Poor Man's Adventure Tourer

[Buzztail]

I was thinking more along the likes of a KLR friendly type of mod

I could see a set of $1600 spokes down the road on this '12 DL650 I just bought, but not on anything "Poor Man" rated..

[waterboybueche]

BAD ASS indeed. I have been thinking about this too.

Coming from a KLR and wanting a better street usage, I thought about this too... kinda a cheaper Wee!!!

Good job man!

[bmccurdy]

I had a 2001 Yamaha FZ-1 that I used to ride dirt roads with all the time, it was quite stable even up to 70 on gravel section lines. I have since had a 2007 V-Strom 650 and a 2007 KLR 650. I think that a 17 inch front is completely fine for most riding, and since the TKC can now be had in a 17, if I still owned the Yamaha it would cover about 90% of the riding i usually do. Most bikes can be ridden just about anywhere, a person just has to be honest with how he thinks he will really be riding, in my own humble opinion.

[bmccurdy]

Great bike by the way, have always been a fan of the SV line, 1000 and 650, and that 650 in particular is a gem!

[Ogre_fl]

I will bet you those RAD hubs used for the SV wheel sets are the exact same ones for the DL650 strom and both wheels are interchangeable between the SV and DL.

Originally Posted by ag_streak

I really couldn't say, about brake caliber spacing and such, but I'm pretty sure it's been done before!

Even slicker would be a pair of WIRE wheels from Procycle! They are SV-specific hubs, so would bolt right on. And I e-mailed Carl at Procycle to ask if the front could be swapped to a 19" rim, and they said NO PROBLEM, and NO EXTRA CHARGE!

http://procycle.us/bikepages/sv650.html

OK, they're $1,600 bucks for the pair, but the cool factor would be off the charts!


HELLO PAUL,,
YES, WE CAN MAKE YOU A 19/17 WHEEL SET FOR YOUR SV650.
NO CHANGE IN THE PRICE.
YOU CAN CALL US TO PLACE THIS ORDER, SO WE CAN GET THIS SPECIAL SET FPR YOU.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME,, CARL.

[Murphy Slaw]

Good job.

[ag_streak]

I had a Wee and a Vee before, so I'm very familiar with these engines. I felt the Wee was slow and boring, and soon sold it to get the 1000. But the same 650 engine in the SV makes about 8-10 hp more, and further up in the rev range. It also has a lighter flywheel. All those things add up to a COMPLETELY different feel! The SV feels fast, light, and sporty, especially with the pipe on there. The same engine in the Wee felt underwhelming and utilitarian.

Having said all THAT, the SV may be for sale! I'm jonesin' hard for a Tiger 800! It will cost double what I have into the SV, but I don't care!

Anybody interested in finishing this project?

Originally Posted by waterboybueche

BAD ASS indeed. I have been thinking about this too.

Coming from a KLR and wanting a better street usage, I thought about this too... kinda a cheaper Wee!!!

Good job man!

[Buzztail]

Ride a '12 Wee. Whole 'nother animal from the early engines.

[Fireman1000]

Nice work. Now do you want to buy a 2011 FZ8 for street usage?

[zap2504]

Originally Posted by ag_streak

I had a Wee and a Vee before, so I'm very familiar with these engines. I felt the Wee was slow and boring, and soon sold it to get the 1000. But the same 650 engine in the SV makes about 8-10 hp more, and further up in the rev range. It also has a lighter flywheel. All those things add up to a COMPLETELY different feel! The SV feels fast, light, and sporty, especially with the pipe on there. The same engine in the Wee felt underwhelming and utilitarian.

Just the person I wanted to talk to! I've been thinking about a Wee (with a Vee seat) for some time now due to my size (6'3", 34" inseam) and was curious about the riding position of a SV compared to the Wee/Vee. I really like the 650cc engine size and really don't see any off-road travelling in my future so like the idea of the SV's road-oriented wheels and lower weight. Plus there are many more SVs available than DLs. What are they like to ride?

[acejones]

Great bikes, but you really better figure out how to protect the bottom.

[ag_streak]

Zap, I too put the taller Vee seat on my Wee for more legroom, and I'm only 5' 10".

It's all subjective, but actually, the leg room is quite a bit tighter on the SV.

Try this...

http://cycle-ergo.com/

You can set up the SV and the V-strom to your height and inseam and such, and use your mouse's scroll wheel to switch back and forth.

Originally Posted by zap2504

Just the person I wanted to talk to! I've been thinking about a Wee (with a Vee seat) for some time now due to my size (6'3", 34" inseam) and was curious about the riding position of a SV compared to the Wee/Vee. I really like the 650cc engine size and really don't see any off-road travelling in my future so like the idea of the SV's road-oriented wheels and lower weight. Plus there are many more SVs available than DLs. What are they like to ride?

[KEN PHENIX]

Originally Posted by ag_streak

Planned:

TKC-80s
Skidplate (not figured that out yet)
Higher aluminum bars
Handguards
Headlight grill
Radiator guards (not figured that out yet)
Heated Grips
Stainless brake lines (eliminate crossover)
Raising link dogbones (already have)
Reinstall stock rear fender (already have)
Front fender extender
Front suspension spacers

Cool project. Keep us posted on the TKC80.

I've got around 13,000 miles on my little fork mod. I put 38mm spacers under the cartridges which unlike the longer spring spacers does not increase preload.


Before / After:


http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=758092

[ag_streak]

Ken, I just read your 919 thread and the Seahorse cases on the Bandit thread. Awesome!

The following quote of yours about the 919 sums up the SV650 perfectly too!

Originally Posted by KEN PHENIX

...I bought the bike largely for its lightweight feel and nimble manners - all still there. Fun meter still pegged. If anything, the bike might get a tiny bit twitchy over 85mph which is a tradeoff I can live with. I'll play with the adjustments some more before my next road trip.

[KEN PHENIX]

Thanks. I love this stuff. Best of luck with yours too. Actually, any high speed front end twitch was totally attributable to that damn Dunlop D616. The moment I put on the Shinko it went away.