Husqvarna 701 (KTM 690) Enduro (Dual Sport) Project Bike - Technical Thread

[Gravelcruiser]

Gravelcruiser, no derail is taken, and sorry, I just saw your reply and question from July 26.

My explanation of why above may have been lost in too much text

Things like being able to sit on the bike key off and powered up not on battery is a plus, as is having it on for an entire ride despite powering down with the key, which I do often on rides.

I'm inexperienced in the modern GPSs like the Garmin Tread. After I updated the software I noticed the Garmin Tread behaving differently on power down, but I've not had time to use it enough to become fully familiar. I did get a glowing ride report from a friend who bought a Tread just before me. He says the Tread is SO much better than older designs. I'll see when I finally get to ride the bike more!

You are correct that missed that in the text ( I should have reread it). Both my old and current gps give the option to stay on with gps battery power when I switch off the bike so I usually connect to switched power. That allows me to leave it attached to the bike without any drain to the bike battery and less chance of me misplacing it when packing up camp.

 

[Motobene]

Gravelcruiser, when I first put the Garmin Tread on the bike, switching the power off immediately killed the GPS. This kept happening every time I switched off. I found that irritating. I thought, "Surely there is a configuration option somewhere to be able to bridge between key-ons with the onboard battery?" During my first long study of the manual (which is HUGE), I missed this:

...but this config doesn't help as there is an interrupt when powering down (read on).

I was warned by a friend that the Tread is very power hungry and the battery doesn't last very long on the battery. How long the battery will easily bridge external power off is unknown yet, and I don't want to find out as deep cycling any battery can reduce the life of that battery unless the software limits the percent possible discharge.

There was this in the manual:

Having the accessory power sub project dragging out, I made an executive decision to power the GPS direct from the battery with an SPST switch in between, before more learning experiences with the GPS. I'm glad I went that way. I can boot the GPS any time (a good feature is the GPS auto boots when external power is detected). I can sustain the GPS without mental interrupts. I can wander out to the bike and charge my phone in the tank bag without key on. And when I need to power the USB buck transformer key off for hours, like full charging a phone, but not the GPS, I have second 'GPS switch', the power cord connector to the Garmin radio module the GPS sits on and plugs into, conveniently right under the GPS:

Yes, the GPS can be powered by a USB cord directly, but I chose to retain the radio module to use Garmin's robust buck transformer stand alone, for - I assume - more reliable external power.

Early on, the GPS kept asking me to confirm the region and language (WTF). Then during a power down it asked about updating the software so I did. Thereafter, no more repeat asking about region and language, but now it is updating when shutting down without asking me. Today when I booted up, it expressed another update (too soon). After a delayed boot it asked me to approve an EULA (end user license agreement). And about that display timeout setting I checked it: 2 minutes. But when I powered off I got a warning screen about external power lost. Apparently I have to Cancel out of that screen to get my promised 2 minutes. That's an irritating interrupt, making me once again happy about going with my independent power switch.

The GPS is behaving in the UI like modern front power windows in cars and trucks. Instead of being simple like rear windows, with windows going down and up directly according to how long one sustains the switch, the auto down and up function fights the user who simply wants to crack the window a specific amount.

The male brain absorbed in some task like riding safely and navigating while riding safely doesn't appreciate mental interrupts like screens that pop up and want you to push buttons to be able to sustain what the device WAS previously predictably doing.

Aargh!

You can observe yet another incident of unanticipated behavior in this short video:

Husqvarna 701 - buffalodream

This video hosted by SmugMug; your photos and videos look better here.

buffalodream.smugmug.com

 

[Motobene]

REPLY BACK FROM SOLID PERFORMANCE on the 6500 Cartridge Kits
I got a call-back today, thank you. The assumption was that I was sent three pdf of info in an email days ago, but there was no email. They sent again and I have those docs now. There was the usual responses to my issue of undersized springs of try this and do that (which don't work), so I have provided this feedback to them:

Thanks for calling me back and getting me the three documents today. I checked and for sure I did not get the email earlier, only today when you resent it.

THERE IS A PROBLEM
Maybe I was just unlucky and got the smallest diameter set of your WP cone-valve fork springs? Or, you all could have in stock a number of significantly undersized springs and will get more calls.

"Try the other end of the spring" is something an experienced guy like me will do anyway, but that didn't work.

"You can force the preload spacer flanges into the spring ends." Not the ones I have!

