Thursday, May 21, 2015

Dehorning the RR rack

Sharp edge on the RR rack
The RR racks have rectangular cutouts that I want to use to secure my Wolfman bags. There is a problem though, Apparently the edges are sharp enough to eat through the mounting straps in relatively short time due to the vibrations that the big thumper produces.

The way the straps run, (in reality from the upper and lower corners, but you get the point)


I'm keen on keeping my simplified method of strapping the bags to the racks so I needed to come up with a solution that removes this problem.


different edge trim options

I bough different edge trims, two with metal inserts, one flabby rubber one and rubber fuel hose. While the fuel hose is the most ghetto, it just might be the best of the four. The wider trim with metal insert wont bend enough to sit nicely nor will the flabby rubber one. The flabby rubber trim would also need to glued in place, otherwise it just falls off.

Fuel hose top left, flabby rubber bottom left, smaller trim with metal insert bottom center
Plan B

I'm wasn't overly impressed with what I came up with so I needed a plan B. I would like to say my plan B was genius, it's not, but it might do the trick well enough. Looping a double layer of webbing should prevent the actual attachment straps from wearing through and the protective webbing can also be used to hold a rubber trim in place without the need to glue anything. The webbing and rubber should provide enough "edge protection" even for longer rides and the webbing can be detached and used for something in an emergency. The webbing will be attached in place with plastic quick release buckles once I can score some from somewhere that are the right size.



This is the general idea how the webbing is routed
UPDATE


The "final" solution for now. There is a piece of rubber edge trim under the webbing. The buckles will be placed on the inside. They are on the outside for the photo only.

Thursday, May 7, 2015

KTM 690 Enduro R Seat Height


UPDATE [19. May 2015]

For some reason this post wont open, so I made a duplicate as I could access the original from the blogger system. The problem keeps reappearing so I guess I'll keep this double post up.

UPDATE [8. September 2014]

The seat height seems to be a major mental hurdle for many. I've done roughly 6000 kms with the bike now. Suspension is completely stock as is the seat. I haven't even touched the rear. A sin I know. (The ergo seat makes no real difference either). I'm 173 (5'8) cm and 73 kg (160 pounds). The only issues I've had with the seat height have to do with getting the kick stand up if the bike is parked at an incline to the left. Meaning that your right foot needs to go further down to reach the ground compared to being parked at level ground. The problem is somewhat pronounced when loaded up with gear. UPDATE: the kick stand issue can be solved with a neat little trick i picked up from ADVrider forums.

690 Enduro R seat height looks obscene when standing next to the bike

The seat height really isn't that bad once you get on the bike.


KTM 690 Enduro R seat heigh


KTM 690 Enduro seat height


The seat height (910 mm) of the 690 seems to a major issue for many. Most shorties tend to give up on the 690 before ever even trying the bike for size. The seat height number is intimidating, I'll give you that. Then again, my previous Tenere was only half an inch lower and weighted over 120 pounds more than the 690. It was a bit high but in no way unmanageable. The 690 is significantly narrower which results in me getting my feet on the ground better than on the Tenere. I'm not able to flat foot, but I'm not on completely on my toes either. The lower COQ and weight of the 690 removes any of the wonky top heavy feeling that a fully fuelled Tenere had.

IMAGES >> http://cycle-ergo.com/


If you are in Danny Devito class height wise, there's always the lowering link option to lower the suspension. Koubalink seems to be the preferred choice for 690 riders.

koubalink for KTM 690 Enduro


IMAGE >> http://www.koubalink.com/