V649HP-Kawasaki's new gravel runner

thanks, hadn't seen that. working on a couple shock options.

so when are we going to see your bike? you're holding out on us.

a while back in this thread i asked whether anyone owned a 2nd generation SV650, i needed some information. no SV650 owners showed up, but an inmate by the name of "badguy" stepped right up to the plate. "whatcha need?"

i'm running the DL1000 19" three spoke front and wanted a matching 17" three spoke rear in the correct width with a 20mm axle. i needed the whole assembly, it had to be cheap, and that narrowed it down to the SV650 rear. i needed "badguy" to research some fitment issues to make sure it was pretty close before i went out and bought one. "badguy" PM'd me back in no time with the info, looked decent, so i found a cheap wheel, near new.



there are some things to work out to make it go, but it doesn't look like a big deal. the SV650 runs 525, but there are 520 sprockets available that bolt right up to the SV hub. i might keep the parts bike wheels for a SM set.

"badguy" turned out to be a good guy. much grass, my friend.

JD I think I most have missed it so I'm going to ask. What do you do with all your other bikes. I know you layed one down (glad your alright) but I'm talking about the ER-6C you built??? You do some awesome work man and I got to admit it inspires the hell out of me

bikes are history. build 'em, ride 'em...gone. time to build something new.

fixed your sig line for ya-


Wish list: KLX450 forks with Emig Racing front end conversion, 649HP engine swap,rear long travel shock, and a butt load of your typical "bolt-on's !!!!"

Glad I could help

Maybe I'll get to see this one in person

sure, just plan a jailbreak from smibville this spring. you're probably tired of looking at all that BMW iron over there anyway.

Thanks but the thing about that is the gearing. I doubt it would be great for single track riding. Hell come to think about it my rear shock is blown because of my riding style :eek1

huh? gearing? the 6 speed cartridge style transmissions are identical in the two engines. the stock versys and 650r bikes are even delivered with the same sprocket sets. the engines are identical in size, configuration, and weight.

the 649HP engine uses different cams and runs higher compression, the CPU is mapped slightly differently, and produces more horsepower and torque in what i think is a pretty trackable range, even on dirt. crack those throttle bodies WFO on gravel or dirt and you better be holding on to something 'cause you're goin' for a ride. you can lighten the front end easily in 5th and 6th, both over drive gears.

then there's the cost. the 650R has to be one of the most crashed bikes ever produced and can be found everywhere in the USA with low miles and in good running condition...DIRT CHEAP. if you say you can't find one cheap, you just ain't looking very hard. i could go out and find another one today if i had to. just takes some research.

buy the whole bike and build it, or part it out if you just want the 649HP swap engine and related parts. in my case, the parts bike was so inexpensive that by the time i sell everything i don't want from that bike, the low mile engine is FREE and i've even made some money i can put in the build. see many of the lower performance engine equipped KLE650s available like that?

that's why you want the 649HP. case closed, next question.

my bike is coming along slowly. i freshened up my fuel tank scenario. Canned bedliner is now my new favorite finish. if somebody needs the fuel pump bung for a klre build off the old tank, let me know.


My peg situation is in flux. shown is versyse peg overlaying ninja peg, much better position. option 2 is the crf peg shown with custom mounts like the other mutant thread. hmmmm


i have a willing donor should i decide to go ala sanjoh.

you could have that ready to roll pretty quick. i'd concentrate on wheels and suspension, you can tinker with the pegs any time.

do you have a KTM cush drive rear also?

something like this...

Love the detail going into this build.

thanks, but your bike has the detail, my rat just kinda bolts together.

the time has come, gotta have some forks.

i've been running the Versys usd forks on my 650R framed bikes, and they work ok, but i wanted a completely different suspension this time. running these forks is an easy swap to the 650R because the triples are interchangeable, no machining or other modifications required, they bolt right in. the versys forks are very basic and only have damping adjustment in one leg. i did like the proprietary bar riser that matches the versys top clamp, so i decided to find an inexpensive solution that would allow me to use the versys clamps/bar riser.

the versys usd has a 41mm inner and a 50/52mm outer at the clamp surfaces. as far as i'm aware, there's nothing to work with in a longer travel late model usd fork that would fit the versys clamps. the clamp surfaces are generally much larger.

i decided i didn't really need a usd fork, how about a fully adjustable conventional fork, beefy and longer travel. the DRZ400 uses the big Showa conventional, the late models are fully adjustable, and they're cheap. i found a nice set from a 2007 400S for $100 and got to work. these things have some beef, and the inner is 49mm, ideal to mate to the versys clamps. they're longer, but there's enough uniform clamping surface on the inner so that they can be raised about 35mm.

the lower versys clamp is 52mm, so i just needed a sleeve with a 1.5mm wall to make it work. these were turned from a piece of scrap aluminum tube, and i added a small lip at the top so they would trim out neatly. the top clamp is 50mm, so they are just shimmed. i couldn't safely turn a piece with a .5mm wall, roughly .0197.

versys fork left, DRZ fork right

as they say, one thing leads to another...



the correct spacers will center the DL1000 wheel. i already have rotors to fit the wheel in three different sizes, pick a caliper and fab a bracket. should work out great.

Now this is shaping up to be my kind of build. Love the forks. Are you planning on using the full stroke/ travel?
Are you going to leave the additional offset? That will decrease your trail, bu I'm sure you have a plan

yeah, i hope those forks work as good as they look. real beefy mofos, they make the versys showa usd forks look tiny. the DRZ triples have just about the same clamping surface and spacing, so with 10" between the bottom clamp and dust seal with the forks raised, there's some room. certainly more usable travel than the versys forks, one of my objectives this time around. it might be possible to put a big front end under this bike less expensively, but someone would have to show me how. this solution fit the budget perfectly.

when i get my new shock i'll tune ride height and suspension. it should steer ok.

My trail reply comes from dirt bike fork uses the axle infront of the tubes and the versey under the fork tubes. So if you use the stock versy clamps you end up with more offset around a inch more. That decreases trail alot. If use use the clamps that came with the drz it has less offset on the trees. They do less offset In the tripple to balance out the off set fork. Hope this is writen in a understandable way. I have been facing the Same challenge with a protect. My intened forks have .25" less offset and will give me almost 1/2" more trail. Which in my case is too much and will make the bike slow handling. Your could end up the other direction and not be stable on gravel at speed.

Hope not but somthing to look at.

Love the DR-Z forks! But out of curiosity, if you're running those, why not also run the 21" DR-Z front wheel?

--mark

i think your point is well made, and i was aware of possible issues in using these forks. my plan is to get everything in place, level out the stance, ride it, adjust the suspension, then ride it again. there are so many changes on this bike it would be hard to isolate the effect of just one. seat-of-the-pants engineering, but this is a low buck build with used parts and if something doesn't work as intended, it doesn't ruin your day to go a different direction. so i'll see how it rides, then go from there.