THE NUMBERS
The nominal spring outside diameter is 43,2 mm. The two springs I have are 41,9 on three ends and 41,8 on the fourth end. For simplicity, let's say they are all 41.9. That's 1,3mm under the nominal outside diameter, which is a lot. The wire diameter of both springs is consistent at 5,26 mm, yielding a spring inside diameter of 31,38. The anodized aluminum bottom spring rests are 31,47 diameter, yielding diametral interference of 0,09 or for us 'Mercans, 4 thousands of an inch. Even considering the coils, that's a lot. If I force my on, assuming I could get as far as the plastic washers, I doubt I'd be able to get the springs back off. The design intent is for ample spring and rest diameter clearance so the coils don't stick and slough AL03 then AL off the spring rest and thus contaminate the oil.

As for the black preload spacers that can supposedly be forced on, the black ones in my kit (don't know about the white ones), have press/snap-in flanges of 34,34mm, and 33,48 on the stepped-in diameter. That's an interference fit of 2,96 on the snap-in diameter and even 2,10 on the stepped-in diameter. In 'Mercan that's a whopping 0.117" and 0.083" interference with the coil peaks!

MY FIX
No biggie. I will drum sand the coil peaks to clear the spring over the aluminum spring rest on one end of each spring, and cut off the flanges of the preload spacers.

OIL VOLUME
Thanks for clarifying that the cartridges are shipped with oil inside with 'oil capacity, cartridge of 165cc, so there is no bleed procedure, just pop in the cartridges and and add the specified 'oil capacity, external mechanism' of 400cc.

As for the 400cc, several videos I watched came with recommendations from outfits like yours to drop the volume to 380 and 360cc. It's easy to add oil whereas not easy to remove oil. The point was to reduce the strength (resistance) of the secondary 'fork spring' of trapped air. In both cases the reduced volume was with forks that have 2" more travel than the 690/701 version of the WP Explor forks. I will check the bottoming during g-outs and add oil if needed. I could not drive the stock OC forks to full travel, and suspect too high of an oil level for the 6500 kits too.

Here are the specs I was looking for, from the user manual specific to the 690/701 kit:

I'll more carefully measure the spring lengths and choose the appropriate spacer and cut the snap-in flange of that set of spaces off. Likely the 3mm preload spare will work with the (presumed) 485mm spring.

 

[Gravelcruiser]

Gravelcruiser, when I first put the Garmin Tread on the bike, switching the power off immediately killed the GPS. This kept happening every time I switched off. I found that irritating. I thought, "Surely there is a configuration option somewhere to be able to bridge between key-ons with the onboard battery?" During my first long study of the manual (which is HUGE), I missed this:

...but this config doesn't help as there is an interrupt when powering down (read on).

I was warned by a friend that the Tread is very power hungry and the battery doesn't last very long on the battery. How long the battery will easily bridge external power off is unknown yet, and I don't want to find out as deep cycling any battery can reduce the life of that battery unless the software limits the percent possible discharge.

There was this in the manual:

Having the accessory power sub project dragging out, I made an executive decision to power the GPS direct from the battery with an SPST switch in between, before more learning experiences with the GPS. I'm glad I went that way. I can boot the GPS any time (a good feature is the GPS auto boots when external power is detected). I can sustain the GPS without mental interrupts. I can wander out to the bike and charge my phone in the tank bag without key on. And when I need to power the USB buck transformer key off for hours, like full charging a phone, but not the GPS, I have second 'GPS switch', the power cord connector to the Garmin radio module the GPS sits on and plugs into, conveniently right under the GPS:

Yes, the GPS can be powered by a USB cord directly, but I chose to retain the radio module to use Garmin's robust buck transformer stand alone, for - I assume - more reliable external power.

Early on, the GPS kept asking me to confirm the region and language (WTF). Then during a power down it asked about updating the software so I did. Thereafter, no more repeat asking about region and language, but now it is updating when shutting down without asking me. Today when I booted up, it expressed another update (too soon). After a delayed boot it asked me to approve an EULA (end user license agreement). And about that display timeout setting I checked it: 2 minutes. But when I powered off I got a warning screen about external power lost. Apparently I have to Cancel out of that screen to get my promised 2 minutes. That's an irritating interrupt, making me once again happy about going with my independent power switch.

The GPS is behaving in the UI like modern front power windows in cars and trucks. Instead of being simple like rear windows, with windows going down and up directly according to how long one sustains the switch, the auto down and up function fights the user who simply wants to crack the window a specific amount.

The male brain absorbed in some task like riding safely and navigating while riding safely doesn't appreciate mental interrupts like screens that pop up and want you to push buttons to be able to sustain what the device WAS previously predictably doing.

Aargh!

