I took the GR on the Elephant Ride this year. It was a blast. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/hT5v9DBTm3c" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
That's a tough one. If you want OEM gauges then check eBay and you probably want to check eBay sites in some European countries as well since this is going to be hard to find. If you are going to buy an aftermarket speedo they come in different ratios. The GR is 2240:60 (2240 RPM= 60 MPH). I bought a cheap J&P branded speedo from J&P and it never worked well and completely broke in 6 months and they wouldn't replace it, so I don't recommend them. Lots of Harley's are 2240:60 so there are lots of speedos out there that will work. The last option I can think of is a Trailtech Vapor unit. It permanently mounts to the bike. You will need to glue a magnet to the front tire and clamp a pickup to the forks to run the unit. These are popular for plated dirt bikes.
Wow, Well worth reading and the end result is super cool. A huge pat on the back for such an inspired build.
one of the innovative aspects of the GR650 is the dual mass flywheel: at lower RPMs a secondary flywheel engages so the bike will idle and accelerate smoother. When pulling away at WOT, it almost feels like the bike downshifts at a certain RPM and I've been suspicious that this is caused they the disengaging flywheel. Something I've wanted to do for a while now is remove the second flywheel and see how it handles. I finally got around to it recently. It's a pretty simple system that was very easy to remove. Pulling away from a stop now requires a little more clutch slipping, but no more than any modern dirt bike. Power delivery is much smoother throughout the RPM range. I no longer have to keep the bike at peak RPM to keep the engine from feeling sluggish. I thought I would have to raise the idle to keep the bike idling smoothly, but that did not turn out to be the case. Needless to say, the second flywheel will not be going back on.
The GR now has new shoes: Old: New: The biggest change with the tires is going from a 16" to a 19" rear. The GR has always felt wobbly in high speed corners. A couple people have suggested it had a flexible chassis. turns out it has a lot more to do with that balloon of a back tire. With the 19" rear, handling is much better.
Thanks for the rims, Rich. I really like spoked wheels. If you know someone who prefers cast wheels on a their GR, I have an extra set.
Pablo, that's exactly how my GR feels in a long fast sweeper, wobbly. Tried to pump up the tire pressure, new rear shock, pumped up the pressure in the front shocks and checked the swingarm bearings. Still has it and feels better if I ride it with one hand in those situations. Maybe it is the big tire?
I considered beefing up the rear swingarm a number of times. I'm glad I went with the tire change first. The stock tire is a 130/90-16 which means it has a profile height of 117mm. My new rear tire is a 120/80-18 with a 96mm profile. I'm not a fan of 16" rims: there's no dual sport selection available for them . I'm really happy with the improved handling of the new tire, but I'd prefer something slightly wider for better aesthetics. If I were going to stick with the stock rim I would try a 130/70-16.
If you want to try a wider rim, try Woody's Wheel Works in Denver. Those folks can lace-up about any combination ya want......... and they do excellent work.
VTwin, if you decide to try spoke wheels (and different tire sizes obviously), let me know. I still have one, maybe two rear hubs hanging around in my garage.
