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Looks like "medieval armor" to ME - a cod-piece and leggings....
The 2021 Versys
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well folks, here's proof in hand, Senor Fast is on those silly shrooms again, because he sure as heck is hallucinating.Looks like "medieval armor" to ME - a cod-piece and leggings....
removed the old signal that i already had in place, now 0 for 4, that one also fell apart. the lesson here is don't go chasing 10 year old signals to replace your busted 10 year old signals, not worth the effort or expense, they're all bad. clipped the OEM leads off the old signals, spliced them on the new pair, ready for installation. you can see the OEM stem locks on the knockoff signals, i use a bit of blue on the tiny screw that holds the lock to the keeper.
400W soldering gun discussed in the ER-6C thread, don't fool around with anything less. also back in the thread, you're swapping in aftermarket parts, relocating, repairing, and all the rest of the 12V electrical changes found on a moto. yeah, i know the military, aerospace, and other commercial applications use crimp connectors, but the connectors they use are not the kind ya buy at NAPA. for personal use in the broad automotive sector, solder vs crimp, it's like an oil or tire thread discussion. for me, i solder.
also back in the big thread, there's some discussion on the companion stuff for a typical moto soldering project to make it easy and produce a good result, but let's update a little.
number one, get yourself a selection of seamless tinned butt connectors, you'll use these all the time, and they really simplify splices and taps. the stripped wire should be exposed slightly past the connector for soldering. i use flux paste and solid solder, and i'll wipe down the connection with cleaner to remove excess flux before placing shrink tube.
do not use a crimper that squashes the connector, you want the connector to remain as round as possible while being solidly crimped. squashed connectors interfere with heat shrink tube, and also have projecting sharp corners that could potentially work through insulation. on these relatively small butt connectors i want a crimper with a tooth/V slot near the nose, it produces the crimp i'm looking for, and it will reach into tight locations on the moto to complete a connection prior to soldering.
also back in the big thread, there's some discussion on the companion stuff for a typical moto soldering project to make it easy and produce a good result, but let's update a little.
number one, get yourself a selection of seamless tinned butt connectors, you'll use these all the time, and they really simplify splices and taps. the stripped wire should be exposed slightly past the connector for soldering. i use flux paste and solid solder, and i'll wipe down the connection with cleaner to remove excess flux before placing shrink tube.
do not use a crimper that squashes the connector, you want the connector to remain as round as possible while being solidly crimped. squashed connectors interfere with heat shrink tube, and also have projecting sharp corners that could potentially work through insulation. on these relatively small butt connectors i want a crimper with a tooth/V slot near the nose, it produces the crimp i'm looking for, and it will reach into tight locations on the moto to complete a connection prior to soldering.
skimmed the back side of all three fairing pieces, smooths the FG chopped strand mat surface a little for a better painted appearance. i didn't do this the last time i backed the fairing, but i was using some different product which was smoother when cured.
another little issue was the fitment of the LED lights i'm using. the Rally Raid fairing light openings are sized for their specific light brand and model, but i'm using cheap chineseum LEDs. when i bought my lights i already knew the dimensions of the openings, so while the larger upper light fits just fine, the smaller lower light was the closest i could find, maybe 7mm too large to fit the Rally Raid opening.
the opening had to be trimmed, tough job to end up with a perfectly round concentric circle when trying it freehand, better improvise. i did use a Dremel to remove half the material, cut a 15mm slot in a piece of PVC pipe, added sandpaper, used a hose clamp to decrease the OD to fit the light opening, and started sanding. i gradually backed off the hose clamp until the opening was the right size for the light, perfectly round and concentric.
another little issue was the fitment of the LED lights i'm using. the Rally Raid fairing light openings are sized for their specific light brand and model, but i'm using cheap chineseum LEDs. when i bought my lights i already knew the dimensions of the openings, so while the larger upper light fits just fine, the smaller lower light was the closest i could find, maybe 7mm too large to fit the Rally Raid opening.
