Bye Bye KLX

Selling a bike is always difficult.  In the case of the KLX it happened very quickly.  It didn't cost me anything to own it (what I got for it covers what I paid for it including the safety).

Unlike the Ninja before it, the KLX didn't get much seat time with me so I don't have a strong emotional bond with it.  I also didn't modify it at all, though I was tempted to.

In a funk the other week because I couldn't go for a ride on one of the first ride-able days of the year, my wife suggested I get rid of some bikes and get something dependable.  If I have to pivot around a bike, it would be the Concours (I'm emotionally invested).  It's a bit much to ask a 22 year old bike to be a daily rider, but that's what I was doing.  The goal now is to have two bikes:  the Concours and something newer and more dependable that can do commuting duties when needed but also offers me a different kind of ride than the big two-up friendly Concours.

I'm still fixated on a Versys.  There are a number ranging from just over $3000 for '07s to up in the 5ks for a 3-4 year old model.  If it is the all purpose/dependable machine I'm looking for, then a KLE will soon replace the KLX.  Having said that, this is an opportunity to consider a wide range of general purpose machinery, and I should take it.

Now to get the XS1100 running so I can sell it and look to create a more ride-able stable of bikes.  Looking at the brakes yesterday, I suspect the XS is need of some pretty serious fettling before it'll roll anywhere.

The calipers are unseized and rebuilt.  Now I'm looking for the source of the leak in the master cylinder.  With the front brakes sorted I'm going to try and fire up this dinosaur.  A running bike sells for way more than a door stop, and I want to hear it running before I let it go.

If next fall I'm putting the Concours and a more modern dependable bike to sleep and wheeling a winter project bike into the garage, I'll be in my happy place.  A winter project like this!

Scrambling Versys Thoughts

Some home-made Versys diagrams of what a high/scrambler
type exhaust might look like - it looks good!  I have to wonder
why Kawasaki never did this with the bike...

A more all round capable Versys...

The asymmetrical nature of the rear shock (only visible from the right side of the bike) means that, aesthetically, a high pipe might look balanced running up the left/empty side.

The pipes and muffler are all usually mounted at the bottom - not ideal for off roading where soft exhaust components can get pounded flat.  Having them wrap around the left hand side of the bike and finish up under the rear frame means a protected exhaust.  I've always wanted to try custom exhaust building, this might be my chance.

Pipes and muffler out of the way mean more ground clearance even with a steel skid plate installed.

At five kilos lighter and with a four horsepower bump, the Akropovic tail pipe for the ER6 motor (what the Versys has a version of) would lower weight while offering a gain in power.  The titanium tail pipe would also look good while not taking up too much space under the rear fender.

Creating a custom metal heat shield around the pipe would protect from burns while also protecting the pipe.  Most scrambler style/high exhaust pipe use this as an excuse to decorate.  The ER6 parallel twin is a very efficient and cool running engine.  Even the exhausts don't get nuclear hot.  With some careful routing and smart use of heat shields, this should be doable.

The new exhaust might upend the fueling, so this would be an ideal opportunity to try out a Power Commander and get into computerized fueling control for the first time.

The next step would be to find some scramblery tires.  A road focused tire with some off road capability would do the trick.  Fortunately, Pirelli's MT-60 dual sport tire not only gives the Versys some real off road capability, but it also improves road handling over the stock tires.  They come in Versys stock sizes (120/70-R17 fronts and 160/60-R17 rears) and cost about five hundred bucks for the pair online.

At under four hundred pounds the Versys is already a light machine.  The goal would be to make changes that don't add significantly to the weight.  This light weight, multi-purpose Versys makes for an interesting Swiss-Army knife of a bike.

You'd be hard pressed to find a
more neutral riding position.

A 1 inch seat rise only makes it
more relaxed and usable.

A taller rider online said that increasing his seat height made the bike an ideal long distance tool.  A number of places seem to offer that very modification.

The stock windshield is a bit weedy as well.  I got a Givi windshield for the Concours and think it a great piece of kit.  The Givi item for the Versys is slightly taller than stock (not a problem, I'll look over it anyway), but looks good.

The only other thing I would add is a top box, allowing for carrying smaller items while keeping the bike as narrow as possible.  I installed a Givi topbox on the Ninja and it worked well without being too bulky.  It also allowed my pillion a place to rest against.

