Hello everyone,

I have a build thread over on Advrider but I don't think they are bothered much about these bikes over there so I thought this might be more of interest on here. I have been preparing a pair of g650x's for myself and my girlfriend Jenny for some serious undisclosable mischief ( think a load of anachronisms and you will work it out ) and they are fast getting out of hand.

We have taken a stock X country and added a shefflmeier bash plate, fitted a pair of husky fully adjustable mx shivers, an excel front rim at 21" and we have quite a few parts already piled up to go on. Once I have finished the fabricating work on my X challenge we will move onto a custom made aluminium front long range tank which should add about an extra 15l. I have internally limited the forks by about 2 inches to allow Jenny to better control the bike as they are pretty tall stock.

Next up my bike!


Regards
Dave

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So my bike has been through a bit of a gestational period. I have WP forks from a KTM, KTM front wheel with an excel rim, I modified a BRP anti vibe bar mount from a BETA that carries an ohlins steering Dampener and fitted some renthal 827 bars. Next step was to fab up an alu long range tank but I have never been a fan of the rear tanks as I feel for a travel bike that will end up carrying 20kg of luggage and spares out back another 15kg of fuel and tank is going to make for a very rear heavy bike. So I started with the TT tank as a blueprint and went from there.

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However my niaevity towards the difficulties welding ally resulted in a tank full of holes and also I never realized how important leg space is on a bike! So after an attempt to fix the problems I gave up and had a sulk

Gave It a couple of weeks and much delibertaion and decided on round 2. SO using a cleaner approach and a better welding routine I settled on designing a pair of saddle tanks for the front with an integrated bash plate and a navigation tower using the lights and windscreen from the new KTM 450 rally replica bike you see on things like the Dakar Rally. So Tanks are currently waiting fuel taps in the next couple of days and then I am ready for he ktm parts however they have to come from Austria so wont be here till about the 20th of June.

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Can we assume you've seen Colebatch's many X Challenge builds (among others) and read his Russia/Mongolia ride reports?

Should be a Primer for those with more money than brains who insist on dumping thousands into an obsolete bike.

But Colebatch actually made it work ... after several false starts. He had lots of professional help around EU from some very talented craftspeople. His reports are some of the best on ADV Rider and his knowledge of Rus/Mongolia is UNSURPASSED.

I think he's onto KTM's by now. Trendy, expensive stuff. (bring tools)

Your Alu fabrication looks good, wish you luck with your projects. Good basic bike if the motor holds up.

I don't invest my heart, soul and every cent I have into a bike. I'd rather ride than wrench, but I've done plenty of wrenching.

Cheap and Cheerful is what I've come to after decades screwing around with many bikes. And of course ... YMMV .... and all the best getting those beasts on the road ... and still having funds enough to actually GO SOMEWHERE!

looking good, yes let's see more!

__________________
Grant Johnson
Seek, and ye shall find.
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Inspiring, Informing and Connecting travellers since 1997!
www.HorizonsUnlimited.com

A lot of work, especially if you have to do two of everything. Reading the first bit I assumed you'd weld the tank up and then line it with some liquid sealant to make it fuel tight. If your welding - even second time round - is hole free then you're a hell of lot more skilful than I'll ever be. Presumably the next step with the fabricated stuff is to make sure it holds up under stress / vibration etc so you won't find fuel trickling down your leg in the middle of nowhere when something cracks.

I'm not so (slightly) downbeat about your approach as Mollydog. I think there's a lot of satisfaction to be gained from going the diy route if you have the skills to make it work - particularly so if you need parts the market can't provide. If you keep the construction posts going I for one will be interested in reading them.

Hey mollydog yeah I have read them all thoroughly and talk to Walter now and again as he has given me quite a bit of help ;]. I can't think of a better bike thats available? Long service intervals, reliable, lightweight and we paid 4600 for two of them so i'm happy to spend money to get them the way we want. It would be impossible If I didn't make literally everything myself as you know how much labour for this kind of stuff costs. I would say that for 2 complete bikes we will have spent around 8k in materials but like yourself I would prefer to be out riding than building! Thanks for the good luck we are super excited to get moving!

