adv Sportster 2nd time around

[johnwesley]

So the first version of this sportster worked out very well and has been the end of the road in InuviK NWT Canada and in Deadhorse, AK. It worked very well and I love the motor, which was a surprise for me. I ended up ADVing around the nation for about two years before I had a major crash on it which destroyed the frame among other parts and I spent a few days in the hospital. So what we begin with here is a destroyed ADVsporter and a 95 sport with a blown motor. I do not believe the rebuild will be anything like the old bike, but we'll see how it turns out. This time around funds are very limited so the build will be on a tight budget. Just as a refresher here are a few pics of the last version

dual sport mode



adventure mode



and then there was this crash







so the only way to get the motor out was with a saw

[johnwesley]

looks like I may need to have the wheel relaced



It is obvious I need a frame so I hit the net looking for one and stumbled upon a repair shop that had a complete bike for a decent price. Needs a little engine work





I was glad to find a complete bike just in case I needed some parts. When swapping a sport motor over you have to change wiring harness as well so after several hours I had the harness swapped. It needed several connectors repined as I was working with the 95 lights and controls.

I had to pull the blown motor out and now I have a spare in case I need parts or want to build a stroker



I now have the motor in and have the bike wired and it is some what like a stock bike, but with a factory hot motor.

I have replaced the awful buck-horn handle bars and changed out the hideous seat, tossed the sissy bar and have done a little cut and weld on the exhaust. The thunder header I have been running is striaght and they do not offer one that is angled up at the muffler and I thought that they should, so I did it for them. Not much just enough to add some clearance and and style





just want to throw this pic in as she has made it in a few magazines not as an article just as a shot from a event I went to. Hey ya take what ya can get






So here is where I am at with the build, I can build it as a scrambler with a about 5" of travel in the back and 6" up front. It would make a great fire road blaster and general exploring bike. I could still do the normal passes like Engineer, Black bear and Imogene. With this set up its not far off of what some manufacturers call and ADV bike and better then some. With the built suspension it would still be a nice exploring tool.

The other option is to go full bore again and throw on the extended swing arm and yz forks have woody build another front hoop. I will leave the fairing off this time and may do a dirt tracker rear not sure on that yet.

If I do go scrambler with the build then I will sell off the extended swingarm and shocks, plus forks hub and oversized brakes. That would mean someone could just bolt it on a stock sporty and go. Still don't know yet as I could also use the extended swingarm on the scrambler and have the shocks cut down to 15" and end up with 7.5" of travel. now we are getting into what most consider right for a adv bike from a suspension stand point. Almost all manufacturers have their bikes between 7-8" of travel now days.

As you can see I need to find a direction and run with it. I'll have the bike on the road by next week and will need to start making progress one way or the other. So this is where you come in what do you think about the direction of the bike?

[JimmyTheHog]

Hey John - glad your back at it. Looking forward to whatever direction you take it. I know it'll be creative! Theres been a few cool looking Sporty scramblers around lately and I could imagine sliding one thru a soft dirt corner sideways, foot out dragging, on the gas... sorry, got lost there a bit

[dpetersak]

Hey John, it's good to see you're back at it and the crash didn't injure your desire. I'm guessing, based on the riding you did with your Sportster, that you wouldn't be satisfied with a short-legged version. If your steering stem is intact, as well as the shocks and swingarm, wouldn't it be easier find new forks and use those original parts. At least then you would have the same foundation and be able to add some of your other cool components as time and money allows.

I'm just thinking out loud.....

Dave

[johnwesley]

that sounds good, thing is I don't have to rely on the sporty for my hard core riding a have a ever so slightly modded klr

[dpetersak]

Originally Posted by johnwesley

that sounds good, thing is I don't have to rely on the sporty for my hard core riding a have a ever so slightly modded klr

Yep, I think that would get the job done.

[johnwesley]

I have got it out of the garage and played a little on the local dirt roads. Good thing is I am surrounded with national forest, so I have plenty of testing grounds. One of the things I liked best about the sporty was the engine, it hooks up on loose dirt unlike any bike I have ever had. It is strange how well it find traction. So this ride was a chance to revist that traction as I have the original style tires on this bike and it has been raining for a few days here. It was still the same fun motor, and still able to lay the power down smoothly. Now its not like I was in the mud just hard pack dirt and gravel roads. Here are some glamour shots.

[johnwesley]

the fairing took a beating during the crash and the headlight broke loose from the fairing so I have got that fiberglassed in. it will have plenty og time to set up as I am leaving for a trip this weekend and decided to take the sporty on it just to make sure all is well with the motor and no issues pop up. I'll put about 5-6 hundred miles on it. I have been riding bikes for several years and over that time have accumulated plenty of soft luggage so I have the bike biked with all kinds of mismatched luggage.




I will be getting a new set of bars in hopfully next week and we'll get started with the handguards. I hope to send the shocks off to Rick next monday and have him go through them and make sure all is well. I think I'll have him shorten them. that will bring the travel down to the 8" range.

[sandsman]

I think you will have a "work in progress" bike for a while. You might as well hang on to all those good parts, you probly will be using them at some point. Have a good time in La this weekend. I am one of your Greenville Tx friends. See you in Leakey in a few weeks.

[siyeh]

Whichever direction this build goes, I only know one thing:

I will be watching!

[TipsyMcStagger]

Originally Posted by siyeh

Whichever direction this build goes, I only know one thing:

I will be watching!

+1

Tipsy

[johnwesley]

all worked well and the engine is still in good shape last travel pic of it in a semi stock shape


The tear down started today. I have some vision for the future of this bike now. So it took so long I just needed some direction. After talking with Rick a while this morning I have a plan for the suspension. The reaer of the bike has now been striped.




I cleaned up the swing arm I had made and got it ready for mock up. I am looking at balancing this bike out from a suspension movement stand point and not focusing so much on maximum travel. So with that in mind I set out to get some swing arm angle numbers and playing with travel numbers from the shorter stroke.

here we are with the set up as I had it pre crash. We are at 18* angle at full extension. and 10.5" of travel


So the plan is to get the angle closer to 10* If I shorten the shock up 1" then I come up with a 12* angle at full extension. Not bad



As you look deeper into the whole swing arm travel you will find a good balance of travel and I have it here. From full extension to full compression I end up with 12* of swing arm angle in both cases. That is as balanced as it gets. Now when I factor in the suspension sag I end up with 8* angle when riding and we have a great set up with no chain rub. with this I still have 8.75" of travel which is a respectable number and I have lowered the seat height 1.75" which is also good.

[johnwesley]

so got a little work done today and mounted the skid plate. Its just a KLR650 skid plate that I chopped and beat into shape to fit. I like the coverage of the front head pipe with this set up. I have been known to beat it over some ruff trails.





Skid plate:








A little shot of full drop and make compression with the rear 17" rim






The issue I never resolved with the last build was the tail section. I was never happy with the look. So I am trying out some new looks. Part of the problem is the stretched swing arm it makes the stock fender too short and some of the awesome looking tail sections just dont work with the longer arm. If you have any ideas let me know. Here are a few pics of some mock ups. I kind of like the metal rear rack best but not sure what I'll go with. Nothing has stuck yet.

chopped fender just not the thing for this one even though it was killer on biltwell's ezxl


It would be possible to use a dirt bike front fender to build a mold and glass up a rear fender. It could work and look ok




here is a rack style rear ala BMW GS

[16VGTIDave]

I like the look of the rack, but would still want a fender of some sort to keep the spray and mud under control.

[johnwesley]

yep that would be the easy part. just like the rack and put on an aftermarket tail light setup.