THE 919 TRANSALP PROJECT . . . or "The Tigress" - Page 2

Jigo · 03-09-2012, 11:20 AM

Nice! May I know where you bought those windshields? Thanks in advance.

KEN PHENIX · 03-09-2012, 11:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jigo

Nice! May I know where you bought those windshields? Thanks in advance.

Sure thing. The screen is a National Cycle Street Shield I picked up used on ebay. It's good quality and blocks the wind alright but I wouldn't go out of my way to get a new one.

The hand guards are Moose Racing. The aluminum and plastic pieces must be ordered separately.

http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com...andguards.aspx

http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com...Protector.aspx

amk · 04-14-2012, 08:58 PM

Have you tried it off road yet? To what extend? How did it work?
What is the suspension movement now, and what is the ground clearance?

KEN PHENIX · 04-15-2012, 10:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by amk

Have you tried it off road yet? To what extend? How did it work?
What is the suspension movement now, and what is the ground clearance?

I rode dirt bikes in my teens but don't have any recent dirt experience so I'm waiting until after I get the crash bars / skid plate built to see what level of dirt work I want to put her through. I took her up and down a wet grassy embankment and the D616's did not inspire confidence. I'm thinking maybe Tourance on different wheels. Work gets in the way and now I'm gearing up for a 4,000 mile road trip. I'll report on off road action if I see any.

My suspension mods raised the ride height about 1.5" and a picked up about 3/4" of travel. This 919 is by far the most nimble "street bike" I've ever ridden. The progress is slow but I'm having a blast.

Kai Ju · 04-15-2012, 08:01 PM

I owned a 919 for about 20,000 miles or so, bitchin bike.
Love your build and I thought I'd contribute a bit of knowledge.
I had mine set up for commuting and the occasional canyon ride so I wanted better suspension than the stock, non adjustable units. I found a Racetech'ed CBR 600 F3 shock which was a bolt on and is 10mm longer than the stock one. It's also fully adjustable and comes with a remote reservoir that fits perfectly where the so called stock tool kit used to live. CBR600F4 forks slide right in as well and are compression, rebound and preload adustable.

I'm looking forward to see where this will go.

jaydee1445 · 04-18-2012, 09:43 AM

Hey Ken,
how would you compare the size and fit of the 919 to your Bandit? I love my Bandit but it is too cramped with wifey on the back.

GlassAnkles · 04-18-2012, 11:33 AM

looks amazing, almost like it was touring style bike from the factory

KEN PHENIX · 04-18-2012, 08:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaydee1445

Hey Ken,
how would you compare the size and fit of the 919 to your Bandit? I love my Bandit but it is too cramped with wifey on the back.

Yeah, same here - I can't even get her to ride with me on this bike.

I think you would need an aftermarket seat or at least a cushion to go touring two-up on either bike.

KEN PHENIX · 05-19-2012, 08:23 PM

UPDATE:

I put the Tigress through a bit of a road test - 4,000 miles worth. I started off with a BB1500 and touched 19 states in 13 days.

RIDE REPORT

I learned a few things. The bike's performance was absolutely flawless. The CB900F has a huge power band - plenty of grunt in any gear - more than I'll ever need. My minor suspension mods proved comfortable enough on long distance runs. The ergos need work: The bars need to go up another inch so I'll be ordering motionpro cables. The peg placement is a tad high on the 919 which wouldn't have been a problem if I'd had time to build the engine guards and added some highway pegs. My old knees were sufferin' the last few days on the road. The lack of the guards precluded much off road testing. I will say this smooth nimble tourer became a heavy beast in a hurry on fresh 1.5" limestone aggregate.

Most importantly, I have some decision making to do regarding tires. The Dunlpp D616 is a fantastic pavement tire - superb in the wet. However, I have already gone through 2 rears. The most I can expect is around 4500 miles a whack. The front tire pressure can make the bike pretty twitchy at high speed in high wind. Dropping a couple psi made a huge improvement in stability. Front tire tread is virtually unscathed @ 9k. The D616 will never inspire confidence, in me at least, off road. I'm not ready for the new fatboy TKC80 - especially @ $250 a copy. I don't expect to ever do more than 20% off road with this machine. I could throw in the towel and go back to the Storm St or Pilot Road and be happy. Or I can keep feeding this beast D616 rubber at least while looking for wheels suitable for a set of Anakee's, etc. Conclusion: I will need 2 sets of tires and wheels.

So it's a work in progress but she's an absolute blast to ride.

Stay tuned.

Gypsy_Writer · 05-21-2012, 04:20 PM

For tires have you tried searching your size on http://www.chaparral-racing.com/? I'm looking at a Suzuki SV650-ADV conversion and they have decent prices on 17" dual-sport tires. I'm thinking about going for the TKC front and Full Bore rear. Just a thought. I like what you've done and am interested to see how you fabricate a skid plate and crash bars for it!

OHjim · 05-21-2012, 04:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gypsy_Writer

For tires have you tried searching your size on http://www.chaparral-racing.com/? I'm thinking about going for the TKC front and Full Bore rear.

The Full Bore tires look a lot like Shinko's. Anybody know if they are the same?

Full Bore:

Shinko:

amk · 05-21-2012, 04:39 PM

They come from the same factory. Fact.

Think the manufacturer has changed the name because of the poor shinko reputation.

KEN PHENIX · 05-21-2012, 08:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gypsy_Writer

For tires have you tried searching your size on http://www.chaparral-racing.com/? I'm looking at a Suzuki SV650-ADV conversion and they have decent prices on 17" dual-sport tires. I'm thinking about going for the TKC front and Full Bore rear. Just a thought. I like what you've done and am interested to see how you fabricate a skid plate and crash bars for it!