You can observe yet another incident of unanticipated behavior in this short video:

Husqvarna 701 - buffalodream

This video hosted by SmugMug; your photos and videos look better here.

buffalodream.smugmug.com

I would've done exactly what you did with that situation. Both my units are older, as in not serviced by Garmin anymore older. I certainly hope this behavior is not common in all newer units. It does make me wonder if yours is operating as it should. Maybe others can chime in on this. As always, I enjoy the thread and am following closely. Cheers

 

[Motobene]

GPS
Devices and software evolve and gets 'upgraded.' On the one hand, software and hardware that is not sophisticated enough can be a pain in the ass. I gave up on the Garmin V for lack of sophistication, when zooming in to see more detail, the detail would just disappear, making me say, "What the hell use is this thing?" So I went back to carrying topo atlases, or just following friends who had GPS screens requiring the occasional stop for study. On the other, hardware and software do evolve and become much more useful and addicting. Along the way there are plenty of opportunities, however, for grousing over upgrades that just add clutter, clicks, and don't truly add utility.

I AM looking forward to an immersion experience with my Tread, and joining the modern world of GPS navigation. Particularly for finding amazing hidden little routes to explore. New Mexico is a wonderland of potential exploration, and there no way I can explore it all before I leave earth. Not by a long shot!

Friends with much more experience who convinced me to buy a tread certainly report excitement over its utility. I'm already amazed at the app I downloaded onto my iPhone 12! Just the app itself is a wonderful resource of interlinked features. Click on some obscure small road and the app will tell you if it is open to motorcycling - or not.

With all the other mechanical and kit projects on Super Yummy maxing out my CPU and available time, the GPS keeps getting pushed right into the upcoming ride that I must leave for on the 17th, with three days away from the remaining days devoted to camping with some friends. The forks were supposed to be a one-day thing (last Friday), and here we are today (Tuesday), when I can finally put the forks together! At this pace I don't know if I can risk a shock re valve to go with improved forks before the departure date, as my kit still isn't 100% determined and packed.

THE FORKS
Obvious now is WP has created downstream problems by allowing at least one lot of significantly undersized springs to pass through retail to customers. My engineering career was in design and manufacturing of similar hardware to suspension, so am atypically experienced, and a good choice of a 'victim' of just such a problem because I can correctly identify it and deal knowledgeably with it.

My guess is that cone valve springs typically run undersize so people have gotten used to dealing with some associated problems. But my particular springs are SO undersize as to make jamming preload spacers into the spring ends impossible, and preventing the aluminum parts at the other end from being able to fit inside the springs - at all.

I chose to modify my two springs instead of pushing to be sent springs that fit. I'm out of time and have informed Solid Performance there is problem. I have to move on. I don't have time to work into credibility to be believed as a lowly customer. The forks are apart, the kits need to go in, and that's it. Moving on.

My service to you all is to give you a simple spec:

If WP cone valve springs do not have at least one end having a minimum inside diameter of 31,9mm (1.256"), the spring won't fit without interference and don't conform to the design intent, period.

My two springs have outside diameters 1.3mm below the nominal diameter, resulting in an inside diameter of 31,38mm (1.235"), which not did not allow the below aluminum parts to slide into the spring at all, much less have clearance for the first 3 coils to stroke without rubbing, and the little step to retain the plastic washer being pointed to below didn't make the job any easier. The minimum number I have provided above allows the spring to clear that little step and allow the spring to face mate with the plastic washer without forcing... just.

As for worry that the springs may fail in fatigue down the road by having the coil speaks sanded down, I've modified quite a few helical compression springs similarly in the past without problems, so I'm not worried.

I hope this info gets back upstream and helps at least one person.

 

[Motobene]

UNDERSIZE SPRING RESOLUTION
Kudos to Solid Performance!

As I suggested, they checked their inventory of 5.2 kg/mm springs. The result was I got unlucky to get the one undersized set. They said it's happened before, but it's uncommon enough that they don't check the incoming inventory. They should not have to.

From an email I just got, the right(er) springs are the same part number, 91410119, as you can see on the box in the background of the first photo they included. The below spring meets the minimum ID to clear the washer retention stop of 31,9mm:

In the second photo, the marking on the end of the spring is different, being 5.2 1/M, instead of 52/08/15 on the undersized spring. WP likely has more than one manufacturer of springs.

They're sending me a right set to do right by me (thank you!). Maybe I'll have the time to put them in before the ride? If not, I'll take the set with me to Wyoming, just in case something weird happens as a result of correcting one end of the shrunken springs. Maybe there's a time wasting, poop-will-happen, Murphey-Law demon attached to those springs?