I've found well used ('07, 80+k kms) Versys for $2800, and much less used ('09, <10k) Versys for $4500 online.  If I can unload the KLX for $2500, my son's little Yamaha for $600 and the XS1100 for $1000, that'll give me about $4000 to put into a relatively new, dependable, fuel injected bike that I can then begin modifying!

The mods listed here are as follows:
Custom pipe         =  tbd - most of this would be diy
Akropovic exhaust   = ~$500
Power Commander     = ~$400
Pirelli MT-60 tires = ~$500
Custom seat rebuild = ~$700
Givi windshield     = ~$180
Givi topbox & hw    = ~$400
                      -----
                      $2680 + diy exhaust piping            
Twisted Throttle's Versys ADV makes me want to add to this.

More Versatile Versys Links

http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/2011/12/article/2011-kawasaki-versys-project-part-2/

https://www.canadasmotorcycle.ca/pirelli-mt-60-rs-sport-corsa-rear-tire.html?gclid=Cj0KEQjwzq63BRCrtIuGjImRoIIBEiQAGLHdYWSmxI0JjOz5nLndRdEQqiUyqy2EV8vH2LIWmAgwsXkaAu8f8P8HAQ

http://www.motorbikesaddles.com/Kawasaki%20Versys%20Tall%20Seats.htm

http://www.kawasakiversys.com/forums/

http://www.pirelli.com/tyres/en-ww/motorcycle/all-tyres/sheet/mt-60-rs

http://www.giviluggage.co/givi-product-focus/bike-overview-kawasaki-er6-nf-05-08/

http://www.giviusa.com/my-motorcycle/kawasaki/versys-650-06-09/447fz-monorack-sidearms-detail

http://www.giviusa.com/givi-products/cases/monolock-cases/e340nta-34ltr-matte-black-case-detail

http://www.kijiji.ca/v-sport-touring/kitchener-waterloo/kawasaki-versys/1146380401?enableSearchNavigationFlag=true

http://www.twistedthrottle.ca/shop-by-bike/kawasaki/versys-650-07-09

http://www.twistedthrottle.ca/news-and-events/adventure-motorcycle-magazines-twisted-throttle-and-sw-motech-equipped-kawasaki-versys.html

An Adventurous, Versatile, Always-on Versys

Two bikes not being used...

With the ongoing frustrations with trying to run a 22 year old bike as my daily rider I'm thinking of rearranging things so that I have a more functional motorbike stable.  At the moment I've got a KLX250 that I don't throw a leg over very much and isn't a popular choice with my pillion.  I've also got the big old Yamaha project bike that isn't getting any attention because I'm spending all my garage time working on the Concours.  Rejigging things to have a more functional stable is on my mind.

I miss having I.T. on at least one bike - having an onboard computer means the bike will self regulate and run more consistently.  Being a computer teacher means I'm not really scared of digital tech either, so I'd welcome it back.

The process might look like this:  sell the KLX, get the XS1100 operational and sell it too, and sell  the little Yamaha my son has never ridden.  In a perfect world I'd bring in about $4000 with those bikes.

What I'd be looking for is a second bike that could do basic commuting duties including two-up, would run all the time, and could ride a wider range of roads than the Concours is comfortable on.  As a road tool the Concours takes some beating (when it works).  It'll tour two up comfortably with lots of room for luggage, cover highway miles with ease and makes for a surprisingly agile back road weapon when riding alone.  What it needs is a break from the demands of being an always on motorcycle (it's twenty-two years old!).

That always on motorcycle should be light with a fuel injected/modern engine.  Of course the Ninja was those things, though it was a very road focused machine as well.  Kawasaki makes the Versys, based on the same ER6 chassis as the Ninja but with an enduro riding position.  With a few tweaks that bike could become the light-weight all-rounder I'm looking for.  At only 180kg, the Versys 650 is a mighty light, very dependable bike.

Where would I find a Versys?  They're about.  There is a well cared for '07, albeit with pretty high kilometres, for under three thousand over in Kitchener.Starting there I could build out an adventure Versys.  There are a lot of people doing something similar...

