V649HP-Kawasaki's new gravel runner

[2fast4u]

Originally Posted by jdrocks

from the photo, the mount broke. might have to do the ktmklx fix. mine's been down a dozen times, just lucky, would be real bad news to have it break when standing on it.


so 2fast, when are you going to get that 19 or 21 on the front so ya can really be too fast. with your suspension and the right wheel/tire combo, you might be surprised at what you can outrun.

Yes or break my neck trying. haha .I might change them later but i put the Ninja on some dirt and gravel roads and it did great. You still have to watch stopping i guess because its so heavy. As long as i stay off Tennessee single trac i think its going to be fine with the 17"
I think the bikes you build are awesome and fit great for how and where you ride. ( lucky dog) but i will be riding a lot pavement so i have two sets of wheels, one dirt one street and the Ninja wheels are cheep.

[jdrocks]

Originally Posted by 2fast4u

...I might change them later but i put the Ninja on some dirt and gravel roads and it did great...

i had the same thought, keep two sets of wheels, but the more i ran the 17/19 i realized i wasn't going to be switching back and forth so i sold my other set of 17/17.

at some point you'll be running a 19 or 21 front, just a prediction.

[MTrider16]

Guess BMW did that one right.

T minus 18 hrs, loading the bikes in the trailer tomorrow.

[jdrocks]

Originally Posted by MTrider16

Guess BMW did that one right.

T minus 18 hrs, loading the bikes in the trailer tomorrow.

you really do still ride, i was wondering there for awhile. nice refinished stock trailer, now hauling a different kind of stock. which moto are you taking?

sounds like a great trip, i'd say have fun...but i know you have that locked in.

just don't hit any more cows with the cow catcher on that truck.

[MTrider16]

F8GS. My friends (husband and wife) have a pair of Verseys and a KLR250. Moab is the plan, see what trouble we can get ourselves into.Hopefully none of these.

David

[marguyo]

Originally Posted by MTrider16

Guess BMW did that one right.

T minus 18 hrs, loading the bikes in the trailer tomorrow.

your trailer are made for put 4 horse inside ? with your charge of 4 bike at 70 hp each = 280 horse inside your trailer

[Gypsy_Writer]

Originally Posted by 2fast4u

Yes or break my neck trying. haha .I might change them later but i put the Ninja on some dirt and gravel roads and it did great. You still have to watch stopping i guess because its so heavy. As long as i stay off Tennessee single trac i think its going to be fine with the 17"
I think the bikes you build are awesome and fit great for how and where you ride. ( lucky dog) but i will be riding a lot pavement so i have two sets of wheels, one dirt one street and the Ninja wheels are cheep.

I don't mean to hijack the thread, but what is the bearing size on the Ninja wheel? I'm ADV modding a first generation SV650 and they run a 17" wheel that is a bit expensive if damaged.

[jdrocks]

Originally Posted by marguyo

your trailer are made for put 4 horse inside ? with your charge of 4 bike at 70 hp each = 280 horse inside your trailer

BMW always overestimates the HP rating on their bikes, so with that F800GS in there, figure only 250 horses.

[jdrocks]

Originally Posted by Gypsy_Writer

I don't mean to hijack the thread, but what is the bearing size on the Ninja wheel? I'm ADV modding a first generation SV650 and they run a 17" wheel that is a bit expensive if damaged.

the Ninja/Versys motos use a 20mm axle on both ends, while your first gen SV uses a 17mm. the second gen SV went to 20mm. you can check the Ninja bearing size, then see if you can get it in a 17mm ID. Ninja wheels can be made to work on a SV, but the early SV wheels are cheap on Ebay, so why switch?

i'm using a second gen SV rear wheel on the V649.

[MTrider16]

Originally Posted by jdrocks

BMW always overestimates the HP rating on their bikes, so with that F800GS in there, figure only 250 horses.

The KLR250 brings the average down some also. The f8 held its own on the white rim trail.

David

[jdrocks]

Originally Posted by MTrider16

The KLR250 brings the average down some also. The f8 held its own on the white rim trail.

David

sounds like a fun trip, how did the F800 do with the suspension mods? going to turn the V649 loose next week. i wish i could get west right now, but i'm tied up with too many commitments at present.

[jdrocks]

speaking of the road, the poor rat was sitting there covered with mud from way back in May when i returned from the last beastly V649 outing, man, i needed to get that thing cleaned up, it's going to get launched again shortly.

washed, then up on the lift, i had a TKC takeoff that had about 60% left on it and that tire was going to replace the Big Block that had the same miles and was shot, and no, don't get me started on those POS tires.

wiping down the bike, detailing some, ain't a showbike, but it's a good way to check things out as you go. loose or missing fasteners, anything broken or out of adjustment, the usual, easier to fix in the shop than on the road.

i worked my way back over to the left side when i put my hand on the Fastway footrest, damn, the thing was way loose. if you ever happen to have the shifter/footrest assembly apart, you'll find what i consider a design defect. the linked shifter shares the shaft that is common with the footrest yoke. the shifter rotates on the shaft but the shaft itself is indexed to the the aluminum footrest mount by a shallow 10mm flat in the casting. a fairly normal method of indexing a shaft, but in this case, the flat is neither wide enough nor deep enough.

flopping the bike on the left can and will round the flat if you catch the ground at the wrong angle, then no more shaft index. i don't know how long it had been loose, that last trip i flopped on the right side. removed the socket head bolt at shaft, wire brushed the surfaces, blue, stuck it back together. be sure to have the surfaces correctly mated before you tighten things up.

wouldn't hurt to check that bolt occasionally if you're using the Versys footrest mounts on a build.

[MTrider16]

Originally Posted by jdrocks

sounds like a fun trip, how did the F800 do with the suspension mods? going to turn the V649 loose next week. i wish i could get west right now, but i'm tied up with too many commitments at present.

It was a good trip. The white rim was challenging towards the end, especially on the big bikes through a couple of sandy parts. F8 did better than the versys with a rear tire on the front rim.

After that we stayed mainly on the roads except for a short jaunt through the valley of the gods and up moki dugway. The F8 held its own on the highway as well, probably those underestimated german horses.

4 parks in 4 days, not bad.

Still working on the report, but here are some pics. mtrider16

David

[MTrider16]

Oh yeah, you asked about the suspension. Meh, 95% of the riders couldn't tell the difference between good suspension and bad suspension. I'm part of that 95%, so if it works better than stock I couldn't tell you. I'd already fubar'd the front so didn't feel bad replacing the guts. The rear, well its on, I'm not going to take it off again.

I have a theory about the bent shock bolt problem, but we'll see if I'm right when I take it apart next winter.

Regards,

David

[jdrocks]

Originally Posted by MTrider16

Oh yeah, you asked about the suspension. Meh, 95% of the riders couldn't tell the difference between good suspension and bad suspension. I'm part of that 95%, so if it works better than stock I couldn't tell you. I'd already fubar'd the front so didn't feel bad replacing the guts. The rear, well its on, I'm not going to take it off again.

I have a theory about the bent shock bolt problem, but we'll see if I'm right when I take it apart next winter.

Regards,

David

can't tell the difference with that custom aftermarket suspension? that's a bunch of time and money to get that result.

off to the "mountains" for a ride.