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Kawasaki ER-6C, that's C as in Custom

583K views 2K replies 117 participants last post by  jdrocks 
#1 · (Edited)
:yeahsmile:THE BIKE BUILDS

DON'T YOU JUST LOVE IT WHEN A (FORMER) SUPER MODERATOR EDITS, RELOCATES, SCRAMBLES, AND DELETES YOUR POSTS. R.I.P. YA FREAKIN' DUMMY.
 
#1,492 ·
nice job Dave, can hardly wait to see the finish product :D
but meanwhile, I enjoy the build.

a question I had in mind: it is possible to put a bigger tank? i was looking at the space that fairing takes on Versys, can you fab a tank that's that big? (wide)
 
#1,502 ·
i've requested that Admin lock this thread, no new posts, but the content would still be available to anyone interested in the old bike build or various ride reports.

if Admin takes no action immediately, i'm going to start deleting content. for those wanting a little winter season reading, most of the ride reports are available on ADVrider, as well as the updates on the current bike build through completion.
 
#1,503 · (Edited)
THE BIKE BUILDS AND RIDE REPORTS CONTENT OF THIS THREAD CAN BE FOUND ON ADVrider.com...

THE VERSYS IS ALREADY A VERY GOOD MOTO, BUT FOR THOSE INTERESTED, THE VERSYS CAN BE UPGRADED EASILY AND INEXPENSIVELY FOR ADDED GRAVEL ROAD CAPABILITY. A FULL BUILD LOG WITH PHOTOS AND DISCUSSION CAN BE FOUND HERE...

V649HP-KAWASAKI'S NEW GRAVEL RUNNER







RIDE REPORTS FOUND HERE...

jdrocks Rides West 2014: One Big Freakin' Rodeo (TX, NM, AZ, UT, CO)




jdrocks Rides 2013: CO, WY, MT, Canada, and Alaska



Travels with jdrocks-the Blue Ridge 2012



jdrocks' rat Versys -“It’s got a cop motor…” TAT, CDR, FTR, and the Big Gravel.



Exotic Eastern Canada-Northern Latitudes 2010. Trans-Taiga, Trans- Labrador & beyond.



Canuckistan and Alaska 2009-Kick the tires and light the fires. Ride like Hell.

 
#1,506 ·
Hey Dave - MOST of us go for a shower w' our clothes OFF...!

:rolleyes:

Back "in the day" when I had a CanAm Qualifier, I rode it THROUGH the Bow River upstream of Calgary, across and back, in about 3' of water. (The air intake was behind the number plate/ headlight, so you could ride thru pretty deep places as long as you kept a "bow-wave" happening.)

I HOPE you haven't been riding your "Rat Versys" off-road....

:yeahsmile:
 
#1,509 ·
thanks. here's another Versys with DRZ forks, 19" DL wheel, etc. at Baltimore ready to go into an England bound container.



the rider is flying over next week, so we'll have a little send off party this weekend. he figures to ride 25,000 miles this summer in western Europe, then across Russia next year.
 
#1,511 ·
Service issues

the front M8 motor mount bolts on the Versys can loosen (or be lost) if the moto is run hard, particularly on gravel but i think it's possible to have this event happen even if the bike never leaves pavement. the bolts need to be checked periodically.

the missing bolt was set with red thread locker and was still lost, while the other three were loose. it could be very inconvenient to lose these bolts.



this photo was taken when we got to camp late in the day after 100+ miles of dusty gravel, some very rough. the bolt was already missing, but i didn't notice at the time.



i going to change the OEM bolts to a higher grade, reset with red, and use a locknut on the back side.
 
#1,512 ·
more service issues

another known problem from past experience with the Versys left side footrest/shifter mount assembly is that it has a tendency to loosen up with hard use. it's easy to check by grabbing the footrest and checking for any play in the mount. by the time i got back from WV last week, i had play in the footrest, not excessive, but it doesn't take much to mess things up.

the indexed shaft that holds the footrest/shifter is attached to the larger cast mount by a single M10, and i have seen this bolt loosen. unfortunately not the problem this time as the M10 was set with red and still tight.



the shaft has a flat that indexes to a corresponding flat on the mount, a common design solution, but one that was poorly executed here. the flat should have been wider and deeper, increasing the contact area, and making the assembly better able to resist forces developed by a rider standing on the pegs for hours.





through use, the flat on the steel shaft tends to rotate against the flat on the aluminum mount, presto, no index and play in the footrest which will only get worse. the damage to the flat on the mount can be seen in the photo.

to repair, i mixed up a very small amount of JB, applied it only to the damaged flat, then reassembled. very solid now, hopefully, it will hold.
 