A great thread to follow on an adventurous Versys

high/scrambler pipe inspiration

LINKS

http://www.topspeed.com/motorcycles/motorcycle-news/studio-motor-gives-us-the-kawasaki-versys-650-scrambler-ar169995/picture634237.html

http://bikebrewers.com/kawasaki-versys-650-scrambler-studio-motor/

http://advrider.com/index.php?threads/one-more-versys-adventure.1078100/#post-27148119

Carbon KLX

Never a fan of the sticker covered MX look, I don't care for
big, white, fridge-like panels designed to take numbers.

I can't seem to own a bike without re-imagining it.  The Ninja went from flat black to blue and orange.  The Concours is continuing a transformation into gold and crimson.  Now it's the KLX's turn.

The white plastics on the KLX look cheap, appliance-like and nasty.  To rectify that I started looking for carbon pieces but they tend to be focused on sports bikes and I couldn't find any KLX sets.  

I then looked for replacement plastics I could experiment with, but they aren't cheap.  My next stop was sticker sets, which tend to be even more juvenile than the original graphics set-up (though the black metal one looked alright).  Why is everyone fixated on death imagery (skulls, bones, flaming effigies, etc.) on motorcycles?

A short term fix is to just focus on the offending pieces
(the headlight surround, fork protectors and rear side panels).
Amazing how five panels makes the bike look so different.

Longer term I'd like to learn how to form carbon fibre panels, but short term I've found a number of cheaper fixes to my aesthetics problem.

Canadian Tire sells the Dupli-Colour carbon fibre kit for about forty bucks.  It comes with two colours and a patterning cloth.  I should be able to sort out the natty white panels (two front fork guards, the headlight surround and the rear side panels) with that kit.  It's a cheap, short term fix.

I was reading about a vinyl wrap project Performance Bike UK was doing last night.  They did the whole bike in vinyl, but you can pick up carbon fibre look vinyl for next to nothing.  Maybe I should try that instead of the paint.  After some looking up on Amazon.ca I found some carbon fiber look vinyl wrap that will let me try out what PB did with their Suzuki on a smaller scale.  I also found some mirrors on hand that are much less derpy than the stock KLX mirror, and the

$45 for shipping on a $27 part?  Really Amazon?

price seemed reasonable until I got to checkout - this Amazon 'retailer' is charging $45 in shipping for a $27 part.  They can't be selling too many of those.  Fortunately I found a similar mirror with reasonable shipping costs and ended up getting a body colour mirror, 4 rolls of carbon look vinyl and a vinyl applicator for the same price as that over inflated shipping price, taxes and delivery included.  Amazon is no longer Amazon, it's a whole bunch of sometimes shady online sellers.  It's more like ebay than Amazon of old.

With more cash on hand I'd like to swap out knobblies for something more road focused and dualsport/scramblery.  Having the knobblies around for intentionally deep off-roading will be good, but I think I'd use the bike a lot more if I could get places without the tires slapping the pavement like wet squid suckers.

Canada's Motorcycle has Shinko 705s in the right sizes for under one hundred bucks each.  Two hundred and fifty bucks in and my carbon fibre KLX will be a step closer to the more road friendly scrambler I've been dreaming of.







Further research unearthed some pretty cool options.  This twin light headlamp seems pretty Airwolf cool.

Acerbis does a variety of front ends for enduro/dual sport bikes, like this Cyclops one.  

Cabin Fever

I might be getting a bit jumpy waiting for spring...

I tried starting up the KLX on Wednesday when it was 15°C.  I thought I might ride across town to pick up my son from daycare, but I couldn't get it going.

Today I got it going by giving it a blast of quick start with the air cleaner box open.

The Always On Motorcycle, or: to scramble or not to scramble, that is the question!

Time to put the bike away, right?  Not so much... 
it's 10°C and sunny out today!

I was all proud of myself for pushing into late November on two wheels this year.  When they finally laid down salt and sand after the first real snowfall I put the Concours away and stripped it down for winter maintenance.  I like having a twenty year old motorbike, but it isn't a hop on and go kind of machine, it needs TLC.

A bigger mistake was putting away the KLX even before that.  A newer machine with no need for heavy maintenance, it would have made sense to keep it handy just in case.  The past week I could have ridden in to work several times, but I'm finding myself bike-blocked by too early hibernation habits and a single purpose motorbike.

