V649HP-Kawasaki's new gravel runner

[ktmklx]

Originally Posted by jdrocks

if you liked the bike in that old while, you would really like this new white, much cleaner and brighter white. that new red on the tank is one of the fastest reds i've ever encountered, way way fast.

as a Kawasaki ptwin builder yourself, i'm sure you've come to appreciate the capabilities of these bikes. the little day trip yesterday was 619 miles of secondary roads, gravel, and I system. everything from creeping through mud in 1st, to 80mph cruise, riding in ten hours daylight, six hours dark. just a solid performer in so many areas.

i did have another left turner incident last night, couldn't see who the driver was. i'm not sure what they finally see before slamming the brakes, but it might be that new amber LED marker light, it's plenty bright and stands out.

Appreciate is an understatement, I have found the bang for the buck on the ninja is off the charts. Smooth, powerful, all day comfort and true off road capability (no it is not a dirt bike), it is a true adventure bike. I don't get to rack up the miles like you do, but I have been on some great rides with it and use it for commuting once in a while. Has never let me down.

I am very happy I stumbled on one of your build threads, never would of considered it otherwise. Our bikes our quite different, but you and Tony certainly demonstrated what could be done with the ninja/versys platform.

[jdrocks]

Originally Posted by ktmklx

Appreciate is an understatement, I have found the bang for the buck on the ninja is off the charts. Smooth, powerful, all day comfort and true off road capability (no it is not a dirt bike), it is a true adventure bike.

it's easy to forget the "bang for the buck" aspect, but you're right about that too. roaring around on these unfaired rats, mud, gravel, twisty county roads, interstate, slow speeds, high speeds, up and over, around...and when i get home i have to sit down for a minute and think about where all i've just been.

adventure, oh yeah.

[TooFast]

Been watching for a affordable starter bike, only thing I've seen available in Denver is a Ninja motor for $700 and no paperwork.....

If anyone know of a cheap 09^ Ninja let me know

[jdrocks]

Originally Posted by TooFast

Been watching for a affordable starter bike...

through the end of the year is prime time to pick up a project bike. the right bike at the right price means shopping hard, cash in hand, ready to go. a great deal won't wait for ya to think about it.

good luck with the search.

[TooFast]

Cash is in hand, ready to act fast, other than a CL want ad, ebay and local auction I'm not sure where to look

[jdrocks]

Originally Posted by TooFast

Cash is in hand, ready to act fast, other than a CL want ad, ebay and local auction I'm not sure where to look

you're probably looking in the right places. it helps to check your resources every day and be prepared for a road trip for a bike at the right price.

remember that your focus is on your net out of pocket build cost, so if a prospective project bike asking price looks high at first glance, it might have more valuable parts to sell.

take a look at average selling prices on Ebay for any parts to get an idea of what things are worth. the parts market for these bikes is very soft right now, great for buying, not so great for selling. this opens another avenue, buying a frame with title, and starting there. it's not usually feasible to do this economically, but all required parts are cheaper than ever. make a list, add up the numbers.

in your case, i'd contact the guy with the ER6 motor for sale, find out what happened with the rest of the bike, or at least the parts you need. cash talks, more so in December.

[TooFast]

The bike went off a cliff here in the Rockies, and looks like it, totally destroying everything....looks like you would have to cut what's left of the frame to get the motor out. I wouldn't be surprised if the motor has been damaged, there's one in this forum with a cracked case I believe.

Thanks for all your good advice and excellant write ups, once I started reading your 2009 trip I couldn't stop till the end at 2:30 am. Sold me on doing this build.

Another Adv'r found a 08 salvage bike for $1500 that I'm calling on today. He's made a generous offer to go and check it out since it's out of state.

I'm leaning towards a running, mostly complete bike since it takes so much time to shop/buy/ship parts to piece one together. I've already got two 46mm KYB front ends off KX500s or a XR650R front end to choose from, an oversize disc and looking for a R1 shock now. No need to get fancy with the swingarm, will be stock ninja like yours. I'm close to your size so I will copy your spring advice...but am wondering about the damping being close enough or not. Now that you some miles on yours, are you satisfied with the shock damping? Tx

[jdrocks]

Originally Posted by TooFast

Another Adv'r found a 08 salvage bike for $1500 that I'm calling on today. He's made a generous offer to go and check it out since it's out of state.

I'm leaning towards a running, mostly complete bike since it takes so much time to shop/buy/ship parts to piece one together. I've already got two 46mm KYB front ends off KX500s or a XR650R front end to choose from, an oversize disc and looking for a R1 shock now. No need to get fancy with the swingarm, will be stock ninja like yours. I'm close to your size so I will copy your spring advice...but am wondering about the damping being close enough or not. Now that you some miles on yours, are you satisfied with the shock damping? Tx

sounds like you found one then, and that's how it happens when using all possible sources. you don't have a bike one minute, bingo, the next minute you do.

the R1 remains a great shock value in a reservoir unit for these builds. the 16kg/mm is the spring you want, get one built and cross that item off the list. the R1 is fully adjustable, although i don't bother adjusting mine much anymore whether loaded with gear or bare bike. mark me down as very satisfied after many miles of varied roads.

careful drilling the damped bushing end on the R1, i've seen reports that even machine shops have screwed it up. puzzling, since it's not very difficult.

i'm going to pull the shock for inspection and to lube the ends this winter.

[TooFast]

JDR,

Possibly found one - the phone number has a message as no good, so I responded via CL, 650 miles from me, waiting...