the opening had to be trimmed, tough job to end up with a perfectly round concentric circle when trying it freehand, better improvise. i did use a Dremel to remove half the material, cut a 15mm slot in a piece of PVC pipe, added sandpaper, used a hose clamp to decrease the OD to fit the light opening, and started sanding. i gradually backed off the hose clamp until the opening was the right size for the light, perfectly round and concentric.
i've been using the SPOT locators/trackers since they were introduced, i still have both a first and second generation of that device. worked well, and were used mainly for the tracking feature on trips near and far. uncanny accuracy, the device could pinpoint your location down to a few feet, then tell the world if you enabled access to your track by providing a link. end of the day, and i stopped at a combo mexican eatery/tavern in Valdez, shut off the SPOT to conserve battery, and the next day when i called home, my XO asked why i had camped in a corner of a bar parking lot.
while the actual devices worked fine, the subscription policy wasn't, including a complicated multi step process to cancel it, ok, done with SPOT. in the meantime, Garmin purchased Delorme which had better subscription plans plus 2-way comms via satellite in addition to the locator/tracker functions. let's switch up this game, enter the Garmin Inreach Mini. pay attention to "Mini", this thing is tiny, so small it's meant to be worn on your person rather than placed in a RAM mount. i haven't decided how to carry it yet, something i'll have to work out.
a huge fan of these trackers, i'll invariably find my XO waiting in the drive with open arms when i arrive home from a trip.
while the actual devices worked fine, the subscription policy wasn't, including a complicated multi step process to cancel it, ok, done with SPOT. in the meantime, Garmin purchased Delorme which had better subscription plans plus 2-way comms via satellite in addition to the locator/tracker functions. let's switch up this game, enter the Garmin Inreach Mini. pay attention to "Mini", this thing is tiny, so small it's meant to be worn on your person rather than placed in a RAM mount. i haven't decided how to carry it yet, something i'll have to work out.
a huge fan of these trackers, i'll invariably find my XO waiting in the drive with open arms when i arrive home from a trip.
rummaging through tubs of parts and other junk, i'm trying to locate some little odds and ends that were set aside for this bike, it's like a freakin' scavenger hunt...some stuff must have grown wings, flew the coup, never to be seen again.
one thing that did turn up was a nice set of stainless bar ends. these after market bar ends must have come off one of the parts bikes because they were never meant to be used with hand guards. no matter, i'll just carve on them a little, make 'em fit over the Cycra stiff back.
if you have a mill available, easy work, but if you don't have a mill (and i don't), still easy work. if you run into fitment issues on small parts, like many moto parts, the tool of choice is the Dremel fitted with a carbide burr. if you don't have a set of cheap 1/8" (3.2mm) shank chineseum burrs, full stop, order some now, they're very useful. a set of 10 or 12 will have various shapes.
burr in the Dremel means safety glasses, gloves, long sleeve shirt, bits of metal flying everywhere. once the better part of the material is removed, switch to a 1/2" drum in the Dremel to polish things up. any inconvenience is offset by the work you can get done without much fuss, just have a vac on standby for cleanup. vacuum yourself too, unless ya kinda like that glittery look.
stainless bar ends relieved for the handguards...
all set, mount them up. nope, the longest M8-1.25 stainless socket heads i had on hand were 10mm too short, had to order some. i'm hoping the bar ends help keep the Cycra plastic in good shape. i've got a whole ziplock full of mangled Cycra plastic, 10 years of crashes, brings back memories, always rode away.
one thing that did turn up was a nice set of stainless bar ends. these after market bar ends must have come off one of the parts bikes because they were never meant to be used with hand guards. no matter, i'll just carve on them a little, make 'em fit over the Cycra stiff back.
if you have a mill available, easy work, but if you don't have a mill (and i don't), still easy work. if you run into fitment issues on small parts, like many moto parts, the tool of choice is the Dremel fitted with a carbide burr. if you don't have a set of cheap 1/8" (3.2mm) shank chineseum burrs, full stop, order some now, they're very useful. a set of 10 or 12 will have various shapes.