Here a video (if you can stand me droning on again), of the resolution and other details from an hour ago. It's raining now, so hard to go do a test ride, but the bike's back together, ready to test the forks!

Husqvarna 701 - buffalodream

This video hosted by SmugMug; your photos and videos look better here.

buffalodream.smugmug.com

 

[Motobene]

QUICK TEST RIDE - 6500 Fork Kit
Terrain choice for the quick test ride was limited, but it was enough to discern the general character of the kit as set up by WP for the 690/701 'for the masses.' I expected:

- Higher overall damping quality

Check!

- WP's suspension philosophy and thus base damping spec would yield what is to me slow suspension. Yup! It's why I always start testing with clickers wide open. Unsurprisingly, I'm once again backed up against clickers at zero whereas what I'd rather have the options to set clockers more in the middle of the range. Sigh.

This can get complicated and hard to explain to normal folks. When I mentioned to one of the guys at Solid Performance how I've often relieved rebound shim stacks with rocker shims for 'two- or even three- stage' damping, I got the immediate retort of, "We don't do that." I could only say, "It's worked for me and made some customers quite happy." But it's not 'normal.'

A contradiction for me and most of the people I ride with is suspension set up for 'racing.' Most guys aren't as sensitive as me and don't care. What they know is normal and they are happy with that. To illustrate why I think normal can be off to one degree or another, I met a very skilled off road rider at the last trials event. he discussed being offered a test ride on a $40k KTM 450 Rally bike. Being a smart fellow he jumped at the opportunity. And me being a fart smeller I jumped at the opportunity to ask him what he thought about the suspension. He said it sucked! As in slow, stiff, and harsh for anything but ludicrous speed WFO slamming into terrain. In other words, very expensive and actually inferior for the overwhelming vast majority of riders.

I will try, however, to set my acquired prejudices from trials and decades of amateur suspension tuning aside. I may have an unexpected thing or two to learn about the 'latest thinking' in suspension with respect to the heavy and powerful 701, especially loaded down with camping pork.

The new CC forks I now know will match the slowness of the stock shock (with clickers wide open), so there's no need to re valve it just yet. I will pull the shock, however, to install the XTrig preload adjuster and 8.0 kg/mm spring to theoretically better match all the camping and other kit hanging over the ass of the bike.

 

[Motobene]

REAR SHOCK REMOVAL
I was dreading removing the shock to mount the 8.0 kg/mm spring and XTrig preload adjuster. perimeter frame and all that crap in the way! But once again I'm finding brilliance in the 690/701 design. You can swivel up the whole fuel tank/subframe to pull the shock out from the top!



This design feature is slicker than a greased bean!

More detail in this video:

Husqvarna 701 - buffalodream

This video hosted by SmugMug; your photos and videos look better here.

buffalodream.smugmug.com

STOPPAGE
I got down to the point of shock bolt removal and found I have to make a 3rd trip to Harbor Freight in under under a week. The T50 M10 bolts are - as usual - assembled bone dry and super tight. I can't break them free with out busting my 3/8" ratchet. My impact tools are 500 miles away, but the conquest of the American Empire through low-low prices is only 20 minutes away!

And if I want to be really sure about breaking the bolts free I could also get this (might save me a trip):

 

[Gravelcruiser]

I've often found judicious use of a micro torch (also available at harbor freight) sure can ease the release of tight bolts without damage to tools or heads of bolts. That and a 1/4 drive electric impact have saved me hundreds. Rarely do I use the old hammer driven impact driver anymore.

 

[Motobene]

Turns out the loud popping while trying to loosen the shock bolts was from them 'micro skipping' from being dry (saltatory motion). I grease all fasteners so they don't do that, tightening or loosening. I did buy the 1/2" drive Torx and sure felt better at the high high torque required to unstick the things.

After extoling the virtues of the swivel-up gas tank, and how that was going to save time, the Murphy's Law demon heard me and swooped down to shorten my pecker.

It is now 9 hours later, the bike is back together, and everything works as intended. In between was yet another trip down into town to a dealer with a spring compressor, and lots of shock in and out to get the position of the XTrig right.

WP shock spring is LONG at 8.85" and backing the glass-filled plastic preload adjuster off to bottoming had the spring still under a lot of compression. No way to pull out the spring retainer halves. Thanks, WP, for making things a pain in the ass! No way to set the preload and slip the shock back in, and a I had to trim a frame tab. There's a specific sequence to make it all happen and only one rotational position that will give access to the 8mm head. That all took time and patience to work out. This is where things end up when right:

A view from back of the bike toward the front right (tight!):

That and more is explained in the following video. Oh my word-flipping brain! Toward the end I say, "I don't do ride height adjustments." Well I do, to change bike pitch and thus influence the squat and steering reaction torques (long story). What I meant to say is, "I don't try to nail some specific sag spec."

