KLR650, XT600, DR650, F650 etc wellywood

[XP@]

I'm thinking about getting some custom panniers made too. Does anyone know any decent aluminium welders in Wellington who could do panniers for a fair price. Would you recomend custom paniers or would you buy commercial jobs? I'm keen on your thoughts.

I made some for my F650... they were indestructable, I wouldn't try and make my own again.
If you are planning a RTW go for touratech or other pre made boxes.
or my current preferance soft throw over bags, a canoe bag and some tie downs.
Is there a luggage thread?

[clint640]

I made some for my F650... they were indestructable, I wouldn't try and make my own again.
If you are planning a RTW go for touratech or other pre made boxes.
or my current preferance soft throw over bags, a canoe bag and some tie downs.
Is there a luggage thread?

Why wouldn't you make your own again? I would have thought that with the astromonical price of touratech & suchlike it would be a good proposition. I know a couple of good alloy fabricators who could make me some boxes for way less than the 4 figures it would cost for the ready made jobs.

Dead right about the soft luggage, it's better in every way except security I reckon.

Cheers
Clint

[far queue]

... Thinking of buying a big bore trailie for a bit of back road cruising. (Actually a lot of back road crusing, but more about that later) ...

... If you are planning a RTW go for touratech or other pre made boxes ...

Soooooo ... what sort of riding are you planing on doing Bartman? It would make it easier to make recomendations if we knew

[Ruralman]

[QUOTE=Transalper;722747]So which Michelins do u have on?
I have Michelin SIRAC 130/80 on the rear and pirelli MT90 on front. If I put more mud traction on the rear it would expose the limits of the front pretty quickly I think (in muddy conditions)
This combo works really well on gravel and it looks like they will last pretty well.

If I was looking for a good big bore trailie i reckon I'd look very closely at a TTR 600 and put a bigger tank on it (15l would be enough). I know its a kick start but they have a good reputation for cold and hot starting - its their suspension that would be the thing for me. It would have been fantastic fun on a ride like the one you did to Loch Katrine (or whatever it was called).

[XTC]

I quite like my XT but I wouldn't take it to far into the bush.....

[Ruralman]

[QUOTE=far queue; I'm a bit anal about knowing exactly how far I can go on a tank, and the distance of the trips I do, due to the remote nature of a lot of them. I don't know what consumption other DR650's are getting. Lemans? SDU? Do you know what you've been getting?

Merv, I'm probably as surprised at your 20km/L as you are at my 16Km/L That's 260km per tank, that would be great.[/QUOTE]

A bit anal?? Ok try this -
My 75cc chainsaw runs for 30 mins on 700ml of premix. If that was on a bike on a trail ride averaging 25km/hr that would work out to 35km/litre - and I thought the thing was a gas hog!!! now I can leave the handsaw at home and buzz away guilt free!!
On the other hand my KVF650 ATV only goes about 70-80 km on a tank which I think holds about 20litres - thats so f-ing depressing i'm not even going to work it out.
My KDX 220 does near enough to 10km/ltre - and I don't think it is possible to ride it sedately
Any more of this and I'll have to ride around in a diesel ute - stuff that

[fishb8nz]

I'm reading this cos I've got the F650 motor on my F650CS. Definitely a road only bike. The motor has behaved impeccably for 10k km, no surging or stalling. Tickover is 1400 rpm. Fuel consumption is usually 26 km/litre but goes down to 24.5 when night riding in winter (high beams/heated grips). Starts first time, whatever the weather, when you follow the correct starting sequence.

[moko]

All of these bikes are road bikes that will struggle in the bush,if you want to do that but still want something that`s easy to live with go for the XR650 or TT600.I had an XT600 before I got my Fazer,thing i liked was that it`s really basic,drop it and you can pretty much kick it straight and carry on,only thing you do need to bear in mind is that top gear is very much an over-drive,lug along at low revs in top and you`ll join the "XT gearbox rebuilders club",though the later E model(electric start)got a beefed up box.What did amaze me was the fuel consumption,Fazer`s a high-performance machine but I get the same miles per gallon as I did from the XT,not impressive.Apart from the gearbox thing Xts are pretty much bullet-proof and a popular choice for round the world types,I`ve seen one on the net that had done 200,000 miles,o.k. that`s with a couple of re-bores and a major engine re-build but very impressive nonetheless,and yes thats miles not kilometres.In normal use as long as you change the oil regularly they`ll run and run,not fast,not flash but they definately grow on you.My Fazer`s the best bike I`ve ever owned but I still regret having to chop the XT in to get it,only thing I dont miss is the bloody awful seat,I did a 100 mile trip on it once and couldn`t walk properly for 3 days.Bought the Fazer the next week.

[XTC]

Just got back from the ride safe 350(miles) on my XT. I did about 650kms today and I can walk fine. I did have a sheep skin on it tho... Great ride and it reminded me why I love my XT. Not flash and showy just go and go-y.

[Ixion]

Did 400km over 5 hours on the XT yesterday, mixture of back sealed roads and gravel with a few stops, seat felt fine at the end, only just starting to feel a bit stiff in the back and legs.

Worked out at 17 km per litre overall, not as good as I would like, but I was pushing it pretty hard on the seal, using the indirects a lot through the corners. Ride it like a crusier and mileage might be better.

It goes very well on seal treated like a sports single, bang down through the gears on the way into the corners and haul hard out of them, hardly need brakes.

[merv]

Check out this link http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/sh...ad.php?t=34246 I did a quick fuel check for ya on Mrs merv's DR650. Its on the "out of the shop" roadie/dirt tyres but I reckon even if I put knobblies on it the gas use wouldn't change much.

[merv]

.... using the indirects a lot through the corners....

I presume you are talking about the gears and it shows you are even an older bugger than me talking like that. Obviously you are used to a mainshaft and lay shaft and direct drive top gear - like you might have had on a Triumph or something. Now of course the Jappas are all indirect in every gear with input on one shaft and output on the other and most higher gears being overdriven.

[Ixion]

Well, yes, true. On a Japper box all gears are indirects. But it's a handy term.

[laRIKin]

Well I have recommended a bike yet.

And now I will, in my experience I have found that the KTM 640 LC4's are the ducks nut's off road and are OK on the road
Lights, seat and vibe's are there down fall, but there off road capabilities make up for it.
And I will live with those short comings as I want an off road bike that goes on the street.

I would love to (and can) buy a another bike (doesn't matter) but after the ripping off road ride today that I had to day on the 640.
I will not sell the 640, I may buy this other bike one day and when I buy it will have to be stable mates with the 640.
The new 07 690 revamp model could sway me, but I think I will save my money for the 950.

It could be argued that some, if not all of the others could be better on the road.
But take them off road and the KTM will eat them.
Remember that the early 640 were MX bike and have that heritage in their blood the other do not.

I think buy the flavour that YOU like or one that the price is right.
Read up the short comings and see if you can work around them.

At the end of the day, they all have their fan's and they are happy and love their bike no matter what others say about them.

[Crisis management]

Well, yes, true. On a Japper box all gears are indirects. But it's a handy term.

Thank you Ixion, I had absolutely no idea what you were talking about and thank you Merv, I am obviously too young to have understood.
That's made my day, the kids have been saying 50 is too old for most things, proved wrong again!!