burr in the Dremel means safety glasses, gloves, long sleeve shirt, bits of metal flying everywhere. once the better part of the material is removed, switch to a 1/2" drum in the Dremel to polish things up. any inconvenience is offset by the work you can get done without much fuss, just have a vac on standby for cleanup. vacuum yourself too, unless ya kinda like that glittery look.
stainless bar ends relieved for the handguards...
all set, mount them up. nope, the longest M8-1.25 stainless socket heads i had on hand were 10mm too short, had to order some. i'm hoping the bar ends help keep the Cycra plastic in good shape. i've got a whole ziplock full of mangled Cycra plastic, 10 years of crashes, brings back memories, always rode away.
the fairing needs mounts, let's get started by adding the first pieces using the hole locations used by KTM/Rally Raid. the edges of the screen are where the blade fairings attach, but they were not 100% straight. not very noticeable until you bring something to it that is straight, like the steel mounts. the mounts are slightly offset away from the edge, then tightened up, creating a sanding guide. a few passes with a sanding block, now everything is straight.
the screen has a slight curvature on the edges, easy design feature to incorporate with CAD, also easy to incorporate into a plug mold with a 3-axis mill, but not quite so easy to capture in the shop...it's a big freakin' radius, and needs to match up pretty damn well with the steel that's already there.
so what's the radius, it needs to be captured to accurately scribe a cut line. a rough approximation can be lifted directly from the screen for starters, then the conventional method would be break out the trammel points. i'm sure i have some, but couldn't tell ya where, besides, i don't have a long enough arm handy either. plan B, get out an old 4' straight edge with a hanger hole on one end, locate a pivot point half the length of steel, stab the pivot into the work bench through the hanger hole with a scratch awl, and go to work. the steel is squared to the bench edge, then moved away from the pivot until a point on the straight edge lines up with the corners on the outside edge of the steel and laying on top of your rough mark...that's the radius of the piece, in this case 117.5cm, piece a cake, scribe the damn line, make the cut.
117.5cm radius on top edge.
the screen has a slight curvature on the edges, easy design feature to incorporate with CAD, also easy to incorporate into a plug mold with a 3-axis mill, but not quite so easy to capture in the shop...it's a big freakin' radius, and needs to match up pretty damn well with the steel that's already there.
so what's the radius, it needs to be captured to accurately scribe a cut line. a rough approximation can be lifted directly from the screen for starters, then the conventional method would be break out the trammel points. i'm sure i have some, but couldn't tell ya where, besides, i don't have a long enough arm handy either. plan B, get out an old 4' straight edge with a hanger hole on one end, locate a pivot point half the length of steel, stab the pivot into the work bench through the hanger hole with a scratch awl, and go to work. the steel is squared to the bench edge, then moved away from the pivot until a point on the straight edge lines up with the corners on the outside edge of the steel and laying on top of your rough mark...that's the radius of the piece, in this case 117.5cm, piece a cake, scribe the damn line, make the cut.
117.5cm radius on top edge.
I've been using HEL brake lines on the V649 bikes, but when i tried to contact my usual vendor to order another one, no go, must be out of business. had to use the net to find another HEL dealer. looks like they completely reorganized their distribution, and i placed an online order...or tried to, the HEL vendor site crashed just as i was about to complete the order, took the payment though. ain't this fun, and i was left wondering whether my order went through, kinda need that brake line.
surely the vendor will send a SOP order confirmation on a custom brake line, nah, Shirley is not the vendor. phone call, left message, email, phone call, no response, blah, blah, and after some days go by an email goes out to the HEL home boys, main office. next day, 5 emails from the vendor, yeah, got your order, we're busy, ship it out soon...what's the problem?
bottom line, very nice custom brake line, good quality at a good price, no complaints there. my problem is with that "What's the problem?" attitude. all i was looking for was a one word answer to a five word question.
surely the vendor will send a SOP order confirmation on a custom brake line, nah, Shirley is not the vendor. phone call, left message, email, phone call, no response, blah, blah, and after some days go by an email goes out to the HEL home boys, main office. next day, 5 emails from the vendor, yeah, got your order, we're busy, ship it out soon...what's the problem?
