600/650 sportbikes set up for touring? lets see em...

[aryapradana]

Originally Posted by Cortez

The rear suspension sucked even with this much load, and I didn't think
sidecases were worth my monthly paycheck. $50 backpack worked fine.

I just sold that bike yesterday!
Gettin' a maxi scoot just like I said then.

too bad, u can use a givi e21 I guess, but u sold that bike

Originally Posted by See red

Aryapradana, That is my dad, myself, and my son lol! Three generations of riders set for a road trip. I am just shy of pulling the trigger on my wifes new to her bike. We all laugh about forming our own riders club.

a family club? that's cool. in my family, only me and my 2 brothers who become a biker

[Cortez]

Originally Posted by aryapradana

too bad, u can use a givi e21 I guess, but u sold that bike

The suspension on the 650R was barely adequate for my 200lbs behind.

With a full topbox I'd have to bump the preload all the way up to stop it
from jumping up and down. The rear shock is among the worst in it's class.

Even empty side cases and mounts would make the shock swap a must.

[IronSpadeCycles]

A few years ago I built a Honda XR400R for a long distance dual sport ride. I spent about 4 months laying out a route that would take me through back country roads and Jeep trails in eight states. I learned a lot during that trip traveling over 5200 miles of which over 2700 miles were off road. The trip started in Durango CO with a turn around point in Portland OR and ultimately ending in my home state of Texas. It was the first big trip I ever did and it was some of the most fun I've ever had on 2 wheels.

I'm now hooked on long distance touring and dual sport riding but I've decided that the XR400 belongs in the trees and trails I frequent on the weekends and it was not necessarily the best choice for highway miles. Although I was able to cruise at an average speed of 60mph on the Interstate it just wasn't up to par for any long stretches of tarmac. Wide open and damn near redline it would get up to about 75mph but the rim locks made the wheels vibrate so badly my ass was numb in 100 miles or less.

So last year while working on a clients CB750F, (I own a small business building one of a kind cafe racers and drag bikes from Japanese, British and German makes) I stumbled onto a local Sheriff auction and went along with a buddy who had been to several already. This particular auction had tons of junk with a few diamonds in the rough. It was a silent auction, so basically the highest bidder won and they just announced the winner at the end of the day. I had no idea how much to bid and when I saw this basket case 200? YZF600R I figured it was worth $300 tops. 4 hours later I won the bid. I had no idea I over bid the last guy by $275. Lesson learned for future auctions. I later found a titled replacement frame off Craigslist for $150 and I was off to the races.

So over this last year I have completely gone through the engine replacing the ever popular failing second gear and upgrading with a fresh set of rings, a valve job and a new clutch. The suspension is also getting an upgrade with Race Tech Gold valves and replacement springs. The forks we lowered in the clamps by 1-1/2 inches and the rear was raised by custom making a 1/2" shorter pair of dog-bones. I replaced the stock lead brick with a Ballistic Lithium Ion 8-cell micro battery.

The rear sub frame and stock seat are getting reworked to incorporate a stock 1996 model solo seat pan and a new custom gel seat. A set of hard paniers will be mounted to the permanent rack structure built into the sub frame. I'm moving the rear sets down and slightly forward and machining a new set of platform dirt pegs for those unavoidable miles of riding standing up. A set of Motocross bar risers and 4" rise dirt bars with Bark Busters will get the bars up high enough to change the ride position to a much more comfortable stance. The lower fairing has been eliminated and a stainless steel skid plate has been formed to protect the oil pan and pipe. I fabbed up a new 4 into 2 into 1 pipe that wraps around both sides of the oil pan and up one side under the right panier.

I'm currently making a custom fairing with a KTM 990 Adventure headlight and wind screen. I made a one off set of crash bars from 7/8"x .120 wall 4130 tubing that will get a set of 100W HID driving lights. The bike is almost finished and so far I have less than $1500 invested having done all the work myself. Sorry I don't have any current pictures but I will snap some in the next couple weeks and update the post.

I can't wait to break it in this September/October, I'm planning another big trip through the mid-western states and up to the Canadian border. So far the route will cover about 4800 miles and take me through 15 states in 3 weeks. The comfort factor should be good enough to cover more than 400 miles a day. I've got friends in just about every city I plan to stop in so camping will only be a few days along the way. I learned last time that I packed and carried way too much extra junk. Sometimes you just have to learn the hard way.

This has been a fun project and I think it should be plenty capable for a fun and cheap touring machine. Wish me luck. Later Travis

[mg66]

When the missus got her own bike at the beginning of 2010, a '96 Suzuki LS650 Savage I set her up for touring also.

[ranmafan]

Ammo cans and Bestem 42L box on a homemade rack (no welding, just square tubing from a hardware store).

First attempt looked like this:


Worked great, but I wanted more. V2.0 plus a cellphone mount on the birdcage, loaded with a (overly) full camping setup:



The whole thing is only attached to the passenger foot pegs and the two bolts that are keeping the tail piece in place.

It's pretty clear that the FZR600 was never meant to have a luggage rack... Nevertheless, although the peg supports do flex a little and allow the ammo boxes to twist, the topcase rack turned out pretty darn sturdy.