Riding into the frost line is a good time!
Next year I'm going to keep an iron horse
saddled just in case.

I coulda been riding in this!

I wouldn't be going on any long rides, just commuting, but that means 2-up with my son to drop him off at school.  I got the Concours because it does this job well while still letting me fly when I want to.  The KLX just manages the job of carrying me (it struggles to run at speed on the road with my 250lbs), but with storage and a second passenger?  I think it would be fairly miserable.  Perhaps that's what's stopping me from hauling it out of the shed again.

It's away too soon!  Too soon!

The Concours isn't going anywhere, but the KLX, while a good introduction to off road riding isn't the Swiss Army knife of a bike I was looking for.  Come spring I'm going to liquidate some biking assets and go looking for a more multi-functional alternative.

I think I'll clear $1000 on the XS1100 I'm currently fixing up, and I think I'll be able to get what I bought the KLX for ($2000).  Getting the $600 back I spent on the little Yamaha should also be possible.  With $3600 on hand I have some interesting choices when it comes to a Swiss-Army knife bike I can keep handy for multi-surface riding while also being able to ride 2 up while commuting.  The 650cc dual sport class of bikes has three contenders worth considering...

$1700  sitting in Kingston.  an '01 with 55K, well maintained,
KLRs are cheap and plentiful.  It'd also be more generally
usable than the KLX.

I'm thinking once again about a Kawasaki KLR650.  A tank of a bike.  Not fast, but fast enough, able to carry two up, and rugged.  If looked after it'd hammer along for a long time.  The KLR is the darling of the cheap adventure rider and has an awful lot of after market accessory clobber as a result.

$3400 over in Waterloo.  Top of the price range, but it's an  '05
in immaculate condition with 24k on it.  Nice photography too!

Honda makes an equivalent bike, the XR650.  It looks more off road focused, and it'd be my first Honda.  Other XR650s hover around $3000 with low kilometres.  They seem a bit more expensive than either the KLR or the Suzuki, but Hondas are famous for holding value like that.

An '05 with 33k out in Brockville going for $3200...

I looked at a DR600 last year, but shied away from such an old bike (this was an '89 in poor condition).  The DR600 evolved into the DR650 which is still in production today.



All three of these 650cc dualsports have enjoyed strangely long production runs with minimal changes.  That gives them a deep and well supported parts availability though.


I could creep into the adventure bike genre proper for about twice what I've got.  At under ten grand I'd consider the current crop of mid-sized adventure touring bikes, especially the ones with some off-road capability.  The Honda NC750x rolls out for just under $10k.  Suzuki's V-Strom 650 is five hundred bucks cheaper, and the Kawasaki Versys 650 is a grand under that, though it isn't much of an off-road machine.  The Honda CB500x rolls out for seven grand, making it an even cheaper option.  These bikes tend to put on the airs of an adventure bike without delivering any real off-road abilities.  Being new they'd all handle the job of an always-on/Swiss army knife bike better than the venerable Connie though.

Triumph's new Bonneville
Scrambler is a pretty thing.

Yep, we look good on that!

At just over ten grand I'm into Triumph Scrambler territory.  This would scratch both the classic itch as well as the multi-surface riding itch.  I'm not interested in MX riding.  My off roading would be dirt roads and light trail riding.  Staying away from the brightly coloured, long shocked dirt bikes would be OK with me, especially if I were on a classic looking Scrambler.

My kind of off-roading... very civilized!

The Scrambler genre has picked up as of late, with Ducati and BMW both entering the fray.  Yamaha is also doing it (though overseas), and Scramblers have long been a favourite of the custom crowd.  But unless I can make more space, a home made custom isn't the dependable always on machine I'm looking for... though that hasn't stopped me before.

Rather than just jumping into another dual sport that puts function before everything, maybe I should just start working toward the Scrambler I'd rather have.

However, the adventure bike rabbit hole goes all the way to the 1%er land.  On the way to Silly-Rich World you've got some multi-faceted mid-level adventure machines that are both stylish and capable.

With much disposable income I could go with the new Triumph Tiger 800cc XCx (about $16k).  With more cash on hand I'd be onto the new Triumph Tiger Explorer (north of $20k) or perhaps Honda's newly re-released Africa Twin (maybe $17k?).  In this territory you can get a stylish, long-distance able, off road capable machine.