I will get some new pics tonight Grant!

Thanks Backofbeyond for the encouragement means a lot! When I rejigged my welding and design approach I swapped from 1.6mm alu to 3mm. This allowed a much bigger weld bead and penetration and both tanks had only a couple of leaks around the fuel caps when done. They are extremely solid so ideally a crack will only happen through the mountings and as these are welded to the outside fingers crossed I wont get a leak. I'm not keen on internal coatings in tanks so that was part of my new plan to use 3mm alu. Each tanks surprisingly only weighs 3.2kg and with an effective volume of 7.5l each thats only 5 kg fuel per side. I also pressure tested both tanks to 5psi. My plan is to run the tanks with only water for the next few months to simulate a fuel load (actually 7.5kg of water perside as water is heavier than fuel) and see what issues show up. If they have none then I will feel safe that they will take the abuse. I will be working on the fuel taps tonights so will get some new photos of that and then while I wait for the other bits to show up I will get to work on the subframe.

Kind Regards to all

Dave

Good to hear Walter is giving tips. 4600 UKP is good value for two bikes! Hopefully they've still life left in them and not "Old clapped out Boilers". Sometimes a low price is just " ... too good to be true".

Big UPS for doing the work yourself ... but if, in a year, you're still building these bikes ... then ... I guess you could just open a Fabrication shop and stay home?

I think you're right, in UK good, lightweight travel dual sport bikes are limited since you don't get KLR, DR650 or Honda XR650L.

But in USA/Canada these bikes can all be bought new and plenty of cheap used ones about as well.

Most are easier to work on, just as reliable, or more reliable than the BMW and MUCH cheaper and easier to find parts for.

As time goes on, parts for those Loncin, China made motors may become hard to find. They are quality motors (BMW made sure of that) but are not perfect. Good news is you have Walter to alert you of things to keep an eye on.

I'm surprised you've put your girl friend on a big, tall and heavy 650 bike. I hope she is a tall, strong girl. :help smilie: I have trouble lifting my DR650
now ... going to a WR250R soon.

Keep moving forward, make progress every day! All the best!

yep you re right about the bike choices in the uk. Drz400s are available but I think the bmw is a stronger bike. My girlfriend is very picky with her bikes as she reviews and writes about them for a large company here in the uk. I tried to get her on an xt660r but she didn't like how unrefined they are and settled on the g650x herself. I was after a 690r at the time so I actually followed her onto the bikes Her last bike was a cb500x which she manhandled across the pyrenees at nearly 200kg so i'm not worried



you will have to let us see your wr250 as I really like what they can do and what people are doing with them!

Dave

I actually put myself on the bike! I'm 5'5 and not particularly strong, but find the bike very light and nimble. Ideal for what I wanted.
The bikes are in extremely good condition, we got them for these prices as I work for a motorbike buying company

Good to see some x's being prepped for fun. Just bought one myself as it fitted the bill in terms of reliability (engines are built in austria, not china for these), service intervals, weight and most of all price. Im also doing the prep work myself as its just as much fun as the travel, doubling the length of enjoyment! Are You going to baskerville hall in a couple o weeks? Hope to c u there.... karl.

P.s. i dont think an xcountry is a big heavy bike. My short legged lady quite happily pilots her tenere around, which is both heavier & taller...

Hey Karl that's awesome what are you planning to do with it? Yeah in the uk there literally is no other option for what we need for a bike. closest is the ktm 690r and thats a rabbit hole of cost and maintenance that we decided was not practical. Unfortunately we aren't in the US or that could have been fun!


Regards

Dave

Tenere is an awesome bike

Here are some closer pics of how the tanks attach after I worked it all out

the front bobbins are actually heavy duty antivibration feet. they are threaded with an m10 thread and lock nuts so they can be screwed in or out for adjustment.

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