Yep, thanks though. Hopefully someday somebody will offer a tire like that in a 180/55/17 to span my 6" wide wheel.

JALnSC · 06-08-2012, 05:42 PM

You have my attention on this.
Subscribed.

KEN PHENIX · 06-08-2012, 06:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JALnSC

You have my attention on this.
Subscribed.

Cool. About 5 minutes ago I pulled the trigger on a set of +3" motionpro.com cables and some 30mm bar risers. I'll get back to work on it asap. If I can just tweak the bar and peg ergos a bit, this thing will be a fantastic adv-touring machine.

. . . . then maybe I'll totally fill the windscreen with these.

03-09-2012, 11:20 AM	#16
Jigo Westbound Joined: Jun 2010 Location: Windy City Oddometer: 76	Nice! May I know where you bought those windshields? Thanks in advance. __________________ Chicago to Vancouver and back http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=603609

05-19-2012, 08:23 PM	#24
KEN PHENIX ^OP . . . thinks he likes it Joined: Jan 2008 Location: SOUTHEAST TEXAS Oddometer: 515	Road Test UPDATE: I put the Tigress through a bit of a road test - 4,000 miles worth. I started off with a BB1500 and touched 19 states in 13 days. RIDE REPORT I learned a few things. The bike's performance was absolutely flawless. The CB900F has a huge power band - plenty of grunt in any gear - more than I'll ever need. My minor suspension mods proved comfortable enough on long distance runs. The ergos need work: The bars need to go up another inch so I'll be ordering motionpro cables. The peg placement is a tad high on the 919 which wouldn't have been a problem if I'd had time to build the engine guards and added some highway pegs. My old knees were sufferin' the last few days on the road. The lack of the guards precluded much off road testing. I will say this smooth nimble tourer became a heavy beast in a hurry on fresh 1.5" limestone aggregate. Most importantly, I have some decision making to do regarding tires. The Dunlpp D616 is a fantastic pavement tire - superb in the wet. However, I have already gone through 2 rears. The most I can expect is around 4500 miles a whack. The front tire pressure can make the bike pretty twitchy at high speed in high wind. Dropping a couple psi made a huge improvement in stability. Front tire tread is virtually unscathed @ 9k. The D616 will never inspire confidence, in me at least, off road. I'm not ready for the new fatboy TKC80 - especially @ $250 a copy. I don't expect to ever do more than 20% off road with this machine. I could throw in the towel and go back to the Storm St or Pilot Road and be happy. Or I can keep feeding this beast D616 rubber at least while looking for wheels suitable for a set of Anakee's, etc. Conclusion: I will need 2 sets of tires and wheels. So it's a work in progress but she's an absolute blast to ride. Stay tuned. __________________ Ken Phenix IBA #47092 The 919 Transalp Project KatanaBandit (sold) smugmug pics KEN PHENIX screwed with this post 05-20-2012 at 04:30 PM

05-21-2012, 04:20 PM	#25
Gypsy_Writer It's all good! Joined: Jan 2012 Location: N. Idaho FS Oddometer: 47	For tires have you tried searching your size on http://www.chaparral-racing.com/? I'm looking at a Suzuki SV650-ADV conversion and they have decent prices on 17" dual-sport tires. I'm thinking about going for the TKC front and Full Bore rear. Just a thought. I like what you've done and am interested to see how you fabricate a skid plate and crash bars for it! __________________ Life is too short to waste on boring roads. I'm not too short, the rest of the world is just too tall. If I had to choose between the city and the country, I would choose the ocean. Gypsy_Writer screwed with this post 05-21-2012 at 04:21 PM Reason: horrendous typo

06-08-2012, 05:42 PM	#29
JALnSC Studly Adventurer Joined: Jun 2009 Location: Florence SC Oddometer: 998	You have my attention on this. Subscribed. __________________ You think chicks dig guys looking like road-grimed power-rangers with cool scars? You must be smoking rope, Boy!

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version Email this Page	Search this Thread: .
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode

04-14-2012, 08:58 PM	#18
amk Gnarly Adventurer Joined: Jun 2007 Oddometer: 372	Have you tried it off road yet? To what extend? How did it work? What is the suspension movement now, and what is the ground clearance?

04-15-2012, 08:01 PM	#20
Kai Ju Beastly Adventurer Joined: Jul 2009 Location: So Cal Oddometer: 1,068	I owned a 919 for about 20,000 miles or so, bitchin bike. Love your build and I thought I'd contribute a bit of knowledge. I had mine set up for commuting and the occasional canyon ride so I wanted better suspension than the stock, non adjustable units. I found a Racetech'ed CBR 600 F3 shock which was a bolt on and is 10mm longer than the stock one. It's also fully adjustable and comes with a remote reservoir that fits perfectly where the so called stock tool kit used to live. CBR600F4 forks slide right in as well and are compression, rebound and preload adustable. I'm looking forward to see where this will go.

04-18-2012, 09:43 AM	#21
jaydee1445 Footpeg Crash Tester Joined: Jul 2006 Location: high sided into the orange grove Oddometer: 3,693	Hey Ken, how would you compare the size and fit of the 919 to your Bandit? I love my Bandit but it is too cramped with wifey on the back.

04-18-2012, 11:33 AM	#22
GlassAnkles Chip to Queso Ratio Joined: Sep 2008 Location: KS Oddometer: 923	looks amazing, almost like it was touring style bike from the factory

05-21-2012, 04:39 PM	#27
amk Gnarly Adventurer Joined: Jun 2007 Oddometer: 372	They come from the same factory. Fact. Think the manufacturer has changed the name because of the poor shinko reputation.