ARTICLES

Throttle holder …

By Jens|2024-01-02T07:40:06+01:00December 28th, 2023|Kawasaki Versys-X 300, Misc. (Bike related), Yamaha Ténéré 700|

I do not need a fancy electronic cruise control, but on long transport stretches, it is nice to be able to lock the throttle and relax the right hand grip.

I tried a lot of different solutions (home made devices, bought products, modified products) and most of them failed to be perfect, because they could not apply sufficient friction to avoid the throttle from closing slowly.

Long story short: Go Cruise 2 is the only one that works perfectly out of the box – the rest of them are now in the dust bin.

It just shows how much hidden engineering it takes to make simple solutions brilliant 🏆

Cockpit setup …

By Jens|2023-12-28T19:50:18+01:00December 28th, 2023|Yamaha Ténéré 700|

Here is a picture of the complete cockpit on my Tenere 700 – when all options are installed.

Garmin Zumo XT
Original dashboard
Old iPhone as backup GPS
Garmin Inreach Mini sattelite communicator

90% of my riding is just with the Garmin Zumo XT and obviously the bikes own dashboard.

The iPhone is just a backup GPS solution, and the Garmin Inreach is only used for solo riding in remote areas.

But it was quite fun to attach all the gear for a quick photo 😉

Corrosion protection …

By Jens|2023-12-17T13:23:33+01:00December 17th, 2023|Yamaha Ténéré 700|

The area around the front mounting bracket on the Tenere 700 gas tank is known to corrode (thin paint layer and a welded-on bracket).

So when the tank is off anyway, a spray of wax based corrision protection is probably not a bad idea.

New spark plugs …

By Jens|2023-12-17T13:19:39+01:00December 17th, 2023|Yamaha Ténéré 700|

A quite time consuming job. After the plastic covers and the tanknis removed, it is necessary to move the ABS block, disconnect 10 multiconnectors, and move the water cooler forward.

New air filter …

By Jens|2023-12-17T13:16:13+01:00December 17th, 2023|Yamaha Ténéré 700|

Very easy exchange job.

Bottle holder bracket …

By Jens|2023-12-11T07:58:22+01:00December 11th, 2023|Yamaha Ténéré 700|

I made a bracket for a bicycle drinking bottle holder a few years ago.

It fitted nicely into a slot in the SW-Motech luggage rack, and I have been so happy with it that I wanted another one on the other side of the bike.

So it was just a matter of making a copy of the old bracket to make the bike symetrical again 😉

New chain and sprockets installed …

By Jens|2023-12-11T07:52:23+01:00December 11th, 2023|Kawasaki Versys-X 300|

Including new seals for the rear wheel axle.

Making a spacer for the front sprocket …

By Jens|2023-12-11T07:50:16+01:00December 11th, 2023|Kawasaki Versys-X 300|

The original sprocket for the Kawasaki Versys-X have a build in spacer on the inner side that is 3,5 mm wide.

I like the new sprocket type with the rubber dampers on both sides of the sprocket, but this is only available for the Versys-X in the original 14 tooth size, and I prefer the 15 tooth size to lower the RPM a bit.

I can get a 15 tooth sprocket (with the rubber dampers) that fits on the gearbox shaft splines, but it comes without the build in 3,5 mm spacer.

But I have a lathe and some internal parts from a BMW F800 front fork, and was able to change it into a 3,5 mm spacer 👍👍👍