V649HP-Kawasaki's new gravel runner

[jdrocks]

Originally Posted by sanjoh

Not really a safari but planning on riding the continent.

i know an inmate who has some riding experience there if you want the contact info.

[dhr]

From the reading I have done it looks like 08+ KLR forks will fit into the stock 650R triple clamps since both have 41mm forks. Does anyone know if the KLR wheel, caliper etc. also fit without modification? I have been unable to find information about anyone doing the swap.

[jdrocks]

Originally Posted by dhr

From the reading I have done it looks like 08+ KLR forks will fit into the stock 650R triple clamps since both have 41mm forks. Does anyone know if the KLR wheel, caliper etc. also fit without modification? I have been unable to find information about anyone doing the swap.

tonymorr's old bike from back in 2008.

Update......current pic:


those are 41mm KLR forks in the OEM ER6 (650R, EX650) clamps. his setup is 19/17, but the 19 with tire is not much different in diameter than the 21 with tire. the KLR and ER6 clamps have different centers, so you're looking at wheel spacers and a caliper spacer to make the 21" KLR spoke wheel fit. very easy work.

haven't seen any recent builds using the KLR forks, although bodie1 reports he has a bike in the pipeline using this setup.

i like the 19" wheel on these bikes for a variety of reasons, but that's just one opinion, others vary.

[dhr]

Originally Posted by jdrocks

tonymorr's old bike from back in 2008.

Update......current pic:


those are 41mm KLR forks in the OEM ER6 (650R, EX650) clamps. his setup is 19/17, but the 19 with tire is not much different in diameter than the 21 with tire. the KLR and ER6 clamps have different centers, so you're looking at wheel spacers and a caliper spacer to make the 21" KLR spoke wheel fit. very easy work.

haven't seen any recent builds using the KLR forks, although bodie1 reports he has a bike in the pipeline using this setup.

i like the 19" wheel on these bikes for a variety of reasons, but that's just one opinion, others vary.

Thanks! I thought it had been done before. The KLR and ER6 clamps having different centers was the key information that I could not find. Sounds as close to a truly bolt on front end as I have found so far.

[jdrocks]

Originally Posted by dhr

Thanks! I thought it had been done before. The KLR and ER6 clamps having different centers was the key information that I could not find. Sounds as close to a truly bolt on front end as I have found so far.

there are some subtleties involved before you could state one is easier than another. cost, wheel selection, axle size, caliper options, available rotor diameters, fork performance in OEM configuation...and so on.

the good news is that there are examples of many fork/wheel/brake combinations to look at, and all of the work is fairly easy.

if you build a bike, come back with a photo, i'd like to see what you decided to do.

[pjm204]

I know my YZ450 front end was nothing more than conversion bearings, however the turning radius so quite reduced. Takes awhile to turn around on the trail.

Its not easy to find 08+ KLR forks cheap, and I'm not sure I'd want to pay a lot for sub-par forks just to save a little time.

[jdrocks]

Originally Posted by pjm204

I know my YZ450 front end was nothing more than conversion bearings, however the turning radius so quite reduced. Takes awhile to turn around on the trail.

the restricted turning radius is a recurring theme with the USD fork setups, not the case with the conventional KLR or DRZ forks.

[jdrocks]

way back on page one of this thread, i proposed a turnkey budget of $1200 for this build. this is the most representative photo of the build, but the question remains..."how does the bike match up with the original budget?"



i kept fairly good records, and also got some good prices on the excess parts i sold.

the V649HP bike in the photo cost $540, including panniers and mounts, but excluding tires and parts i reused from previous bikes, such as the engine guards, hand guards, headlight, and signals. i did not put a price on any small parts shop fabricated from scrap, or include a number for labor. bottom line, if tires and an estimated price for the reused parts are added to the total, the bike came in on budget, maybe a little under.

not too bad, but the $1200 cost was twice what i anticipated lately before i added up all the numbers. the cost of ownership for this bike is negligible in both an absolute sense, and in comparison to other newer bikes of the same relative size and type.

so far, this budget build has carried me safely on 17,000 miles of adventure.

[pjm204]

Originally Posted by jdrocks

the restricted turning radius is a recurring theme with the USD fork setups, not the case with the conventional KLR or DRZ forks.

It hasn't been a big issue and the forks are so good that I think it makes up for this. I'm also very happy with the R1 shock compared to the stock ninja shock. I'm still dialing it in though, I've bottomed the tire out into the underseat quite a few times.