Husqvarna 701 - buffalodream

This video hosted by SmugMug; your photos and videos look better here.

buffalodream.smugmug.com

As for the stock and purchased shock springs, I plugged both of them into my spring calculator. The numbers for k are high using the formula and it baffles me as to why. The formula scalar, which is in the denominator, has to be 9.5 for the Eibach spring and 8.9 for the WP spring to get k to match the manufacturer's numbers. Spring are often mislabeled as to the actual spring rate. If nothing else, my silly calculator serves to record data and to generally compare one spring against the other.

The stock spring WP 72-225 G/X (Wp 7.2kg/mm-length and I don't know what G/X is)

The Eibach 0800.225.0450 (spring rate 8.nominal length but it's actually 203.spring wire diameter)

Rear wheel is off to do the new rear tire. Won't be able to test the spring real world until Sunday.

 

[Motobene]

REAR WHEEL & CAMPING KIT

The video begins with rear wheel details then moves on to my two bulkiest camping kits groups, one bag holding the Zenbivy Light XL 10-degree top quilt and sheet (may it NOT be hot on the ride!), and another bag containing the BA Crag Lake SL2 tent, an REI fleece thing in case it's hot (no top quilt or in general so I don't cheese up the sleeping bag), and the Zenbivy air mattress. Those two bag alone are 15 pounds!

Those two bags will have to go on top on the Mosko 80, as they certain can't fit into the saddle bags. Some thing missing with the fancy 701 and soft luggage is my previous and very practical Givi hard luggage setup on the KLR685: A WIDE platform on which a lot of stuff could be packed under stretch net with 5 anchor points on each one of my Givi bags.

Looking back at the weights of that now decade-old setup in pounds and kilgrams:

I aim to spreadsheet the 701's setup when I finish it to see just how porky it ends up relative to the KLR.

The video:

Husqvarna 701 - buffalodream

This video hosted by SmugMug; your photos and videos look better here.

buffalodream.smugmug.com

 

[Motobene]

Last day before starting the trip toward the WYBDR. All day yesterday I put in a gazillion steps repairing and upgrading my crusty old enclosed transport trailer, went to bed at 1 AM, and got up at 6. At least after getting every other damned thing done I can concentrate today on the last part of what to pack - and not.

And only 5 minutes in the neighborhood for a test ride (sigh). And it's a Mosko Gnome tank bag, not Pinner (oh my flaky brain). The Pinner tool bag is in one of the side bags:

https://buffalodream.smugmug.com/Husqvarna-701/i-Kxpj387/A

FYI details about this particular WYBDR:

Wyoming - WEST 38 MOTO

west38moto.com

The marketing:

What’s better than mountains, motorcycles, and rugged off-road terrain? How about mixing those with an immersive off-pavement tour/training experience with industry-renowned adventure riding instructor/guide and Host of MOTOTREK, Dusty Wessels, and BMW-Certified Off-Road Instructor and 2010 GS Trophy U.S. team member, Bill Dragoo. West38Moto and D.A.R.T. (Dragoo Adventure Rider Training) have teamed up to bring you a professional off-road training immersion tour of five days riding the rugged Wyoming BDR. This immersion tour is intended for beginner to intermediate level riders.

Many riders will be having 'negative knowledge' learning experiences on loaded-for-camping, BIG multi-cylinder adventure bikes. I don't care. I'm SO looking forward to a Monty Python-esque, "And now for something totally different!" Like not going flat out and staring the whole time riding at my line so I don't die. Gonna be great to have a more relaxed pace, hang with my bud Bill, meet Dustin, and mix it up with folks from diverse backgrounds. And for the first time in my life, actually pay to have weird things like evening meals and drink hauled in on a support truck :-0

 

[Motobene]

AND THE ANSWER IS...

I had to Guerilla tape the brick to the floor to be able to roll the heavy rear wheel up onto the scale. Getting the front wheel on was easy. I just leaned the bike left onto the side stand and lifted the front wheel, pushing the scale under it.

I must say the bike looks pretty clean with all the crap piled on. I'm ready to roll this beauty into my 1987 trailer!