Once you get into the high end adventure market things get silly quickly.  Suddenly you're thinking about Ducati Multistradas and superbike fast KTM Super Adventures.  Bikes with more computers than a moonshot.  Every time I read an article about these bikes they are described as fantastic, followed by a long list of all the things that broke on them but were covered under warranty.  I guess that's an adventure of a sort.

These kinds of bikes wander into more than just disposable income.  If I'm buying a bike like that I'd better be at my leisure.  Dropping upwards of $30k on a motorcycle that can handle dirt roads (but needs expensive TLC every time you do) should mean you've also got a stable of a dozen other bikes and lots of time to ride them.

Back in the real world I'm motivated to expand my riding season and have a machine on hand that can do more than one thing if the Connie is feeling her age.  Come spring I'll be considering options to scramble or dual sport, but it'll be scrambling unless I can afford an actual adventure bike.  If I'm going to look for a multi-purpose always on bike, I'd also like to get one that tickles an aesthetic itch.

Bike Evolution

I've been pondering motorbikes as the season ends here in Canada and the darkness closes in.  I'm only 300 miles away from putting the Concours over the thirty thousand mile mark, which has been the goal this year.

The Concours has been a revelation.  This year I've gone international with it, doing thousand mile trips and circumnavigating great lakes.  I continue to modify and adjust, making it more and more long distance worthy.

Surprisingly, I'm finding it very satisfying in the twisties, and that 999cc Ninja motor wails like a banshee if you wind it up, so there is no lack of visceral thrill in riding it.  So satisfying is it that I'm left wondering what more I'd need in a road bike.

That's where the KLX came in.  As an off-road tool it's purpose built, but I'm finding that I don't have the time or the local access to dedicate to off road riding.  I enjoy it, but the cottage I was thinking of using it at isn't really that accessible and other than riding around on dirt roads, I'm finding it difficult to justify, especially for what it cost.

There is also the culture side of it.  I get a nostalgic jolt out of the idea of riding a classic Scrambler all over the place, but MX riding?  Not so much.  It all seems a bit Ricky Racer to me.  I like green laning, and trail riding, but I'm not so much about the radical off road stuff, so a less MX like bike would do the trick.   One that scratches that nostalgic itch at the same time would do double duty...

Triumph's Bike Configurator makes dreaming a bit too easy...

Maybe next year will evolve into a Scrambler while running the ever present Concours - a sport tourer and a multi-purpose classic would each get a fairer share of the time I can dedicate to the saddle.


The new Bonneville/Scrambler is something else again:

Bigger motor, lighter bike.  The 2016 Bonneville Scrambler is a piece of fast art!

Rivers to Roads

Yesterday I took the KLX out for a stretch, today the Concours.  I'm trying to get her up over thirty thousand miles this season.  Thanks to today's run I'm a hundred miles closer.

I first aimed at Marsville to have another look at the XS1100, this time in daylight.  It's $500, the motor isn't seized (!), and it's seen better days.  I left a message on the number attached to it, we'll see what comes back.

That it's covered in cobwebs and has spent the last who knows how long in the back of a barn somewhere only makes me want to take it home and take it apart more.  It's a good candidate for a tear down - especially if I can get the price down.











After looking at ye old Yamaha, I struck north, aiming for Horning's Mills and River Road.  Nothing works out the kinks like bending the big Kawi down some winding roads.  It was busy up there, with lots of bikes looking for the twisties.  The weather was hot (in the thirties Celsius) and sunny.

River Road gives you some very un-Southern Ontario like bends, it was nice to give the edges of my tires some work.  With all the traffic on the road I had to keep timing my corners so I wouldn't run into nice old couple in minivans out for a lovely drive.  A guy coming the other way on an R1 showed how it's done, executing a smooth, quick pass to get around the moving chicanes.

Just when you get past the twistier bits you come across the Terra Nova Public House, a tavern in the old style, with raftered ceilings and great local beers on tap.  After a break in the shade and a cool drink, I took the Concours back down River Road the other way and headed back via Grand Valley and Belwood, to Elora.

Three hours in the baking sun had me a little sun-stunned by the end of it, but what a lovely day for a ride.  The memory will keep me warm in the coming darkness!