RemoteMoto.com - The New Zealand Diaries

**RMOTO** · 10th February 2015, 16:43

DRZ400 - A 3 year review as an adventure bike

**Night Falcon** · 10th February 2015, 18:22

Originally Posted by RMOTO

DRZ400 - A 3 year review as an adventure bike

good read Josh, 690 should fit you like a hand in a glove - recommend the Rally Raid tank bolt upgrade kit though; the stock tank bolts snap like pretzels with any weight on the rear end....unless KTM has finally got round to making them out of stainless steel instead of scrap metal from recycled baked bean tins?

**.chris** · 10th February 2015, 19:08

Originally Posted by Night Falcon

good read Josh, 690 should fit you like a hand in a glove - recommend the Rally Raid tank bolt upgrade kit though; the stock tank bolts snap like pretzels with any weight on the rear end....unless KTM has finally got round to making them out of stainless steel instead of scrap metal from recycled baked bean tins?

You are right about the 690 it is a great option.

My tank bolts are still stock, but only soft luggage and light weight gear for me (must be the key).

Great updates to the site Josh, excellent to see new routes being added over the riding season.

**RMOTO** · 10th February 2015, 20:34

Originally Posted by Night Falcon

good read Josh, 690 should fit you like a hand in a glove - recommend the Rally Raid tank bolt upgrade kit though; the stock tank bolts snap like pretzels with any weight on the rear end....unless KTM has finally got round to making them out of stainless steel instead of scrap metal from recycled baked bean tins?

Hi ya Night Falcon, you're on the money with your tips, it seems a few things need addressing off the factory floor. I am sketching out the new build and appreciating the high number of options available. One decision I am yet to make is choosing between the Rally Raid Adventure Kit EVO1

or the DOTTORI Nuovo Africa Kit

They are both very nice looking kits

Originally Posted by .chris

You are right about the 690 it is a great option.

My tank bolts are still stock, but only soft luggage and light weight gear for me (must be the key).

Great updates to the site Josh, excellent to see new routes being added over the riding season.

Hi ya Chris, yes looking forward to the new toy, mostly the increase in HP

.

The route updates to the website are still a little slow as huge portions of time is being spent with the programmer on the new route uploading feature, once the new feature is complete the routes will go up in rapid time. I have well over 150 routes and features logged and ready to upload.

Cheers

Josh

**Night Falcon** · 10th February 2015, 21:22

FWIW I looked long and hard at the Dottori kit but decided against them - the mounting system was pretty flimsy and there were a lot of mixed reviews about the quality, Rally Raid gear by comparison appears to be bit more polished & popular - neither is cheap! You will sus it though -

The guys I bought my fairing off in Aussie also do a full kit for the 690 https://www.facebook.com/HARDkitsRR

these blokes make some as well http://www.perfect-fairings.com/en/home

Build thread will be much anticipated

**Woodman** · 11th February 2015, 06:05

Shame about the DRZ, and interesting.

That second kit for the 690 looks good for standing up riding Dakar style, but would be a pain on sitting down road sections as I don't think you (or anyone of average or below height) will be able to see over the top.

**Scubbo** · 11th February 2015, 06:30

ahh jeez wonder how long should keep the drz then :| was planning on putting some luggage on it

**RMOTO** · 11th February 2015, 17:18

Originally Posted by Night Falcon

FWIW I looked long and hard at the Dottori kit but decided against them - the mounting system was pretty flimsy and there were a lot of mixed reviews about the quality[/URL]

After some more research you are quite right, they look far less substantial than the Rally Raid mounting brackets. Cheers for the links

Originally Posted by Woodman

Shame about the DRZ, and interesting.

That second kit for the 690 looks good for standing up riding Dakar style, but would be a pain on sitting down road sections as I don't think you (or anyone of average or below height) will be able to see over the top.

It is a tad on the high side considering Alberto is a tall fella

Its surprising though, my current DRZ400 screen is quite high but doesn't impede the vision of where you naturally focus when riding

With regard to the mounting brackets however, I think I'll go Rally Raid which will avoid any issue if it did end up being too high

Originally Posted by Scubbo

ahh jeez wonder how long should keep the drz then :| was planning on putting some luggage on it

I certainly didn't want to scaremonger anyone riding a DRZ400, just share the experience as factually as possible. In all honesty I carry a truck load of gear (Riding, camping, fishing, work gear and an almighty tool kit and spares) much more than most, those carrying normal weights don't seem to be experiencing the same issue.

**Crim** · 12th February 2015, 11:28

Originally Posted by Night Falcon

690 should fit you like a hand in a glove

looking forward to the build report on this one

, mon ami

**Crasherfromwayback** · 12th February 2015, 11:47

Cheers for the thread. Awesome pics too!

**RMOTO** · 12th February 2015, 14:16

Interestingly enough I have stumbled onto a clever Australian (hard to believe huh

) who has experience with some fairly substantial mods that could potential cure the issue. I'll be following up with him on my return to base (still down south on the bike with another week of riding left

) and see whether I'll have a crack at building up one more engine and see if the issue can be cured.

As for normal programming...

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