The above-post KLR 685 setup, with a less substantial sleeping bag, carrying 1.75L of water instead of 2L, and 1-1/2 gallons more onboard fuel when full, summed up to about 476 pounds. That's Gen 1 KLR, which is substantially lighter than the Gen 2, which puffed out and had some cheaper and heavier components. I had a 2008 and it was ~40 pounds heavier than a Gen 1. Now that Gen 3 may add another ~20 pounds?

I got some of the weights down, and importantly, the weight on the front and rear wheel with bike standing up with all the crap on it. The fuel tank was 85% full.

Gosh the bike feels SO ponderously heavy rolling it around on the floor, and like it would pin me to the floor if tipped over. But it rides confidence inspiring and the number with camping kit surprised me. 'Only' 393 pounds. The weight bias is butt heavy at 1-1/2X of front wheel weight on the rear.

Context? The 'portly' 701 as configures at 83 pounds LESS than MY venerable Gen 1 KLR 685 fitted out for me and for camping. These are my 'statistics.' If you have a Gen 2 or Gen 3, the bike weight goes up noticeably at each 'improvement' step, which unfortunately was to puff out the bike and substitute a number of generally higher quality lighter parts with lower quality 'heavy duty' parts.

As for bike weights on line there are 'damned statistics.' Are the fuel tanks full? Is a marketeer lying about weight? But we can at least compare unmodified bikes - roughly.

As for above 500cc (except the RE Himalaya at 411cc) single-cylinder bikes, they start out at:
[UWSL]XR650L: 350[/UWSL]
KTM 690: 350
Husky 701: 350
AJP PR7: 364
DR650: 369
RE Himalaya: 439

Now add personal customization, then independence and safety (tools and spares, water...), and finally, the bloat of reasonably comfortable camping kit. A note here on camping philosophy. Yes, there are (usually) young men who can sleep when uncomfortable and have a minimalism is macho attitude which will of course reduce camping kit weight by 5 to 25 pounds?? But my 701 is set up for a more comfortable 'portable house.'

Now moving in to the strange marketing phenomenon of the 'adventure bike', which has general characteristics more than one engine cylinder, a higher % road-worthiness, and there can be a marketing war between the brands in tech bloat. And with more weight must come stepping up to more weight in such things as two front brake discs instead of one. Again, BEFORE user customization and comfortable-ish camping kit:
R1250GSA: 590
Yamaha T7: 452
Triumph Tiger 900: 427
Triumph Tiger 1200: 549
KTM 790: 417
The KTM 890: 464
Aprilia 660: 403

My highly customized 701 is certainly not light as a fart. I rode the Beta 390 RR-S last night and it felt like a mosquito by comparison with the loaded up 701. But I chose the 690/701 as my starting base as a longer-distance, camping capable bike precisely because it sits between the world of the 250 to 500cc bikes and the multi-cylinder adventure bikes.

As of today it finally time to leave the planning and preparation world and go off and have an adventure and many learning experiences. I'll - God/fate willing - be back to share what I've learned.

 

[NMTrailboss]

Have a great and safe trip Chris!!

 

[FASTRacing]

Safe travels and God speed

Looking forward to an awesome ride report.....plus pics or it didn't happen


😎😎😎

 

[Motobene]

One last edit with my morning coffee today in the post just above. I'm giddy with excitement!

 

[Simmons1]

Have a great ride!

 

[Motobene]

Made it to CO and a couple of days of family fun and rest. Unloaded the bike.

Everything works awesome... cruising the neighborhood, anyway.

Wondering if I'll have time to make a mud shield to keep mud from packing into 'the cave' that is the cylinder around the header pipe? The front fender should extend down a lot more on the 690/701, but apparently that's not fashionable. Some aluminum roofing flashing zip tied on would make a nice shield.

[UWSL]Next up: family archery at a technical outdoor course. I was told to expect losing arrows on this course. I'll try to hold my own against the boy and his $$ Black Widow custom recurve. [/UWSL]

 

[Engineer]

I have a 2020 KTM 690 Enduro R that I bought used. It was fully adventurized and upgraded when I bought it. I think the cost to reproduce all of that from new would be around $20K with delivery and tax.

I like how the 2019+ KTM 690s feature on and off road modes with ABS, traction control and cornering ABS/TC. Safety is important, and reducing injury means more riding. I can't afford to miss out on work or family because I was too cheap to get modern technology.

Modern fuel injection is also a great benefit because my riding takes me up to over 11,000 feet altitude, and the temperature can vary from 100 degrees to 50 degrees in a single ride. Better fuel economy also means longer range and not having to cary as much extra fuel and the associated weight.