bottom line, very nice custom brake line, good quality at a good price, no complaints there. my problem is with that "What's the problem?" attitude. all i was looking for was a one word answer to a five word question.
the two pieces of the initial mount get welded together, but the slight complicating factor is that the tack welds are done in place since the fasteners secure the radius exactly where it needs to be. the complication is that the assembly is bolted to fiberglass, can't damage that piece, use some restraint. once tacked, the mounts get removed for final welding.
then the mounts are reinstalled on the screen, plenty strong. at one time i considered cold forming the mounts in one piece, but decided it would be too time consuming given the large uniform radius required.
then the mounts are reinstalled on the screen, plenty strong. at one time i considered cold forming the mounts in one piece, but decided it would be too time consuming given the large uniform radius required.
there are lots of small fabricated parts that make up the front end, here's a pair for example...
Kawasaki uses a proprietary mounting base on the stalks of their signals, so if you're going to use those signals, the receiver on your mount has to match theirs. a little fussy work but not difficult, you have to get the base in there for a good fit, can't be too loose. the base of the mount remains perpendicular to the forks, but the receiver layout has to match the rake to level things back out, otherwise the signals are pointed up in the air, and ya don't want that.
nice to have reasonable precision, get out the machinist blue, metric scale, angle finder, and scribe. the lower hole is sized for an LED tied into the signal circuit.
then a little more carving. the mounts get about a 100mm radius bend on the forward end before they are welded in place. note the gray square corner mark. since the matching rectangular blanks were rough cut from a piece of junk sheet steel, the mark indicates that the corner is square, so you're going to preserve it and run your layout off those two edges. the blank gets all cut up, so the other three corners don't matter in this case.
Kawasaki uses a proprietary mounting base on the stalks of their signals, so if you're going to use those signals, the receiver on your mount has to match theirs. a little fussy work but not difficult, you have to get the base in there for a good fit, can't be too loose. the base of the mount remains perpendicular to the forks, but the receiver layout has to match the rake to level things back out, otherwise the signals are pointed up in the air, and ya don't want that.
nice to have reasonable precision, get out the machinist blue, metric scale, angle finder, and scribe. the lower hole is sized for an LED tied into the signal circuit.
then a little more carving. the mounts get about a 100mm radius bend on the forward end before they are welded in place. note the gray square corner mark. since the matching rectangular blanks were rough cut from a piece of junk sheet steel, the mark indicates that the corner is square, so you're going to preserve it and run your layout off those two edges. the blank gets all cut up, so the other three corners don't matter in this case.
apply the correct radius bend to the mount...
then weld to screen connector. takes a few minutes to set up the weld, you need to keep the mount indexed to the radius on the connector, while also keeping it square while welding. these little assemblies are sometimes tougher to set up than much larger pieces. by the time everything is clamped so it can't move, there's hardly any room to stick the gun in there.
then weld to screen connector. takes a few minutes to set up the weld, you need to keep the mount indexed to the radius on the connector, while also keeping it square while welding. these little assemblies are sometimes tougher to set up than much larger pieces. by the time everything is clamped so it can't move, there's hardly any room to stick the gun in there.
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658 Posts
I think I bought your clean big cowling pieces, and am still waiting to change the one out that is damaged on my '09. Thx.First generation Versys frame, clear title
2009 green Versys on right after the start of part-out. this bike was purchased cheap with a clear title in what the owner reported as non running condition. the bike had a bad battery and i never bothered to even try to start it, although i did note some apparently shorted wires in the main harness located at the typical chafe locations. it also had a bad chassis ground, but that does not usually prevent a start/run on these bikes.
this bike was 100% dealer maintained, and pointed to the fact that a rider/owner should not place all their trust in a dealer service department.
all i wanted from this bike was the frame, controls, harness, anything connected to the motor (but not the motor itself), tank, seat, a few pieces of OEM plastic trim and miscellaneous parts. the rest was sold for 250% of the purchase price.
