 18" the other day, and snowing again now.

you probably like your house, job too, so sorry, there's no hope.

wait a minute, have ya tried Blue by the suitcase, that should work.

Had coffee with Fred tonight to plot out course and departure times for the Eastern Rendezvous. It's unfortunate that our route doesn't take us near your neck of the woods.

lots of little details go into these things, like fitting an ER6 instrument pod on the front light assembly...more little parts with a formed radius.



the auxiliary light mount also carries a very bright amber LED marker light.



red LED auxiliary brake light in place.

The repair I mentioned was done by Douglas....

i guess that means that you're going to ride all the way to TN in Fred's Ural hack. the ADV world will need photos.

PM your route/schedule, i may be out that way, ya never know.

...and there was a damn rigorous inspection done before departing on those transoceanic routes you flew left seat.

remember the SPF50, Father Edward, that sun on the AZ golf courses can be brutal.

JD,
Thank you for a detailed walkthrough of the wiring fortificaiton.
The bike looks mean from the front. Your bike in any form should be DAKAR ready :)

thanks, but no Dakar, i've seen the footage...be fun on those spectator roads though.

YES!!! And yesterday set a record at 88F at PHX!

(What temp did you get...?)

didn't quite get to 88, but the sleet stayed a little west of me, which was nice.

40 here. A nice break before we plunge back under freezing for a week or so.

What is your take on the Rowe Electronics PDM60?

http://www.rowe-electronics.com/modules
http://pdm60.com/

A Advrider's perspective
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=638076

yikes!

haven't used one, so i can't speak to any issues, like reliability and durability.

as i've said, i want simplicity and proven performance. don't need 6 circuits, no heated anything, and no gizmos besides the GPS. 60amps is beyond the total output of the generator.

Well... its not coming back up in the 10 day forecast. Thanks for jinxing us.

ain't my fault, it's just global warming. we're scheduled for more global warming snow in a few days.

anyway, after changing direction again, the last of the parts are due in Saturday, so when the roads are clear, this beast should be ready for a road test.

then back in for pannier mounts, some kind of gravel guard, and whatever else i decide i need.


on an interesting side note, the Northwest Territory folks are going to interview me regarding moto tourism through that part of Canada. there are plans afoot that would mean huge changes coming to those northern roads i've always called "the big gravel".

from the ride report Offroadpeople: Mongolian cosmonauts 2013

an interesting comment from one of the Russian riders on that trip regarding the relative merits of low vs high mount fenders for bikes being prepped for those kinds of roads...

from grom (rider) "I prefer low fender. Clean radiator is much more important than hypothetical chance of that kind of dirt where it is still possible to ride but only with high fender." i would agree, especially with ptwin platform bikes and their large transverse mounted radiator. been parked with a mud clogged radiator, so there's a larger low fender on the current build.

looking at the photos, the air cooled bikes had high fenders, but not all the water cooled bikes had low fenders. no consensus.

great report with photos and video. gorgeous country for moto travel.

I DO recall trying to clear mud from a low-mount fender after it became jammed solid (way back when), w/ a branch from a tree.

Shortly after I put a high-mount on it!

NOW I just try to avoid that crap...!