Went to the local Kawi dealer today and bounced up/down on their Cop Motor Ninja.....feels like my kinda bike

In the interest of others benefitting, I'm posting this rather than PM. pls let me if otherwise

Searched your R1 - shock length and travel is a little longer but still ~ 6.5"rear wheel travel/with fender interference, so I was thinking of an offset bushing/mount to address those issues. Any comments?
I have a 28" inseam so would mod my forks to have matching travel to whatever the rear ends up being to maintain stock geometry, but need tippy toes to ground. Sometimes in the past. stiffer springs have made a max rebound adjustment to handle the increased spring rate...just wondering...will use OEM juice when I service the shock for starters...do you know spec'd nitrogen pressure?

My garage has a Syncrowave welder/mill/lathe ready to go

Can you address the shock bushing bore increase? is it a hard metal/low speed/feed/lube/carbide issue? which end or both? might be a fab job for any offsets

[jdrocks]

Originally Posted by TooFast

Searched your R1 - shock length and travel is a little longer but still ~ 6.5"rear wheel travel/with fender interference, so I was thinking of an offset bushing/mount to address those issues. Any comments?
I have a 28" inseam so would mod my forks to have matching travel to whatever the rear ends up being to maintain stock geometry, but need tippy toes to ground. Sometimes in the past. stiffer springs have made a max rebound adjustment to handle the increased spring rate...just wondering...will use OEM juice when I service the shock for starters...do you know spec'd nitrogen pressure?

My garage has a Syncrowave welder/mill/lathe ready to go

Can you address the shock bushing bore increase? is it a hard metal/low speed/feed/lube/carbide issue? which end or both? might be a fab job for any offsets

it's going to take some careful planning to get a longer travel suspension under that rat bike without ending up with a seat height over 35". with a 28" inseam, you couldn't get your toes down on the V649. then there's the ground clearance issue.

it's possible to get more travel out of the rear, but for anything significant, you're going to lengthen the swingarm. if you modify just the fender liner/subframe, the tire will hit the corner of the battery box. swingarm and subframe mods will get you to about 8", and then you're looking at different shock mounts, maybe a different shock. before you go beyond that point, remember, you're not building a dirt bike.

there are plenty of like new R1 shocks available, you won't need to service it. there's a PDF of the R1 adjustments available. not all R1 shocks fit, you need a 07, 08, otherwise the reservoir is in the wrong place.

regarding drilling the damped bushing end of the R1 shock, i made a simple fixture to hold the shock perpendicular to the bit and stable. if a few minutes are taken to do this, it's an easy operation in mild steel. if not, the new 14mm ID is not likely to be concentric, ruining the bushing. the bushing at the needle bearing end is hardened and needs to be bored, also pretty easy with the right machine and tooling.

go get that bike, it's going to be time to ride the mountains before ya know it.

[TooFast]

Been shopping ebay for my Kawi Ptwin build and had a coupe of questions:

1) R1 shocks are often listed as 07 and 08 compatible...is their a difference? maybe not but checking to be sure before I buy

2) 09 and up R1 shocks have a neat preload adjuster change...will these shocks work as well?

This is my first month anniversary of searching for a starter bike...still looking

If you see Santa flying around with one, send him to Denver for a finders fee present!!! Sorry, it's a secret present

Was hoping I could spend Xmas turning spacers to shorten my 46mm KX500 or XR650R RSU conventional forks to be travel compatible with a R1 shock and have good lock to lock turning compared to USD
forks - my short 28" inseam precludes having a "Chopper Rat Bike"...Geometry is a good thing...my preference is to have perhaps 1" more travel up front like the Versys has over the rear travel, who knows till one is in my garage, it may be less

Happy Holidays to all you inmates

And a special thanks to JDRocks for his great write ups that got me hooked on this venture....I drove a pickup on the all dirt Alkan in 1972, this time it will be on a Ptwin!!!

P.S. I have a (1) HyperKinetics TT 650 looking for a better frame than current stock with aftermarket swingarm and Ohlins,YZ forks (2) Have a brand new XR500 crate motor needing a aftermarket frame...any one know of any frames?

[jdrocks]

Originally Posted by TooFast

Been shopping ebay for my Kawi Ptwin build and had a coupe of questions:

1) R1 shocks are often listed as 07 and 08 compatible...is their a difference? maybe not but checking to be sure before I buy...

those are the years for the R1 shock, anything newer presents interference issues with the reservoir.

without buying or fabricating an offset shock mount for the R1, you end up with a tall bike by the time you balance out the fork swap, so keep this in mind. an easy comparison is with the KLR, and my setup produces a seat height taller than that bike with OEM suspension, maybe 2-3" taller. if you remember from way back in this build thread, the ER6/Versys frames use the same sidestand mount and switch as the late model KLR, and from there you might also recall these photos...









the exposed section of insert about to be welded into the KLR sidestand is about 85mm, and by rights, should have been slightly longer. that should give you an idea of one of the issues you're facing to get your desired seat height.

plenty of variables and options involved in these builds, and i wouldn't be afraid to go ahead and source an R1 shock, since there's always a market for them, but i would concentrate on locating the project bike.

[MTrider16]

So, JD, did Santa leave anything in your stocking, or just a lump of coal?

Anyway, I stopped by to give you a bit o crap and wish you and yours a merry Christmas.

David

[jdrocks]

Originally Posted by MTrider16

So, JD, did Santa leave anything in your stocking, or just a lump of coal?

Anyway, I stopped by to give you a bit o crap and wish you and yours a merry Christmas.

David

hey, same to you.

i haven't found out yet what i get for being the perfect angel all year.

i'm hoping the XO lifts the travel ban.

[TheGreatHareafter]

Thanks for the fun thread. I've been lurking for a while now and enjoying all the design thoughts and pictures.

For some reason I woke up this morning thinking about your motor mount loosening even with red loctite. Could part of the reason it loosened be that the engine heat plasticizes the loctite allowing the bolt to then loosen?