#1,513 ·
...to repair, i mixed up a very small amount of JB, applied it only to the damaged flat, then reassembled. very solid now, hopefully, it will hold.
Thanks Dave. That flat is buggared on BIG RED, my '08 in AZ, and I was planning on some welding in October, but your solution is both elegant and simple! (I'm assuming you assembled it w/ the JB still setting-up?)

:clap:
 
#1,515 ·
service issues continued

i'd been on a number of very dusty rides this season, and need to check the filters, that's right, filters. besides the OEM filter, i had added pod filters on the intake runners.

the primary filter was as expected for miles of dusty roads on groups rides, although i wouldn't have expected it to be so dirty if riding solo on the same roads. smudges on the face of the filter indicate that spray got pretty high on some of those water crossings.



the reverse looked ok.



next up, a perplexing problem. when i split the airbox to get a good look at the inside, debris and grit was evident behind the primary filter slot, including stuff that was much too large to pass through the foam filter. how did that junk get in there? the material had been trapped by filter oil in the low well area behind the OEM filter, and there was absolutely no grit or anything else on the pod filters. the drain well behind the intakes was also clean.



if on gravel, i'd add pod filters...very cheap insurance. i've seen no decrease in performance with the additional filtration.
 
#1,516 ·
More service items...

aftermarket tapered roller bearings for the steering head at top, OEM caged ball bearings at bottom. the OEM bearing races are in the head and will be removed. not much of a contest as to which is the better bearing, and with bearings so inexpensive, it's always a puzzle when manufacturers elect to go cheap.



unless you're a BFH masher, the roller bearings are an easy install. many online videos available, and it's nice to have some dedicated tools, but it can be done without. take your time, don't ding up any critical surfaces. allballs also has written instructions for the install. $30 delivered for the set via Amazon.

the V649 is using Suzuki wheels front and rear, and both come standard with unsealed OEM wheel bearings. OEM Versys wheels also use unsealed bearings. replacement aftermarket sealed bearings. wheel bearings are also inexpensive and easy to change out with no special tools.



examples of unsealed OEM rear wheel bearings, all three completely shot. the hubs on these wheels are not sealed 100% and the bearing can get contaminated through hard use, water crossings, and so on.

 
#1,517 ·
Steering Bearings

the races for the OEM caged ball bearings can be carefully eased out with a drift, then i had to get the races for those cool roller bearings installed without a bearing race driver, can't booger 'em up in the process either.



actually, i didn't have enough room to hit the driver square without removing more parts, and i didn't feel like ordering a driver anyway...dude is one cheap ass mofo.

can't press the races in either, only thing left is to pull them into the tube, top and bottom. needed a custom race puller tool, heck, got a shop full of scrap, i can make one of those.

i had a 5/8" bolt with enough length and thread, then dug up some old hole saw blanks and drilled them to 5/8. works perfectly.



clean and grease the receivers, and start the race square. i did freeze the races in the shop beer frig, but the parts are so small and the shop was so freakin' hot that i don't think it made a difference. the races were back up to ambient temp in about 10 seconds.

the custom device only pulls the races flush with the tube, and they need another 3mm to seat against the stops. insert one of the old races in the device and pull the new races against the stops...done.

new grease seal at the base of the stem, plenty of WP grease on the new bearing and it gets tapped into place, make sure it's seated all the way.

now i just need to reassemble the front end.
 
#1,518 ·
Front Wheel Bearings

now that the forks were back in place, i could mount the front wheel before lowering the bike back down on the lift.

first, gotta get those new sealed wheel bearings installed. the old bearings can be easily tapped out with a drift, don't mess up the hub. the OEM bearings are not sealed, note that brown crap on the unsealed side, it's rust. these bearings felt ok, but it was only a matter of time and miles, glad i swapped in a new set.



installing these bearings gave me an opportunity to use my fancy bearing driver...



ok, it's just a 1 1/16" extra heavy wall impact socket that's very very close to the wheel bearing diameter. worth mentioning because this is the exact socket that is needed for the front sprocket nut. if the nut has never been removed, i'm guessing that it takes over 300ft/# to pop it loose. sure you can try that 27mm deep reach 6pt SnapOn, but it's a 50/50 proposition that you're going to split the dang thing clean in half. the 1 1/16" fits the nut better than 27mm, see for yourself.
 
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