It seems like a lot of people buy a KTM 690 to fill as role as their one bike that is perfect for both single track and long distance touring and end up dissapointed. I bought it as the lightest weight and most advanced off road capable ADV. My R1200GSA is now a dedicated road touring bike. Fully fueled and loaded, an R1200GSA is well over 600 pounds with aluminum cases. So the KTM 690 is very light to me. Since I mostly ride alone, I need to carry a lot of tools and parts, sometimes extra fuel, which negates the benefit of riding a true dirt bike like a KTM 500 EXC-F, for example.

The front sprocket was dropped down to 14 T. For me, this works well enough on trails and roads. I don't like to go above 65 mph, especially on knobbies. If money was no object, I could see the merits of upgrading the gearbox to wider ratios. I may actually do that someday, but it doesn't seem like a major issue at the moment.

It has suspension upgrades and the entire emissions and intake system was removed or replaced. I am actually in the process of putting back all of the stock emissions equipment and airbox, except for the canister/evap system. I like quiet bikes and when I ride trails I want to enjoy nature without ear plugs, not scream to the wilderness. I also don't like the idea of excessively polluting the environment just for the sake of having a loud bike with more HP that I can use anyway. Fully loaded for ADV, the bike is heavy enough, so a few pounds aren't going to make much difference. However, if the stock airbox isn't a lot quieter, I'll probably keep the Rottweiler box since its so much smaller and simpler to get in and out. The OEM airbox looks like a real PITA to remove for service.

I'm fairly new to off road ADV riding, so I think I can adapt to various drivetrain, gearing and throttle characteristics. Sometimes having a lot of experience can be a handicap when technology changes. If you are used to certain gearing, carbs, fuel ratios, etc, it might be a bigger adjustment. But I did drop it a few times on the trail, and I can see why I'll probably have to get a 500 EXC-F or similar in 25 years! Try picking up a fully loaded KTM 690 Enduro R with luggage, tools, fuel and ADV accessories at 11,000 feet elevation!

 

[Motobene]

WYOMING BDR - MY TECH LEARNING EXPERIENCES - PART 1
I'm back! Dusty's fine West38moto experience was one of the finest things I've done in a long while. Loved the group! We are all so different, yet we meshed so well.

On the Bridger Peak day one after the first 'expert section':

I enclosed trailered my bike to and from Savery, WY where Jock's and Kimberly's fine bike-friendly Boyer YL Ranch is located, right on the BDR route.

Ride miles going north then back south in WY were ~1,400 over ~5 days. Going up was with the West38moto group over multiple days. Going back down to Boyer YL was required a long-full day riding with one of the group, Steve and his KTM 690.

Wyoming impressed me with its big-open scenery, network of wide and smooth (fast) gravel roads, and awesome, intensely beautiful areas. I saw in a bar, "Wyoming is What America Used to Be." I found that to be true.

We were REALLY lucky with the weather. We got chased by some storms several days but we stayed ahead. One afternoon/night the wind tried to flatten all our tents next to a lake, but the coming rain dissipated before it got to us. I'll document more of the the non-technical in a trip report (watch for it).

SUPER YUMMY SHINED
Gosh I like this bike! It's as close to the elusive unicorn bike as I have experienced, and that's saying a lot given I've owned a lot of bikes in 53 years.

Took me a bit to mesh deeply with the beast. By day three I was completely integrated and having a blast with high confidence in every terrain type. I had to keep reminding myself, "You're not so young any more... no so fast!"

RELIABILITY
Rock solid. The careful prep over months certainly didn't hurt.

INDEPENDENCE
I was told never to put my stuff for independence on the 'chase truck.' Dusty runs a tight show, however. His setup is a 'support' truck and trailer captained by Matt, who was in charge of food, water and the support truck and trailer being at the day's destination well before anyone arrived. I, and everyone else, had the confidence to have the support truck haul most of our heavy kit, which was liberating, especially in the technical segments. I kept my tools and tire supplies and some clothing and water, but the Mosko 80 bags were mostly empty during the rides.

FUEL ECONOMY / RANGE
I carried no extra fuel. MPG ranged from 50 to 57 MPG. Cruising on the road at 65 to 70 MPH (not much wind) I got ~54 MPG. So these figures times 3.5 for the maximum range.

AIR FILTER
The mongo stock airbox with its huge resonance chamber is stored away at home and its place went the Rade Garage and associated small airbox and smallish oiled foam UNI filter, which sits open to the underside of the seat. This setup proved quite robust and adequate. The intake pulses were pleasant, providing better acoustical feedback for fine throttle control than the stock box, without any tendency toward ear throb. Maxima FFT foam filter oil is my filter oil and I'm not sparing with it.