[Ratty2austin]

Guess I should add mine to the pile here

09 GSX650F "baby Bandit" with the Givi racks and boxes- but I changed out the top case for something a little larger (although, not workin out as well as I had hoped, there will be a revision soon)







"woof"

[p0diabl0]

She's even uglier without the windscreen on but the fresh air feels so nice this time of year.

[davidji]

Originally Posted by south

FWIW, the extra drag from saddlebags can kill your fuel mileage, especially with a 600-class machine at interstate speeds. Better to keep them small; best to do without and stick to a tank bag and tail pack/trunk.

I expected it to, but it didn't seem to hurt mine. Never got better fuel economy on the EX650 than the times I was traveling with big sidecases.

It's more standard than sport bike, but it's a 650, and it looks like a sport bike.

[ranmafan]

Originally Posted by davidji

I expected it to, but it didn't seem to hurt mine. Never got better fuel economy on the EX650 than the times I was traveling with big sidecases.

Same experience here. Mine stays dead-on 5L/100km, with or without luggage. Perhaps it's more noticeable for someone with a smaller frame, half-faired bike, etc.

[Ohio_Danimal]

[Superzoom]

12000 km (7500 mile) trip from Toronto to Yellowknife, NWT. Riding about 1000 km a day.

Yamaha FZ6R. Givi luggage. Airhawk seat cushion. 1 gallon gas can (used it once in Northern Alberta). Garmin 60csx GPS.

Mods I wish I had for the trip were better seat, better windscreen (see below) and a waterproof tank bag to keep the Canon T3i DSLR dry.

My MRA Variotouringscreen ordered from Twisted Throttle took more than three months to be delivered and arrived the day AFTER I left on the trip, so I didn't get to use it.

[Cortez]

Originally Posted by ranmafan

Same experience here. Mine stays dead-on 5L/100km, with or without luggage. Perhaps it's more noticeable for someone with a smaller frame, half-faired bike, etc.

I only got 5l/100km twice in the 36.000km that I owned it (20k miles).

10% less then that around town was my norm, 20% less outside of town.

I bet you keep the revs around 5-6k.

[ranmafan]

Originally Posted by Cortez

I only got 5l/100km twice in the 36.000km that I owned it (20k miles).

10% less then that around town was my norm, 20% less outside of town.

I bet you keep the revs around 5-6k.

I guess I omitted one important bit: it's an FZR600 *with a YZF600 head/carbs* on it (i.e. a 660). I could probably bring it down to 4.5L with perfect jetting.

The only time I got worse than that was at the track (6-7L, keeping it near redline.)

[ParaMud]

This is all the same bike.

[mrstang01]

Originally Posted by IronSpadeCycles

I had no idea how much to bid and when I saw this basket case 200? YZF600R I figured it was worth $300 tops. 4 hours later I won the bid. I had no idea I over bid the last guy by $275. Lesson learned for future auctions. I later found a titled replacement frame off Craigslist for $150 and I was off to the races.

So over this last year I have completely gone through the engine replacing the ever popular failing second gear and upgrading with a fresh set of rings, a valve job and a new clutch. The suspension is also getting an upgrade with Race Tech Gold valves and replacement springs. The forks we lowered in the clamps by 1-1/2 inches and the rear was raised by custom making a 1/2" shorter pair of dog-bones. I replaced the stock lead brick with a Ballistic Lithium Ion 8-cell micro battery.

The rear sub frame and stock seat are getting reworked to incorporate a stock 1996 model solo seat pan and a new custom gel seat. A set of hard paniers will be mounted to the permanent rack structure built into the sub frame. I'm moving the rear sets down and slightly forward and machining a new set of platform dirt pegs for those unavoidable miles of riding standing up. A set of Motocross bar risers and 4" rise dirt bars with Bark Busters will get the bars up high enough to change the ride position to a much more comfortable stance. The lower fairing has been eliminated and a stainless steel skid plate has been formed to protect the oil pan and pipe. I fabbed up a new 4 into 2 into 1 pipe that wraps around both sides of the oil pan and up one side under the right panier.

I'm currently making a custom fairing with a KTM 990 Adventure headlight and wind screen. I made a one off set of crash bars from 7/8"x .120 wall 4130 tubing that will get a set of 100W HID driving lights. The bike is almost finished and so far I have less than $1500 invested having done all the work myself. Sorry I don't have any current pictures but I will snap some in the next couple weeks and update the post.

I can't wait to break it in this September/October, I'm planning another big trip through the mid-western states and up to the Canadian border. So far the route will cover about 4800 miles and take me through 15 states in 3 weeks. The comfort factor should be good enough to cover more than 400 miles a day. I've got friends in just about every city I plan to stop in so camping will only be a few days along the way. I learned last time that I packed and carried way too much extra junk. Sometimes you just have to learn the hard way.

This has been a fun project and I think it should be plenty capable for a fun and cheap touring machine. Wish me luck. Later Travis

Travis, I have a Thundercat too, and I'd love to see pictures of the modifications you made.

Thanks,

Michael