My ADVersys

Looking good!

Was that a Motowerks anti-vibe riser it had back when you started?

Thanks, it was a sw motech riser.

Going from USD to conventional front end, how does the bike feel and handle now ? Better or worse ?

Don't really know yet. Have only test ride it for a few kilometers on asfalt so far. There is still snow and ice on the gravel roads. Might be able to ride next weekend.

Will paint the rally fairing tomorrow. And perhaps mount up some new farkles

Pics comming soon.

you'll be pleasantly surprised with your new setup. there is no comparison to the OEM USD Versys forks combined with either the OEM 17" wheel or a swapped in 19". the DRZ/19" swap changes everything relative to the expected capabilities of this moto.

I think I will. Can hardly wait to blast down some gnarley gravel roads with this beauty

Time for an update. So what have happened since last time. Not much really. But.

One new farkle purchased

Wilbers custom made, fully adjustable shock:
Preload
Rebound
High and low speed compression damping
Adjustable ride height. +-5mm (Set to +5mm) Which gives a seat height at 89cm.




Mounted on the bike.


Painted the rally faring in white and added a Dakar sticker.
And I think thats it. Its done (for now)




The weather allowed for a test ride. Did manage to find a short stretch of gravel (a few kilometers).
I must say this thing is amazing
The suspension works great. It is a little slower to turn in into corners on tarmac. But is much more stable on gravel roads. Feels more planted on loose gravel. And this combined with the power of the parallel twin is just awsome



Things to do!

*Wilbers rear shock...........................................................ok
*Paint front fairing..............................................................ok
* mount new brake line.............................................. ......ok
* Find a 310 mm disc.............................................. ........ok
* Finish wheel axle.............................................. ............ok
* fabricate brake caliper adapter/hub cover,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,ok
* headlight rubbermount....................................... ... .........ok
* new rally fairing........................................... .....................ok
* dash, relocate switches and power outlets.....................ok
* Weld and paint sidestand......................................... ...ok
* mount radiator guard............................................. .....ok
* cut front fender and fabricate mount..............................ok
* change sprockets and chain.......................................ok
* Air filters........................................... .........................ok
* paint luggage rack.............................................. .........ok
* tighten side mirror mounts...........................................o k
* check rear wheel/swingarm bearings............................ok

Nice to see it finished! You did an amazing job.

Thanks!

Your bike is looking fantastic, well done.

Your new shock looks the bees knees, what made you decide to change from the R1 shock, also what is the new shocks stroke and spring rate ??

The old R1 shock was, well old. And I wanted something that was adapted to fit well onto the Versys. And It feels new and reliable. The stroke is the same as the OEM Versys. Spring rate for me (80kg with riding gear) is 190N/mm.

The ride is soft and comfortable. The bike has some static sag standing by itself. The R1 shock was in top position when standing by itself.

And also the needle bearing on the R1 shock started to get bad. So I felt thatit would be a better deal to get a brand new custom built shock then trying to fix the R1.

It looks better to

Wow, 190 N/mm, that is very interesting, it is more than standard.

I must admit I am about the same weight as you but have a 136N/mm spring (13.8kg/mm) and have always felt it is too soft,(the back moves around a lot) but if you are getting a smooth ride with your spring maybe I will change.

My needle bearing went too but it is cheap and easy to replace.

Looking forward to a full test report, it would be interesting to hear your XT660 mates views on you bike on how it rides.

Yea. I also thought it sounded a bit to much before I had time to mount it. so I asked the german company I bought it from. They said that Wilbers uses a larger piston diameter and that therefore they use a higher spring rate. So I do not know what the result would be if you mounted a 190N/mm spring on the R1. The spring rate feels similar to the roadstar spring I did use on the R1. And that should be about 130N/mm right?

Have just looked up the Ohlins spec sheet and they use a 130 N/mm (13.5kg/mm) spring for a XV1700 but this may not be the same as what Yamaha use as standard. I do not understand the bigger piston reasoning for the Wilbur but as long as it works for you that is all that matters.
Maybe someone else can comment on this.

Hello kajj,
I'm running out of words for further compliments!
Kind regards, Bambi
Btw: what are you studying? Motorcycle-design?

Hehe, thanks.

Almost right. I actually got my bachelor degree in automotive engineering a few months ago. My dream is to work as a engineer/designer in the motorcycle industry. Will se how that play out.

How is the DR big coming along?

Yea I am curious about this myself. I will do some research and get back to this.

"They said that Wilbers uses a larger piston diameter and that therefore they use a higher spring rate. "

Total BS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As the designer and Manufacturer of "Motorsport Air Shocks" in the early 70's, Only the diameter of the shaft can make any difference in the spring rate.

My shocks used NO springs. The gas pressure in the shock pushes on the shaft to push it out and hold the bike up. With a 1" shaft, my shocks used 150-300 pounds of pressure and it built up to 900-2100 when the shock was compressed.

Don

Hello kajj,
so you can show this bike as your visiting-card!
Hopefully, my Big will be back together in one piece and running this weekend. For German circumstances, we had a really long and freezing cold winter. As there's no stove in my barn, not to mention outside of it, I just could restart work on the bike a few days ago. Today I got the exhaust pipe back on it with a self-made surplus copper-ring to seal the connection of pipe and silencer. Just small things, just small steps compared to the rush of mods you did on your bike. Now I will get mine completed again and than I'll make small changes in small steps. Next point on the list is to mod bike to accept the speedo-/rev-counter-combo of it's follower. These are nice round instuments nicely covered by brushed aloy housed in what you could call a 'double-cup'. No comparison to the ugly, rectangular original ... Fixing of a road-book behind the screen. And perhaps exchanging the upper part of the fairing against the one you're already using. There's also a change of the rear-light on the list. And twin-headlights, even, if the original fairing stays with the bike.
Kind regards, Bambi

Sounds good. Keep it up.