Bike looks great btw!

[dhr]

Originally Posted by jdrocks

there are some subtleties involved before you could state one is easier than another. cost, wheel selection, axle size, caliper options, available rotor diameters, fork performance in OEM configuation...and so on.

That is all true, I should not call any project easy until I try to do it myself.

Not sure if I am going to try and build a Ninja 650 dirt special yet. I would enjoy the project but not sure how the end motorcycle would fit into my needs. Also need to get a deal on a Ninja 650 first

[jdrocks]

Originally Posted by dhr

Also need to get a deal on a Ninja 650 first

that's it, the right bike at the right price is the underpinning of the whole project.

[DataDaddy]

Thanks for taking the time to document all of this.
A project like this looks it would scratch some of the itches I miss from my KLR. Also, looks more practical to my world than a 950SE (the only bike I saw as a suitable KLR replacement... )

Originally Posted by jdrocks

way back on page one of this thread, i proposed a turnkey budget of $1200 for this build. this is the most representative photo of the build, but the question remains..."how does the bike match up with the original budget?"



i kept fairly good records, and also got some good prices on the excess parts i sold.

the V649HP bike in the photo cost $540, including panniers and mounts, but excluding tires and parts i reused from previous bikes, such as the engine guards, hand guards, headlight, and signals. i did not put a price on any small parts shop fabricated from scrap, or include a number for labor. bottom line, if tires and an estimated price for the reused parts are added to the total, the bike came in on budget, maybe a little under.

not too bad, but the $1200 cost was twice what i anticipated lately before i added up all the numbers. the cost of ownership for this bike is negligible in both an absolute sense, and in comparison to other newer bikes of the same relative size and type.

so far, this budget build has carried me safely on 17,000 miles of adventure.

[jdrocks]

Originally Posted by DataDaddy

Thanks for taking the time to document all of this.
A project like this looks it would scratch some of the itches I miss from my KLR. Also, looks more practical to my world than a 950SE (the only bike I saw as a suitable KLR replacement... )

if you liked your KLR, you'll love one of these, although the V649 rat with this suspension is taller than a KLR.

just think, the out of pocket cost for this specific bike was the same as a couple sceduled services on a big KTM, or one major service on a new 12GSA.

[jdrocks]

a final, and i do mean final, word on Kenda Big Blocks. go ahead, mount those heavy wall chunky tread tires on the bike, snap a photo, smile, and enjoy the moment...'cause that's the very last second you will like these tires.

heck, they did look kinda cool, but i didn't know at the time that they were made out of black Cheez Whiz. no, i don't want to give Cheez Whiz a bad name, the tire compound would have been much better if it really was made from cheese in a can. if i had been in the Kenda marketing department, i would have suggested the product engineers blend in a bunch of bacon grease with their Big Block tire compound formula. that way, everyone behind you would enjoy a sniff of that good ol' hot bacon smell as the tires quickly melted away...anyway, that's my product review, i cut it short before i got carried away.

i demounted the 19" Big Block front and replaced it with a used TKC before i head for the mountains, the BB looked so cupped and nasty i wasn't sure it would get me there and back.



TKC front, Kenda back. the Kenda has a thousand miles less than the TKC in the photo, and the TKC will run to 8-9,000, maybe a few miles more. the Kenda first cost is less than the TKC, but is obviously not a good buy.

The rear Kenda is coming off next, no more Cheez Whiz.

[jdrocks]

riding a combination of the Blue Ridge Trail and the Trans West Virginia Trail from Front Royal, VA to White Sulphur Springs, WV over the weekend, it's the back way south. heavy rain saturday afternoon, and the gravel roads were silty or muddy depending on how much gravel surface was present. man, it was really wet out there.

on some of the last gravel southbound, the sun had come out, the air temp went up, and i could hear the cooling fan starting to cycle on and off. that sound means one thing, the radiator is clogged with two days of mud.



the temp warning light wasn't on, but the fan noise is a reminder to flush the mud out of the radiator at the next stop. if the temp light comes on, ya better find a creek and start sloshing water on that radiator to get the worst of it off. it's surprising how much mud comes out of there, i've seen my wife pot a plant with less dirt.

my radiator guard is a standoff design, the theory being that it better protects the radiator if hit with something big, but also it tends to stop the mud in front of the face of the radiator. once mud starts accumulating on the core, the buildup accelerates.