You need to Go Advanced to edit title, up to 30 days to edit.i'll add some photos, not sure how many, but at least a few of the complete moto. maybe someone on the forum would like to see what a near free bike looks like, by that i mean pocket change cheap.
somebody put an uppercase V on versys in the thread title, apparently the OP can't edit the thread title.
hey my Canuck friend, there's a few of us old timers around. you've watched more than one of these rats come together.Welcome back Dave!
I can hardly wait to see your new build and the process.
all six of these Versys/ER6 motos got the cop motor swap or already had that motor, that is, the higher performance motor from the ER6 sportbike models like the ER6F (Ninja), ER6N, or in this case, the late model motor from the EX650.do you have another engine or why you didn't want this engine?
yes, I remember your cop motors, did you already find one?all six of these Versys/ER6 motos got the cop motor swap or already had that motor, that is, the higher performance motor from the ER6 sportbike models like the ER6F (Ninja), ER6N, or in this case, the late model motor from the EX650.
the Versys i delivered to Anchorage for an inmate had the OEM Versys motor, 5000 miles, and the difference in performance was notable from the first mile. the bike ran fine, did the job, but i was wishing for the HP and torque found in my custom rat bikes. the late model Versys motors have narrowed the performance variance.
the "cop motor" reference is from Elwood Blues, but in this case is 649cc, not 440ci. i've used the term for a decade to describe the tune on that motor.
the OEM Versys motor in the parts bike might be good, it's certainly not locked up, i just never checked since it wasn't on the build sheet.
2012 EX650 motor, 1868 miles. wanted the motor, so i bought the whole bike as a parts bike and parted that one out too. now i'm building the new Versys with money in my pocket instead of going out of pocket on the new project. cheap, cheap, cheap...no reason to spend much on these motos.yes, I remember your cop motors, did you already find one?
Just a question, I assume the greatest force is on the upper part of the swing arm, I would have thought the end caps would have been mounted in reverse or with the upper length being equal in length to the lower? I realize this is a before welded photo, how you fill in the weld will attribute to final strength.one of the things at the top of the performance mod list for backroad ventures is to swap in a suspension that is fully adjustable and affords more suspension travel. swapping components doesn't do any good if the rear wheel, for instance, doesn't have the physical room to move to the limits of the shock at full compression when combines with the geometry of the swingarm movement.
in more basic terms, there ain't enough room on the ass end of the Versys for more suspension travel in stock configuration, the tire will hit the fender liner even with the OEM shock if run hard enough, and the tire will break the fender liner in similar conditions if the commonly swapped R1 shock is installed. lots of riders say "Gee whiz, that never happened on my bike"...all i can say is, load the bike for travel, pick worse conditions, run harder. the big suspension pays a huge dividend on the Versys, even more so if ya make some room.
i wanted at least 2 additional inches of rear travel, and there are only so many ways to go about this when the R1 shock swap is already on the build sheet. typical bike geometry, the angles of the swingarm and subframe diverge, let's increase the radius of swingarm travel at the axle to move the tire away from the subframe. got that monster steel swingarm on hand, let's cut that SOB up a little.
i wanted to move the axle back 25mm and still have room for chain adjustment. i didn't want to move farther back and then face other complications with the chain length. fortunately, the 2012 subframe has huge axle lugs that are easy to modify, and no, you don't need any machine tools to accomplish the job.
then carefully aligned and welded in place...
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now i'm halfway to increased wheel travel.
the subframe and swingarm angles diverge, subframe up and swingarm down, so for each unit of measure from some common point, say the swingarm pivot, the greater distance they are apart.what is the reason you want to increase the wheel base?
what is the target this summer with this new bike? you build it specifically?