V649HP-Kawasaki's new gravel runner

You might want to check the fork travel ... the DRZ400 fork has 11.8 inches of travel .... You might have to put in a extra long top out bumper to limit travel to 10" ... by doing the top out mod ... you will bring the overall fork length down so you will have less problems with front to rear geometry ... and a reasonable seat height ... are you going to use the DRZ brake caliper ... or the Versys one ...?

hey mark, for my use i want the 19" in tubeless. custom 19" spoked front and matching 17" rear with sealed wheels just ain't in the budget, already looked at it.

the cast wheels have held up well to a pounding, and dealing with roadside tire repair up north is much easier with tubeless. you've been there, so you know fixing a tire problem in the dust, mud, bugs, rain, snow, whatever, can be a nightmare. don't want tubes.

the 11.8" travel rating is a little puzzling because the if the forks are all the way down in the DRZ clamps, i don't think there's that much room from the underside of the bottom clamp to the seal. i'll have to check again. is there a write up on the top out mod? please point to it.

i have a DRZ caliper, but will probably use something else to fit a street style rotor in a 280-310mm diameter, maybe the 650R/Versys. both the same part.

looking forward to seeing it together, cause what you learn here will be of help to me with and my new project.

With the DRZ triple tree ... the lower triple clamp has a gull wing built in, to handle the travel, unlike the versys triple ... to limit fork travel on the cartrige fork ... you will have to dissassemble the fork ... pull out the cartridge assembly and dissassemble it ... there will be a top out spring in there to do its obvious job ... once you decide how much travel you want ... make the appropriate bushing to put behind the top out spring ... reassemble

In reference to the leading axle screwing up the handling ... My opinion is It will make it better ... Coming off a DL1000 ... to the Versys ... At first I didn't like it ... the ride was choppy ... and the wheel base ... being much shorter than the DL1000 made the Versys seem unstable to me ... as time went on I got used to it ... but to this day ... I miss the stability and the better ride that the DL1000 provides ... I just made a long story out of saying ... the extra 1" to 11/2" of wheel base the leading axle is going to provide ( in my 40 years of modding bikes ) is going to make it better ... not worse

It's not a wheelbase thing. Your vstrom has tripple trees designed for a leading axle. So the trail is set right for it. It is well beyond a wheel base thing. With out enough trail the bike will be unstable

This kind of explains it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicycle_and_motorcycle_geometry

I'm not disputing what your saying ... Just saying from a practical point of view ... that I have done this sort of thing before ... with no Ill effects ... being that Jd is working with a 19" front wheel ( 17" standard ) ... he has already increased his trail ... that coupled with longer travel forks ... ( front ride heigth higher) ... what he has gained in trail ... he is giving back with the offset axle ... I'm betting it will work out just fine ...

i'm leaning that direction too.

the discussion here is along the same lines of thought that occurred when the godfather of these rats...tonymorr...stuck the 41mm KLR forks in the stock 650R clamps. the 650R and Versys bikes share the same rake and trail @ 25/4.2, and although the KLR forks are shorter than the DRZ forks, i don't recall tony reporting any ride problems. he was also running a 19" front, and rode the bike all over the place. the KLR is 28/4.4 and the DRZ400S is 27/4.2, for comparison.

if tony's internet line isn't frozen in balmy upstate land, maybe he can chime in on the subject.

i'm more concerned about the DRZ fork travel in those Versys clamps, so when are ya going to swing by to supervise while i pull them apart? do you typically fabricate an aluminum spacer, or do you buy those somewhere?

this is what i mean when i say that the DRZ clamps are very close to the Versys clamps top to bottom. hit or miss on the travel stroke, what happens to one should happen to the other.

should be interesting...

I say before we start frettin about fork travel clearence ... unscrew the top caps and let the forks collapse completely ... then you will know for sure what the minimum ride height will have to be with the stock DRZ travel ... then you can make you decision from there what to do ...

that bike is going to look HOT ...

when you get to the rear suspension ... I have and idea ... to put in a longer rear shock I.E. longer suspension travel ...

what are the differences between the versys and er6n frames???

Looking good JD. I know what you mean about painting frames, a real PIA. Here is a tool I came up with that helps a ton. Build a fixture to put the frame in an engine stand. You can rotate the frame then to access the tough parts.

NOW ... That is a Great Idea .... !!!!

thanks for the suggestion on the forks.

PM on the way.

main frames the same except for some misc. mounting tabs for the plastic. subframes are different from the battery box back.

more on this later.

the world likes a thinkin' man, cool idea. a mini version of the fixture the auto resto guys use. well done, thanks for bringing it in.