Well, the XC can do just about everything I had the courage to try, just back from a three week tootle around Morocco. The New "slimline" exhaust allowed me to use saddle-bags and is half the weight of the standard one. The bike had as much poke as the two standard XC's I was with. Tank range was rediculously good. I really love this bike.
Looks great.. give us a close up tour of the bike.. what's the exhaust? and the pannier mounts?? Let's get the goods I'd like to add your bike to the index thread, but we need more info on how you turned it into an adventure touring bike
The Panier mounts are home made from 8mm stainless bar, made to suite the saddle bags, I didn't like the plastic tail piece so I made a folded stainelss steel cover to mount the sadle-bags on, you can see better in the pic below that the pipe is a lot lower and half of it is underneath/inside the subframe. The tank I got from Touratech, it has two petlock valves at the bottom of each lobe which link directly back to two banjo bolts which have to be fitted to the underside of the stock petrol tank. (Below) It went on easy enough, use the sticky template supplied. The only other mods I made was the extension to the bashplate, this was definitly the best thing I did, (I'd still be in North Africa if I hadnt) and two teeth smaller on the wheel sprocket. The pic below shows the problems, first the Acerbis mudguard was only being supported bt two bolts, so I made a small toolbox(last pic) which bolted to the front of the teepiece and down into the mudguard, and the exhaust needed an addition. As you can see, the exhaust hadn't been finished yet (Still not easy on the eyes Frostback) but you can see what it looks like completed in the top pic Toolbox/Mudguard support and arrangement for packing for Morocco below. Forgot to mention, I got touratech risers as well. Two of the three bikes, ready for Morocco. The next thing I did was to get rid of the stock Air-Shock, I picked up a XCounry spring shock which went right in. Physically the shock is shorter then th estock item, but when you're riding it's just as tall if not taller and certainly not as plush. I think the GSpot issue is easily sorted but the drilled hole in the shock rod is a big concern. After melting a rather large hole in two bike jeans from the header pipe I decided to make up a heat shield, not pretty but will have to do. BEFORE AND AFTER I damaged the tail section of the bike badly and made up a new one. (€26 Vs. €255) Absolutely brilliant bike, I'd get rid of my GS before I part with it. Me and my XC.
The pipe had been hanging on a nail in the garage for years, there was a number stamped on it, which after a bit of google-ing, was belonging to an XT500. I don't know if it's the lambda sensor or the Fuel Injection, but I think something on the bike compensated for the change, no drop in performance and no change in economy, it did 5000km side by side with two other XChallenges with no difference in MPG or acceleration/performance in any way. The cooling fans came on at approximatly the same time and the bike started first tip every time. Very tidy compared to the stock exhaust, performed the same.
The toolbox acted as a support for the front mudguard.. My favourite pic........ I should have made up more of these tail racks, they only took 20 minutes each to make, once I had a template. <embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/advrider-photobucket-images/images/v/vid169.photobucket.com_albums_u224_bmwr1100gs_3eaf9e95.flv" height="361" width="448"> And a short video, (2 minutes-ish)
Thanks for all the details and pics.. I will add this to the Index Thread, as the ultimate adventurised X Challenge. Awesome job you've done on it
Looks sharp! Did you notice any handling issues with a full tank up front? Did you play with fuel distrubution depending on your riding - or can you?
Yeah, a full tank made a fair difference, but still managable since they aren't a light bike up front anyway, also, since the Touratech tank is the first to empty (both lobes are linked to the stock tank), so it's not too bad. You can close off the two petlocks on the touratech tank and the stock tank would drain first but there is no advantage in that. You could close the two valves and the fuel wouldnt go to the auxilliary tank. One thing I did learn was the advantages of standing on the pegs, particularly at times I would have been glued to the saddle before. The amount of extra control is unbelievable. Also, I'm 6'2" tall and didn't realize I needed risers, they made a massive difference. The other two lads I was with had tail packs whichmeant they couldn't slide back on the saddle on sand and very loose stuff, I had the saddle bags so I could, big grin on my face. I should have the 650 back from Malaga next week, can't wait to get out on it again. Made complete bits of the rear light/number plate etc. (came down hard off a jump) so I'm looking for a cheap alternative. €150 ($200) for the stock item. Any suggestions ? ?
Standing on the pegs effectivly lowers the point at which your weight is tied into the bikes, in a sense almost lowering the CG. I noticed it makes a huge difference too. Was that the sound from the pipe in the pictures? I swore it sounded like a small plane!
Vertically, the mass would be higher standing up. Horizontally centering the weight on the pegs takes advantage of optimum chassis distribution being central to suspension systems, imo. That way no offsprund weights or forces on seat or (significantly) on handlebars are introduced; and its just like a heavy engine and the chassis running on automatic steer.
Hum, very quick study... Not complete, but showing the majority of mass. x is left to right y is verticle Z is front to back Mass properties of bike ( sitting ) Density = 0.105 pounds per cubic inch Mass = 815.415 pounds Volume = 7752.789 cubic inches Surface area = 11922.031 inches^2 Center of mass: ( inches ) X = -0.089 Y = 7.328 Z = -29.553 Mass properties of bike ( standing ) Density = 0.105 pounds per cubic inch Mass = 815.415 pounds Volume = 7752.789 cubic inches Surface area = 11922.031 inches^2 Center of mass: ( inches ) X = -0.154 Y = 8.263 Z = -30.132 I lifted the body mass up at least 10" and the CG of the assembly moved up by less than 1 ". This also does not take into account the mass of the stuff missing from the bike, tank/ fuel, electrics, front suspension, etc...That should even lower the effect of the human mass on the assembly... Will study further.
"Cargo Converti Motorcycle Panniers" Got them cheap, they worked well, and kept weight low. Click: Here The pipe that attaches to the header pipe was, luckily, a perfect fit, the silencer is 90mm OD and the exhaust outlet 20mm. I dont have the bike/pipe home yet, it's on a ship somewhere, but I'm fairly close with the above figures.
All this means is always stand unless a low tree branch will discharge you from your mount. some sit in the turns but you will love head over the bars and standing thru a turn.... cool.