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the bike on the left is also a Versys.
i believe you did...but you still haven't fixed up your bike?
selling the excess parts from two cheap parts bikes means this build is free, no out of pocket $$$ at all. the 2019 V649 got the frame and a few related parts from one bike, then the cop motor from the other. when finished, it will be a very nice moto for free. it would be done now, but i keep changing my mind on some of the details, and that means a little re-work. motor only has 1864 miles, like new.
time to add a Versys part to the V649, except it's an SW Motech GPS mount for a Versys 1000, courtesy of a forum inmate, he was probably wondering what i was going to do with it since i mentioned it was going on a different bike, no 1000 in the shop.
the mount-for-the-mount attaches at the top of the screen side rails, lots of little pieces that need alignment to produce a part that's uniform and fits correctly. the upper panel with speed holes gets the LED pilot light for the auxiliary lights, plus small LED indicators for the signals. i've been known to ride for a hundred miles with a signal on, figured i'd try a fix for that malady.
these assemblies could be fabbed as a welded unit, but i've gone retro, back to the earlier days of bikes in the series with bolt together fronts. in the event of mishap, individual parts can be unbolted, then pounded back in shape on a flat rock if necessary. if all welded, forget it, you're not going to straighten anything out on the side of the road in BFE, it's way too rigid, now how would i know that little fact?
the Motech mount is a tidy little part, well made, and it swivels. the Zumo power supply bolts right up using the factory mounting holes.
the mount-for-the-mount attaches at the top of the screen side rails, lots of little pieces that need alignment to produce a part that's uniform and fits correctly. the upper panel with speed holes gets the LED pilot light for the auxiliary lights, plus small LED indicators for the signals. i've been known to ride for a hundred miles with a signal on, figured i'd try a fix for that malady.
these assemblies could be fabbed as a welded unit, but i've gone retro, back to the earlier days of bikes in the series with bolt together fronts. in the event of mishap, individual parts can be unbolted, then pounded back in shape on a flat rock if necessary. if all welded, forget it, you're not going to straighten anything out on the side of the road in BFE, it's way too rigid, now how would i know that little fact?
the Motech mount is a tidy little part, well made, and it swivels. the Zumo power supply bolts right up using the factory mounting holes.
chineseum power panel with 2xUSB, cig, and volt meter, the modules can be in any order on the mount. previously the cig and volt were in separate locations, now USB added, and everything on the same mount.
decided to swap in a different set of instruments from another ER6 model which has a more compact linear display. i think it's a direct swap, but i've never had my hands on these gauges, now i get to find out for sure in the next couple days. all this swap-ola stuff can be a guessing game sometimes, but at some point ya just slap your money down on a best guess bet. lucky individual parts for these bikes are out there by the hundreds, maybe thousands, so cheap cheap.
decided to swap in a different set of instruments from another ER6 model which has a more compact linear display. i think it's a direct swap, but i've never had my hands on these gauges, now i get to find out for sure in the next couple days. all this swap-ola stuff can be a guessing game sometimes, but at some point ya just slap your money down on a best guess bet. lucky individual parts for these bikes are out there by the hundreds, maybe thousands, so cheap cheap.
more small brackets that become parts on larger assemblies, these mount on 3/4 tube. i've been using a modular metric layout system for a very long time, helpful because the system mimics the modular dimensions found on metric motos, particularly Japaneseum, but also because it's easy, accurate, and repeatable. the blanks are x5mm X x5mm, same with the drilled hole location, with the spacing being a simple x5mm. try it, save some time and effort.
i've also tended to standardize the fasteners for fabbed work on the M8 rather than a mix of M8 and M6, i want to be able to use one tool, not two or more. this time around, i'm also using more M8 weld nuts instead of M8 nylocks to make any R/R work go faster. you need both an accurate layout and the correct diameter hole when using weld nuts, no slop. M8 bolts position the M8 weld nuts prior to welding.
i've also tended to standardize the fasteners for fabbed work on the M8 rather than a mix of M8 and M6, i want to be able to use one tool, not two or more. this time around, i'm also using more M8 weld nuts instead of M8 nylocks to make any R/R work go faster. you need both an accurate layout and the correct diameter hole when using weld nuts, no slop. M8 bolts position the M8 weld nuts prior to welding.
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