This trip was my first use of a filter sock, which I wet with light oil. After the 1400-mile ride the sock had a coating of dust, but flow was still great:

Here is the sock, oil cut with diesel then the sock pressure washed, and the filter, still sticky to the touch and barely dirty. I'm impressed with socks and will use one from now on:

CHAIN
I found yesterday no need for tightening my chain because I lubed it daily with this:

...and kept it 'wet looking' under the dust coating.

Me chain lubing attracted a few 'beggars' so I ended up going through almost a full can. Upon returning I found I don't need to adjust the chain at all.

ERGONOMICS
I'm exceptionally happy with my modified ergonomics. Being a 38-year trials rider, my ergonomic preferences are 'different', as in even farther from when the below was normal and right. I've overshot the evolutionary line as it were, past what it presently accepted as good and right by the cultural majority, with even less 'bars-in-lap', and 'feet more forward', and necessity for being glued to one's bucket seat:

I got lots of complements about my skill level. But I was 'cheating' somewhat, being advantaged in the controls and ability to stand without a lot of strain. When I'd swapped bikes with others I'd be 'going back a few years' to what was previously normal to me: bars more back and control levers more down. Dinky foot pegs positioned more forward. The R1250GSs I got to ride, especially Bill Dragoo's, was the closest to more normal now for me in the peg-bar relationship, with the bar grips while standing and a bit less so while sitting, being in my present right(er) place. The levers were pointed far more down, however, which messed with my head, but I could revert to older subroutines and get by fine.

The R1250GS was a 'land yacht' experience, but what a remarkable assemblage of smooth and interesting tech! I came down a mountain, quickly reprogramming to the machine, then got a chance to do miles of gravel road drifting, which the machine is stellar at. Thankfully very little braking was required as engine braking is excellent, and the motor had such a huge torque curve that I learned throttle control. Unless I was stopping I could ignore the hard to reach clutch lever. The pegs were a bit more forward than I like, and due to a design compromise wherein a quite low seat is required to get the legs to the ground (messing with the peg-seat-grips triangle), but overall it was a good ergonomic experience. The seat to me is old world, however, being like the above, a mono-butt-position 'bucket.' I like to be able to sit in many positions, or impact the seat in various positions with my body mass for control or front wheel lifts, over a wide range of positions, forward to back.

SEAT
The Seat Concepts comfort XL is a superb product! Despite my serious condition, Noassatall, I never got the monkey butt ache, even when riding all the way back down WY on mostly 2-lane highways. I did get a touch of swamp balls, but that was easily cure with standing or shifting my ass sideways to let the air stream dry things out fast. One rider with the same seat commented on how my felt better than his. I thought about it a while and determined the difference was mostly due to the lowered pegs, which allowed more under-leg support (varies with inseam specs of course). Mine is 34". I did input when ordering a specific set of comments, and that may also have resulted in a different top profile or foam density? I should go back and document what those inputs were.

FOOTPEGS
The Bosley XL (huge plus down and back) pegs proved superb.

BARS
I sure like the HDB setup with the KX high bars rolled well forward. The fold-out mirror are awesome. I stood about 85% of the time and the fold-out mirrors could not be set like the Double Take mirrors, one for standing and one for sitting. But to to scan behind me I'd just sit down.

LEVERS
I run a down angle of only ~15 degrees. Most bikes have double or triple that for a clumsy feel and a longer controls response time. I have am index finger on both levers all the time. Never more, never less.

OVERALL
I was able to maintain a neutral stance with no arm and hand strain over a wide range of terrain angles, up, flat, or down, and body positions. which is very energy efficient. An open stance on the very large foot pegs allowed for very direction changes with peg pressure, and the only time my legs touch the side of the bike when I was pushing a leg into the flare of the wide Comfort XL seat for added stabilization, like when drifting on the gravel roads. The gutsy and very responsive engine allowed me to hop over ruts and gaps and also take off like a rocket when it was fun to do so. N I C E bike!

REKLUSE AUTO CLUTCH
Such an improvement over a manual clutch! The powerful motor eliminates the need for a manual clutch. Everyone who rode my bike was very impressed with how the Rekluse performed. I decided not to gear the final drive down with a 14t sprocket. That was the right choice for the BDR as it reduced shifting frequency and buzziness at speed. The Rekluse elastically washed the tall 1st gear, keeping it out of the center of attention. And let me not forget wo mention how stalls and stall-related kerfuffles and injuries are a thing of the past.